What is Google Drive & Why Use It?

Google Drive....A Closer Look

   Over the past year, there have been many questions surrounding Google Drive. Teachers, students, parents, and administrators are all curious as to why Google Drive ('the cloud') is being used as a storage space for information. It is a new idea, and ventures away from the traditional save and email documents modality. As with most new ideas, they are approached with caution and apprehension at times. Therefore, it is important to learn the benefits of Google Drive, before deciding one way or another.

   Google Drive, in a nutshell, is an online storage space. Documents, media, presentations, and much more can be housed in 'the cloud'. The benefit of using an online storage space, like Google Drive, is the accessibility of documents, without the fear of them being lost. Anything stored in Google Drive, can be accessed from any device, at any time, and from anywhere. Therefore if your computer breaks, you can still access and work on your documents from a different device.  This is an important feature in that it eliminates the worry of the 'computer crashing', and losing all of your information. 

   Also, Google Drive contains its own unique suite of writing tools. Google Documents (word processing), Google Slides (presentation), Google spreadsheet, and Google Drawing are among the basic tools provided on Google Drive. With these documents, students and teachers have the ability to collaborate on work, simultaneously. This notion assists teachers and students in achieving work completion, despite overlapping schedules.  

   Lastly, through Google Drive, the user has the ability to share documents with others. Once documents have been shared, the user can determine whether others can edit, comment, or simply just view their work.  Once work has been shared with another person, there is no need to share again if revisions have been made or suggested. This is an important piece to Google Drive, as it alleviates the need to email documents back and forth for every revision. 

   Just like any other tool, Google Drive will have its positive and negatives. The important question to keep in mind is, does Google Drive best suit your needs as an educator? The only way to truly determine its benefits for you, is to try it out and ask lots of questions! Best of luck on your Google Drive journey!

~Deanna Spizzirri