By Kenney Kost/editor-in-chief
What you need to know:
• Free access for all students and staff
• 30GB of free storage in the cloud
• Launches districtwide on Nov. 6
• Easy file-sharing, document, presentation management
File sharing and document management just got a whole lot easier now that students, faculty and staff have access to Google Drive through myTCC.
The suite of apps works much like Microsoft Office’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint, said Kevin Eason, director of institutional app support.
“We’ve had an agreement with Google to power tools for us,” he said “And now that we’ve been going with Blackboard for a year, we are going to take it further.”
NW academic support services coordinator Kirsten Cooper said accessing the app suite is as easy as logging into the myTCC email portal, clicking the Drive link in the black boxes on the top right of the page and getting started.
“The apps are excellent tools for most students’ needs,” Cooper said. “They are excellent for creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations.”
All projects created in Google Drive will be stored in the cloud, and users will have up to 30GB of storage space immediately available to them, said TR computer science associate professor Tyson McMillan. Having projects stored in the cloud allows for easy file sharing with multiple users and immediate access to projects from any device, anywhere.
“Students can collaborate, update and share group papers from anywhere in the world,” McMillan said.
Groups benefit from the document being in one central location at all times, McMillan said. Revision history is also tracked, and projects can be restored to earlier versions.
The software works in the user’s browser of choice, he said. Students can submit papers or presentations created in Google Drive to myTCC Blackboard with no compatibility issues.
Google Drive will be an immediate benefit for students and student success, Cooper said.
“I have been using Google apps for several years, both as a student and as a faculty member, and I think it’s an excellent resource to make available to our students,” she said.
McMillan said this is just the beginning for possibilities in the classroom and across the district.
“We have only just begun to explore what Google Drive means for teachers and students in the classroom and in areas like the collection of district mentorship data,” he said. “The possibilities are endless for creativity, innovation and student success.”
