Like most people, you’ve probably been using Google for ages now. And, I guarantee your students have been too. It’s also likely that your students are not just using Google to search for things, but they’re probably also using Google Apps and Google Drive to create and share documents.

The good news is, that now you and your students share documents, without ever leaving your Canvas course.

But not only that!

You can access any file in your Google Drive account from within your Canvas course.

You can embed Google documents straight into any module, page, discussion, or quiz; no more uploading new versions of a Word doc…

You and/or your students can even edit documents directly in Canvas and the changes are automatically saved in Google Drive!

Want to know who made what changes on that group writing assignment? 

Simple. Just add a Google doc to the assignment. It’s this easy:

1. Embed you Google Document (see video instructions below).

1. Click File > See Revision History

The Revision History shows you not only who added what and when, it also color codes each individual’s edits or comments to make it easy to distinguish one person’s work from another’s.

So, how can you get started with Google Apps in your Canvas course? 

The first step is to add the app to your Canvas course. The video below walks you through the steps of how to get set up. You can also contact me directly and I will be happy to add the app for you.

And, now what? 

Once the Google app is added to your Canvas course, how do you go about adding files to your course?

This video will show you exactly what to do:

If you’d like to learn more, here are some great resources from the Canvas Community site:

• How do I create a hyperlink or embed a file from Google Drive into the Rich Content Editor?
• How do I create a cloud assignment with a Google Drive file?
• How do I subscribe to the Calendar feed using Google Calendar?
• How do I create a Google Drive collaboration?
• How do I create a Google Docs collaboration?
• How do I view my Google Drive files in Canvas?

 If you have any questions or would like to know more about how you can take advantage of Google Apps in your Canvas course, please don’t hesitate to contact me.