All instructors and students at UW-Whitewater have access to Google Drive. The accessibility for everyone provides a great opportunity for instructors to facilitate an environment for students to work together.

For example, Google Docs is an easy way to have students collaborate with each other on group assignments. The instructor can create a Google Doc for each group. For each Google Doc, the instructor would then send out permissions to group members to make changes to the Google Doc. Google Docs allows all group members to make changes simultaneously, with similar functionality as Microsoft Word. One of the major challenges for students, when it comes to group assignments, is finding an opportunity for all individuals to meet. By providing a virtual environment, students can work together remotely when it is convenient for them, to encourage more equal opportunities for all group members to participate in the assignment. An instructor can also see when a Google Doc was last edited, and has the capability to remove permissions when the group assignment is due.

For further information on Google Docs or Google Drive, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center, or learn about training opportunities by clicking here.