Google Workspace for Education

The Google Workspace for Education is a collection of several applications that can be leveraged for teaching and learning purposes. The collaborative nature of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive make them an invaluable tool for all courses regardless of modality, but can be especially useful for facilitating teamwork online.

Montclair State has enabled a range of Google Applications for all faculty and students (with a montclair.edu email account). In order to access these services and applications, log into any Google application with your Google username and password (ex. “NetID@montclair. edu” and password), then click on the Google Waffle (see red arrow below for Waffle location). From there, select the desired application.

Google interface showing application icons with a red arrow pointing too the Google Apps grid icon.

Note: Please contact the IT Service Desk at 973-655-7971 for technical support or access available training materials and documentation. For applications where IT support is not available, users should refer to Google’s online help feature.

Training Opportunities

Google Workspace

Google Resources

Google Drive is a cloud storage platform that allows anyone with a Google account to store files on the internet for access from most internet-enabled devices. Files and folders can be shared for easy collaboration with peers and students, and also used as a repository for larger file types when Canvas-based storage is not an option. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides naturally live within the Google Drive environment.

Google Docs (similar to Microsoft Word) are collaborative documents. Work together with colleagues on any kind of document, then share it out with others. You can also use Google Docs as a way to have students collaborate together, using a Google Doc to stage their ideas and combine efforts.

Review Google’s Accessibility for Docs editors. The Google Docs editors are designed to work with screen readers, braille devices, screen magnification, and more.

Google Sheets (similar to Microsoft Excel) are collaborative spreadsheets that can be used for sharing and manipulating data sets.

Google Slides (similar to Microsoft PowerPoint) are collaborative slideshows that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as creating a class-wide presentation or a presentation amongst smaller groups.

Google Forms are surveys that can be used for a number of purposes, such as the collection of anonymous feedback throughout a course or submission of requests for one-on-one consultations.

One of the primary benefits of Google Workspace for Education is its ease of use within Canvas courses, allowing for quick sharing of files with students and/or easily accessible Google Docs for students to work collaboratively on. Please visit the MSU Canvas Faculty Orientation course for information on how to use Google Workspace for Education in Canvas: