Google Drive, your digital filing cabinet: store, organise, and share your learning from any device.
🔍 What does it do?
Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service. It is where all your Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets are automatically saved. It also allows you to upload photos, videos, and PDFs. Because it is part of Glow, everything is saved “in the cloud,” meaning you can start a project on a school iPad and finish it on any other device.
🎓 Why is it useful?
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Automatic Backup: There is no “Save” button in Google apps. Everything you do is instantly backed up to Google Drive. You never have to worry about losing work if an iPad runs out of battery or your computer shuts down unexpectedly.
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Paperless Scanning: Use the iPad camera to scan physical worksheets or hand-drawn posters directly into Drive as high-quality PDFs.
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Search Mastery: Drive has a powerful search bar. You can search for a keyword (like “Vikings”) and it will find that word even if it’s buried inside a PDF or a handwritten note you scanned.
⚙️ How does it work?
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Launch: Open the Google Drive app on your iPad or login to Google Drive on your internet browser.
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Sign In: Use your Glow email (e.g., gw15smithjohn@fa.glow.scot) and use your normal Glow password.
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The ‘+’ Button: Tap the colorful ‘+’ icon to create new folders, upload photos from your library, or start a new Google Doc/Slide.
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Organising: Tap and hold a file to move it into a folder. Use the ‘Star’ icon for files you need to find quickly every day.
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Sharing: Tap the ‘three dots’ next to a file and select ‘Share.’ to share files and folders with other Glow Google Workspace users
🚀 Beyond the Basics
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Digital Portfolios: Create a folder named “Writing Portfolio.” At the end of every unit, upload your best piece of work. By the end of the year, you have a visual record of how much your writing has improved.
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Observation Logs: If you are doing an experiment, take a photo or short video each day. Save them in a specific Drive folder to create a “Time-lapse” record of your results. Once you have all the images, you can use Slides, Docs or Sheets to create a report.
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Scanning Sketches: Use the ‘Scan’ feature (tap + in the bottom right hand corner of the iPad add then choose Scan document) to digitise your physical drawings. This makes it easy to put your artwork into a Google Slide later.
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Offline Mode: If you don’t have Wi-Fi at home, tap the ‘three dots’ on your important files and select ‘Available offline.’ You can keep working on the bus or at home, and it will sync when you get back to an internet connection.
💡 Top Tips for Google Drive
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Shared with me: This tab can get messy! If someone shares a file with you, don’t just leave it there. Tap the ‘three dots’ and select ‘Add shortcut to Drive’ to put it in one of your own organised folders.
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Naming Files: Always name your files clearly (e.g., “Maths_Fractions_Jan19”). If you leave them as “Untitled,” you may have trouble finding them again.
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Trash: If you delete a file by mistake, it stays in the ‘Trash’ for 30 days. Tap the menu (three lines) in the top left to find it and restore your work.
