Thinkabara

☁️ Google Tools for Students · Lesson 3 of 7

Sharing and group work

Google Classroom

Viewer, commenter or editor, a link, and working together live.

The Share button

At the top right of every Doc, Sheet or Slides file is a blue “Share” button. Type a classmate’s email (at school, usually their school address) and choose their access.

Three levels of access

ViewerCan only read
CommenterCan read and add comments, but not change the text
EditorCan change everything

Sharing with a link

Under “General access” you can choose “Anyone with the link”. Careful: then anyone who gets the link can open it. In school accounts this is often limited to people at your school. For a group project, add each person by email instead.

Working together

Everyone with Editor access can type at the same time. You see each person’s cursor in a different color with their name. Split the work: each person writes their own section, then one person edits the whole thing so it sounds like one voice.

Tip

💡 Before you share, ask: who really needs this, and do they need to edit, or just read?

✏️ Practice: your turn

  1. Share a document with a family member as a Commenter
  2. Then change them to Editor
  3. Write in the document at the same time and watch the colored cursors
  4. Check “General access” and make sure it is set the way you want

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. Which access lets someone only read?
2. What can a Commenter do?
3. What is the risk of “Anyone with the link”?
4. How do you see who is typing where?

0 of 4 correct

All lessons in Google Tools for Students

  1. 📁 1. Google Drive and foldersWhere files are saved, a folder for each subject and uploading files
  2. 📄 2. Google DocsA new document, formatting, voice typing and version history
  3. 🤝 3. Sharing and group workViewer, commenter or editor, a link, and working together live
  4. 💬 4. Comments and suggestionsComment on a sentence, suggesting mode, and tagging a friend
  5. 📊 5. Google SheetsA table, your first formula, sorting and a chart
  6. 📝 6. Google FormsA survey, a quiz with points, and answers that land in a sheet
  7. 🏫 7. Google ClassroomJoin a class, open an assignment, attach a file and turn it in