Digital Learning at Grant Wood AEA
  • Home
  • Learn
    • Summer Summit
    • ITEC 2019
    • Iowa 1 to 1
    • Green Screen
    • Stop Motion
    • Physical Computing
    • Free Media
    • AR/VR in Schools
  • Think
    • Blog
    • BrightBytes
    • Tech Coaches
    • Blended Learning
    • Think Make Innovate
    • Edtech Take Out
  • Grow
    • Pear Deck Resources
    • Makerspaces
    • Google Expeditions
    • GWAEA Online Resources
    • OER
    • Computer Science
  • COVID19
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Learn
    • Summer Summit
    • ITEC 2019
    • Iowa 1 to 1
    • Green Screen
    • Stop Motion
    • Physical Computing
    • Free Media
    • AR/VR in Schools
  • Think
    • Blog
    • BrightBytes
    • Tech Coaches
    • Blended Learning
    • Think Make Innovate
    • Edtech Take Out
  • Grow
    • Pear Deck Resources
    • Makerspaces
    • Google Expeditions
    • GWAEA Online Resources
    • OER
    • Computer Science
  • COVID19
  • Contact

How to Organize Google Drive

11/16/2015

 
Picture
Recently, I have had a lot of requests to work with educators and help them organize their Google Drive. It is not an uncommon request. After using Drive for any length of time, your filing and organization system can quickly get out of hand, especially when you are faced with what to do with files that have been shared with you. So, here are some of my top tips for organizing your Google Drive for maximum efficiency.

Creating Folders in Google Drive

Folders are your go-to structure for organizing everything that you have in your Google Drive. Click the NEW button and choose Folder. Try to think of a good organizational name or numbering system that you would like to use. This will make it easier to find things later.

Top Tip: To create a sub folder, double click on the folder you want it to live in, then click the
NEW button to create a folder inside the folder you just opened.
Picture

Moving Files to a Folder

Moving orphaned files into folders is a quick way to reduce the clutter. There are lots of ways to do this but some of the more obvious ways include:
  • Drag and Drop from inside Drive
  • Clicking the Folder icon at the top of any open Google Apps file
  • Right-click any file and select Move to…
  • Select a file by clicking on it, click the three dots in the top right-hand corner, then Move to…

Top Tip: If you can get into the habit of creating files in a folder, or choosing a folder for them when you have the file open, you will have much less orphan files floating around your Drive. (Thanks to Ann Woolridge at @CPUSchools for this top tip!)

Changing Folder Colors in Google Drive

The more visual among you may appreciate the ability to change the color of your folders in Drive. To change the color of your folder in Drive, right-click on a folder, (Ctrl+Click on a Mac), and choose Change Color. This lets you choose from a variety of Googley colors. You can repeat this process on as many folders as you like.

Top Tip: Many teachers do this to differentiate between the different classes they have, or for team documents, school policies and so forth. This lets you quickly see things at a glance and navigate to the color of the folder you have chosen.
Picture

Accessing Recent or Frequently Used Files

Google has two methods for quickly retrieving files that you use frequently. The first is the Recent filter, which can be found on the left-hand sidebar of your Google Drive. Clicking this will show you a list of the files you have worked on most recently. The files you last accessed and worked on are at the top of the list, with less recent files further down.

Another option is to add a Star to a file or a folder. Stars are like bookmarks for your files. You can right-click on any file or folder, (Ctrl+Click on a Mac), and choose to Add Star. This adds it to your starred files, which can be found on the left-hand sidebar underneath your Recent files.

Top Tip: Try to revisit your starred files on a regular basis and remove stars from files or folders that no longer need to be starred. This will help you find what you really need.

Searching for Files and Folders

Given Google's reputation for search, you would think that Google Drive has some pretty robust search options. Well, you would be right! Entering some keywords into the search box at the top of the page may be all you need to find that rogue file that is alluding you. Drive will search file and folder titles as well as file and folder content, but where possible it is always best to name files with keywords that you would use to search for them later.

Top Tip: Click the down arrow in the search box to narrow down the file type and document ownership. Watch the video below for a demonstration of how that works.

Sharing Files and Folders with Others

Sharing files and folders is one of the key features of using Google Drive effectively. However, not everyone knows the ins and outs of everything that collaborators can and can't do. You can share, or check on the sharing permissions, of any file or folder in your Drive by right-clicking on it and choosing Share... from the pop-up menu. You can then choose whether your collaborators can be viewers, commenters, or editors. A comparison of what each person can do with those permissions are included below.

Top Tip: Google uses a hierarchical sharing structure. This means that if you share a folder with someone, all the files and sub-folders inside are also shared with that person. Any new files that you add to that folder are also automatically shared with that person whether you adjusted the sharing permissions on your file or not.
Picture
Source: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494886?hl=en

Organizing Shared Files and Folders

This is the one thing that ties people in knots when they are working in Google Drive. If you move a file or a folder that is shared with you, will it mess things up for the other people it is shared with? The answer is... maybe. Watch the video below from Chris Betcher to see the ins and outs of working with shared files. Once you get the hang of it, you will see it is not as complicated as you first thought.

Top Tip: You can't delete files that were created by other people. You can remove them from your Drive if you no longer need them, but they won't disappear from the Drive of the person that created them. Only file owners can delete files permanently.

Using the Google Drive Desktop App

With the Google Drive Desktop app, you can work inside the existing file structure of Windows or Mac OSX. Many people find this more familiar and easier to organize their files. Once installed, the Drive Desktop app mirrors the structure of your files at drive.google.com. Anything you change on your desktop gets synced with Google Drive, and vice versa. So, if you prefer to create folders and move files on your desktop, you can. You can even double-click to open files. Everything you do will be mirrored to your Google account in the cloud.

Top Tip: You can also save things directly to Google Drive from desktop applications. So, if you are using Microsoft Word and want to save the file directly to your Google Drive, simply go to File > Save As and select the Google Drive desktop app as your save destination. Once the file is saved in the folder of your choice, it will be automatically synced to your Google Drive.
Picture

Any Questions?

Are you still unsure about the best way to organize the files for your situation? If so, leave a comment below or contact us by email if you prefer.


~Jonathan Wylie, Technology Consultant at Grant Wood AEA (@jonathanwylie)

For more posts like this, please subscribe to our blog! You can also connect with us on social media if you Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter or add us to your circles on Google+.

    Connect



    Blog Feed

    RSS Feed


    Like Us on Facebook

    Digital Learning at Grant Wood Area Education Agency

    Promote Your Page Too

    Our YouTube Show

    Picture

    Our Podcast

    Picture

    Our Tweets!

    Tweets by @DLGWAEA

    Authors

    Stacy Behmer
    Jonathan Wylie
    Gina Rogers
    Amber Bridge
    Beth Swantz

    Mindy Cairney
    Lynn Kleinmeyer
    Corey Rogers


    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014


    Categories

    All
    3d Printing
    4Cs
    Assessment
    Augmented Reality
    Best Of The Web
    Blogging
    Board Games
    Coding
    Collaboration
    Communication
    Computer Science
    Connected Classrooms
    Creativity
    Device Deployment
    Digital Citizenship
    Digital Classrooms
    Elementary
    Flipped Classroom
    Formative Assessment
    GAFE
    Google
    Google Apps EDU
    Google Expeditions
    Green Screen
    Hattie
    Innovate
    Ipad
    ISTE
    Literacy
    Make
    Makerspace
    Office 365
    Pear Deck
    Personalized Learning
    PLN
    Podcast
    Professional Learning
    Research
    Service Learning
    Student Choice
    Think
    ThinkMakeInnovate
    Update
    Video
    Virual Reality
    Wakelet
    Web 2.0
    Youtube

Grant Wood Area Education Agency extends equal opportunities in its employment practices, educational programs and services, and does not discriminate on the basis of color, gender, race, national origin, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, veteran status or as otherwise prohibited by law. If you believe you or your child has been discriminated against or treated unjustly, please contact the Agency’s Equity Coordinator, Maria Cashman, at 319-399-6847 or 800-332-8488. Grant Wood AEA, 4401 Sixth St SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404.

It is the goal of Grant Wood Area Education Agency that the information on our website be accessible to individuals with visual, hearing or cognitive disabilities. Good faith efforts have been made to ensure that our site complies with the world wide web consortium’s web content accessibility guidelines. Learn more here.