Google Apps

What is it?

Google Apps is a collection of online tools that you and your students can use as a part of your courses. This includes commonly used applications such has Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet, as well as Carleton-specific Google Groups, which you can use to supplement your Moodle course and add functionality.

Why is this useful?

Carleton College is a Google Campus, fully supporting any of the tools and applications Google offers through our Carleton license with Google. Google applications have become a fully accepted alternative to Microsoft applications. If a student does not have access to Microsoft Word, they can use Google Docs. If they don’t have access to Microsoft Excel, they can use Google Sheets, and the same for Google Slides in place of Powerpoint. In addition, these tools are increasingly ubiquitous, and it’s likely that your students will be expected to understand and be competent with these applications in their future workplaces. It’s helpful to give them the opportunity to use them here.

Google Groups are useful for emailing everyone in your class, creating calendar appointments in Google Calendar, or sharing files and folders in Google Drive. This can serve as an extension of your Moodle class site and add functionality and opportunities for interaction that don’t exist in Moodle.

How do I use it at Carleton?

Many of these apps are available to you and to your students simply by clicking the nine dot grid in the upper-right hand corner of your Carleton gmail screen. You can create a Google Group for your class and have it automatically populated with all your students. Learn how to create your own Google Groups or how to request a Google Group for your class.