Multiple Individuals Working on the Same File at the Same Time

As a document stored in Google Drive (i.e. the cloud), you never have to download or email a file — you just connect to it through your browser and start working. However, working with Google Apps is more than just cloud storage — it's about collaboration on a whole new level.

Collaborators can access the same document at the same time. You see other people's changes happen on your screen while you're making your own. In fact, you can have up to 50 people making changes on the document at the same time! For students, this means group work can be easily accomplished anywhere there's an internet connection - on a desktop or mobile device.

Faculty and administration can also take advantage of the collaboration features of Google Apps. With individuals working different hours and different locations (both on and off campus) the ability to work on a single document instead of trying to remember where the most recent version is stored, is invaluable. And when done making changes, they can save it as a PDF and upload it to it's final destination (eg. myShare, Blackboard, etc).

What ways can you think of to take advantage of this exciting feature?

To find out how you can take advantage of Google Apps in your area, contact Trevor Beck (beckt@macewan.ca) at 780-497-5053.

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Google Docs Gets New Suggest Edit Feature

Inserting a comment into a document is a great collaborative feature of Google Apps —it allows participants to carry on a discussion about a potential change. However, sometimes you just want to suggest a change in wording. With the Suggest Edits feature, you can highlight a piece of text and type in what you think the text to be (similar to Microsoft's Track Changes feature). Like comments, collaborators can comment on the suggestion, and when ready, accept the change. You can find more from Google Help or watch the video below!

Styles and Table of Contents in Google Docs

If you're using the Bold command for your headings and subheadings, then you need to discover Google's styles! Not only can you quickly assign size/color/spacing/bolding to text, you can update all instances inyour document with just one change! Assign and update As you're creating your document, instead of bolding, assign one of the heading styles (don't worry if you don't like the look of it — you can change that). Once you've assigned a style to a piece of text, highlight the text and make the changes until you're happy with the result. Then you can update the heading (see image below) and all instances throughout the document will be updated! You can even set the defaults for all future documents you create by selecting Save as my default styles from the Options at the bottom of the styles list. Table of Contents from your styles Once you've formatted all your text using styles, you can quickly create a Table of Contents. Just selec...

Adding Urgency to Microsoft Teams

The chat function in Microsoft Teams is ideal for quick real-time comments and conversations. However, many people overlook the formatting functions available: In addition to basic formatting like bold and italics, MS Teams provide the opportunity to add color by using the highlighter tool: Additional formatting tools can be found under the 3 Timbits menu ( ... ) including Mark as important : This will make your whole post stand out: Trevor Beck is MacEwan's newest technology trainer. Have an idea for a training session for your department or class? Send your request to techsupport@macewan.ca . x

Google Tips for MacEwan University

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