Description
Google Workspace for education provides collaborative online workspaces for all students, faculty, and staff.
Apps currently enabled for the College's instance of Google Workspace include:
| Application | Function | More Info |
| Gmail | Training | |
| Google Calendar | Calendar/event management | Training |
| Google Drive | Cloud storage | Training |
| Google Docs | Word processing | Training |
| Google Slides | Presentation/Slide desks | Training |
| Google Sheets | Spreadsheets | Training |
| Google Forms | Create web forms | Training |
| Google Meet | Web-based video conferencing | Training |
| Google Groups | Create/manage groups for sharing/collaboration | Training |
| Google Keep | note taking/organization | Training |
| Google Tasks | To-do list management | Training |
| Jamboard | Virtual whiteboard | Training |
Learn more about the others applications available in Google Workspace and how to use them by visiting the Google Workspace Learning Center
Features and Benefits
Cloud Storage: Google Drive offers remote storage for your data.
Share files: You can easily share any file on your Google Drive with anyone else who has a Google account.
Live Collaboration: Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Hangouts allow for real-time collaboration on documents or presentations.
Easy access: Files you put on your Google Drive are accessible to you from any computer that has a web browser and an internet connection.
Sync files: If you regularly use two (or more) computers, tablets and/or smart phones, you can install Google Drive software on each and automatically sync your files, thus letting you work on the same files from any of your devices. Note that files in Google Docs format do not sync; rather, your local Google Drive folder contains links to the online location of your Google Docs files.
Large file transfers: Most email systems, including college Gmail, limit the size of attachments, but Google Drive lets you share files of any sizes.
Web Conferencing: Google Hangouts allows for web conferencing to take place with up to 15 participants.
Requirements
Google Workspace is accessible with any web browser, though some features only work with Google Chrome.
Getting Started
Resources
Detailed Training Available for Using Google Drive and Apps
- Google's Google Drive Help (external link to google.com)
- GCF Learn Free Google Drive and Docs Tutorial (external link to gcflearnfree.org)
- Google Hangouts: Getting Started (external link to google.com)
- Use the college instance of LinkedIn Learning to find many Google training options
Additional Information
Limitations
File Recovery: Google Workspace doesn't use Amherst College servers, so we have no way to examine the contents of your Google Drive or recover lost or accidentally deleted files. You can use Google Drive software on your Mac and Windows computers, and your Andoid and iOS devices, to automatically sync standard files with your online Google Drive. However, because you can't sync files that are in Google Docs format (see above), these files exist on your Google Drive only. If you want a backup of a Google Docs file, you need to use the Download function to create a copy on your computer.
Data Security: Google Drive is FERPA compliant, and it is approved to store confidential information, including FERPA information. Note that only Google Drive in combination with an Amherst account is approved, not the consumer version of Google Drive.
File Formats: You can share any type of file on your Google Drive, but can only work collaboratively on files that are created or converted to Google Docs format.
Other Apps: The college instance of Google Workspace includes many apps such as Calendar, Earth, Maps, and Sites.
Chromebooks
A Chromebook is a low-cost, specialized notebook computer that runs Google's ChromeOS, a computer operating system based upon the Chrome browser. Chromebooks are optimized to work with Google Drive. If you have any questions about using a Chromebook with your Google Apps account, please contact the IT Help Desk at AskIT @amherst.edu.