We’ve all been there: You’re creating something to use with students, and you copy and paste from another document. Next thing you know, you have a chunk of pasted text that is not only in a different size and font than your other text, but it also copied and pasted some weird background color! Or maybe you’re building slides and change the font in one text box, but still have more to go. The solution? The “paint format” button!
How it works: Highlight a word (or simply place your cursor in a word) that is formatted the way you want. Click on the paint roller icon in the Google Docs/Slides/Sheets toolbar. Now, highlight the text that you need to change to match, and, ta da!
A similar feature is available in many other programs, so keep your eye out for it! For example, it is also available in Canva and Microsoft Outlook (as a paintbrush).
The writing process is a staple in most elementary and English language arts classrooms. A crucial component of the process is revision, revision, revision. But how hard is it to get students to return to their writing once they’ve submitting their first draft? Too many of them have the “one and done” mentality and either don’t return to it, or they pretend to submit a revised version. Ugh. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to comb through versions of a student essay submission to see what, if any, changes were made, because the resubmission sounds remarkably similar to what I remember in the first submission.
Now we have Google Docs to save the day! As you read about three features to help you hold students accountable for the writing process in your classroom, keep in mind that you need to have editing permissions on a document to use them.
Renaming Versions
One of the sanity-saving features of Google Docs is how frequently is auto-saves your work. You can find previous versions of a document under “File,” or you can click on the “All changes saved in drive”/”Last edit was made…” alongside the menu. But did you know you can rename up to forty versions of your document?
This means that you can have students name their drafts! Once a student feels (s)he has completed the first draft of an essay, for example, (s)he can navigate to the Version History and name the version “First Draft.” Similarly, after the same student returns to the document to make revisions based on peer or teacher feedback, for example, (s)he can rename it “Second Draft.” And so on. This makes it easy as a teacher to see and navigate the various versions of a student’s work to see that (s)he has been engaging in the writing process.
This also provides a great opportunity for reflection, as students can see the progression of their writing from the first draft to the final draft all in one place!
To rename a version in Version History, go to File > Version History > Name Current Version. To retroactively name a version, view the Version History > click the 3 dots next to the desired version > Select “Name this version.” Both ways are demonstrated in the GIF below.
Naming the current version & previous version of a document
“See New Changes” Button
Google Docs now has the “See new changes” button on shared documents. If you view a document, close it, then return to it later, a blue “See new changes” button will appear alongside the menu if changes have been made while you were away. Now what does this mean for the writing process?
“See new changes” button
Once you’ve viewed a student’s first draft, you can revisit that draft after revisions should have taken place. If there is no “See new changes” button, you know that no revisions have been made since first draft! Similarly, if only small changes have been made, clicking the “See new changes” button will show you what has been edited since the last time you viewed the document. No more guessing or searching the Version History to see what changes were made and when!
If you have a student who struggles to stay on task and engage in the writing process, you can have him or her share their Google Doc with you. At the end of each day, visit their Google Doc to look for the “See new changes” button, and you can either praise the student for being on task that day, or have a conversation about staying on task.
Comparing Documents
As of June 2019, you can now compare documents in Google Docs (available only for business and education accounts, e.g., G Suite for Education). This is a great option if you have students submit essay revisions as separate documents (although why would you now that you know you can rename versions?), or if you have two students submit what sound like surprisingly similar essays but don’t have access to an originality checker.
First, in the initial document you’d like to compare, go to Tools > Compare Documents. Then, select the document to which you’d like to compare the first. Google Docs will open a third document and show the differences as suggested edits in a particular color. Think of it this way: Color = originality. If you don’t see any suggested edits, then you have a 100% match! Even if portions of the content match between two student papers, you’ll be able to tell, because suggested edits won’t appear for those portions of text.
