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Check Contributions to Group Work

By Google for Education Published: Aug 27, 2020 14m Beginner (7)

   Expected Lesson Time: 14 minutes

Go through the sections below, then test yourself (and get credit) by
doing the Lesson Check.

Using Google Docs to Facilitate Group Work

Now that we’ve explored some best practices for group work and collaboration in the
classroom, let’s take a closer look at how some of the features of Google Docs can
accommodate students who are working together.

Google Docs keeps a named version history of every change that is made to a document, and
who they were made by. This is a powerful tool for teachers and students, as it allows

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When a student or group shares a Google Doc with a teacher, the teacher can look at the Doc
and understand how it has evolved from early drafts or how peer reviews and comments were
incorporated into the nal product. The comprehensive Google Doc version history gives
teachers an inside look into the collaboration that is taking place, and serves as accountability
measure to ensure every student is doing their part.

Students can use the version history to compare documents and re ect on the lessons
learned throughout the writing process. Students can also come back to comments and
suggestions made by the teacher and their peers to learn how to improve their writing. Editors
of a document can even restore older versions of the Google Doc if they want to go back to an
earlier version, or if something was accidentally erased. Revisions are saved automatically as
you make changes to your Docs.

Looking Back in Time

Let’s take a closer look at how to access and use the version history feature in Google Docs,
Google Sheets, Google Slides, or Google Drawings.

Access and View the Version History

To access the revision history, select File in the top left and choose
Version history > See version history. (You can also access the
version history by clicking on the words All changes saved in Drive
near the middle of the menu bar.) Here you can see revisions that
were made by each editor of the Doc, and the time they made their
changes.

Learn How

Review Revisions for Contributions

To see more detailed revisions that were made by each editor of a

Doc, click on the triangles next to each revision in the sidebar. This
will allow you to view every change made to the Doc. Click on the
revision you wish to view, and the document will then show you
color-coded revisions made by each individual during that time.
Keep in mind that the Doc must be shared individually (using email
addresses) in order to see named contributions in the history. Docs
that are only shared as ‘public’ or ‘anyone with the link’ will show the
editors as anonymous.

Learn How

Restore Earlier Versions

To restore an earlier version of a Doc, click on the revision from the

list that you wish to restore. Once selected, you will see the option
to Restore this revision. Once clicked, the older revision will then
replace the current version of the document. Don’t worry, you can
always revert back to any version of a document - every version is
automatically saved!

Learn How

Review Comments for Contributions

To see the comments in a Google Doc, click on the comments

button in the top-right corner. Here you will see a full history of the
comments and replies. Active comments will also be viewable to
the right of the document and always link to highlighted content
within the Doc. This is a great way to see how your students are
interacting with each other as they work on their assignments.

Learn How

Reviewing Contributions to Group Work

Facilitating collaborative learning experiences has its challenges. As teachers, we must ensure
that every student is not only participating in group work but engaging and contributing
meaningful work to the group. This presents a challenge for teachers. It can be di cult to
know if every student is doing their part, and how well they are collaborating with their group
through the learning process.

In Google Docs, this challenge becomes much more manageable. With the power of version
history, teachers can view the contributions made by each student in the group. The revisions
are time-stamped and color-coded so teachers can easily view what changes were made, and
at what time. These features give the teacher a birds-eye view of real-time collaboration, and
an opportunity to intervene before a student can stray too far off course.

Version history also makes things easier for student collaborators. Sometimes it can be
di cult to just glance at a document and see if any changes were made. By accessing the
version history, students can easily see any changes performed by their peers.

Students and teachers can use the comments feature of Google Docs to give constructive
feedback and suggestions. The teacher can view these comments at any time to see how
students are working collaboratively, and how the student revises their work based on the
feedback.

Scenario

Ms. Driscoll is a 6th grade language arts teacher who loves technology. She assigns each
student a partner for a peer editing activity. The students have been hard at work on their
persuasive essays. Each student shares their Google Doc with their partner for peer editing
and revision.

Ms. Driscoll also has editing rights to all of the students’ essays in Google Docs. After class,
she takes a look at one student's essay to see the revisions their partner made. But Ms.
Driscoll is new to Google Docs, and cannot tell just by viewing the doc what changes have
been made.

How can Ms. Driscoll determine which revisions were made by the student, and which revisions
were made by his partner? What can she do in the future to make reviewing changes easier?

Take 5 Minutes To Come Up With A Strategy For Ms. Swanson

Use this as your temporary notepad, or jot down your ideas on paper.

Save Clear

 See What We Came Up With

Lesson Check

Now let's do a quick check to make sure you got this lesson (and that we give you credit for it)!

1. To access and review the revisions in a Google Doc:

Click the History menu, then select See revision history

Click on Share, then email yourself a link to the doc

 Click the File menu, then select Version history, then See version history

None of the above

Check Answer

 Correct!

2. How can a teacher view contributions made by several students in one collaborative
Google Doc?

 The revision history will color code the revisions made by each student

The teacher can only view the rst student’s contributions

The revision history only re ects changes made that day

This feature is only available as an add-on

Check Answer

 Correct!

3. If Johnny accidentally deleted a paragraph of his pa ner’s essay, how can he restore
those revisions back into the doc?

Click the File menu, then select Make a Copy

 From the revision history, locate and select the revision, then select Restore this revision

Revisions cannot be restored

Johnny will have to retype the paragraph

Check Answer

 Correct!

4. Why is revision history an impo ant feature to utilize during group activities? (Select all
that apply.)

 To keep students accountable

To plan next steps in the activity

 To allow the teacher to assess the work of each student individually

 To help students track their progress

Check Answer

 Correct!

Next Activity
More Ways to Use Technology to Facilitate Student Groups