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College and Continuing Education

Lesson Plan: Connect and Collaborate From

Anywhere with Digital Tools
Overview
In Connect and Collaborate From Anywhere with Digital Tools, students will use digital collaboration tools to
connect with others no matter their locations, make teams more efficient and productive, and help achieve
business objectives.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

● Achieve the following objectives:

○ Either:
■ Direct message someone through Google Chat
■ Use comments in Google Docs
■ Set up a shared folder in Google Drive
■ Or, schedule a meeting in Google Calendar

● Answer the following essential questions:

○ How can digital tools help me work successfully with others even when we are in different
locations?
○ Why is sending a direct message an effective way to communicate, and how is it different
from sending an email?
○ Why is commenting in a shared file an efficient way to collaborate and improve the
document?
○ Why are shared folders valuable collaboration tools, and how do they help teams work
together more successfully?
○ How does Google Calendar make scheduling more efficient?

● Internalize the following enduring understandings:

○ Digital collaboration tools are valuable in any job or personal pursuit, particularly when people
are separated from their colleagues, friends, or family.
○ Even teams in the same locations can benefit from collaboration technologies.

Digital Skills

As they complete this lesson, students will learn and practice the following digital skills:
● Direct message someone through Google Chat

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● Use comments in Google Docs

● Set up a shared folder in Google Drive
● Schedule a meeting in Google Calendar

Terms and Concepts

As they complete this lesson, students will learn and use the following terms and concepts:
● Digital collaboration
● Direct message
● Comment
● Shared folder
● Calendar event

Total Duration Materials

● 45 minutes (can be extended to 50-60 minutes with ● Computer with internet access (per student)
extension videos) ● Headphones (per student)
● Applied Digital Skills website

Lesson Outline: Main Videos Plus Extensions

Video Duration Description

1 Introduction to Connect and 5 min Students are introduced to the lesson and choose
Collaborate From Anywhere with which digital skill they want to learn, making sure
Digital Tools it’s different from the skill their partner selects.

2 a: Send a Direct Message Using 10 min Students start a new conversation in Google Chat
Google Chat and practice using Chat settings and features.

2 b: Use Comments to Collaborate in 10 min Students create and title a new document, add a
Google Docs comment, including someone in their comment,
and edit their comment.

2 c: Set Up a Shared Folder in Google 10 min Students create and title a new folder in Google
Drive Drive, add a file to the folder, set sharing

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permissions, and share the folder.

2 d. Schedule a Meeting in Google 10 min Students create a calendar invitation to schedule a

Calendar meeting.

3 Connect and Collaborate From 5 min Students wrap up the lesson and reflect on how
Anywhere with Digital Tools Wrap-Up digital tools can help them connect and
collaborate with others, no matter where they are
located.

* Extension: Allow Meeting Guests to 5 min Students learn how to change guest options in a
Modify a Calendar Event Google Calendar event.

* Extension: Turn On and Off a Chat 5 min Students learn how to turn on and off Google Chat
History history for privacy, security, or other reasons.

* Extension: Create Subfolders in 5 min Students learn how to create subfolders within a
Google Drive shared folder in order to organize their files.

Prep

Before introducing this lesson to students:

● Create a teacher account at g.co/applieddigitalskills, and add a class.
● Distribute the class code to your students.

Procedure

1. Introduce the lesson: Prompt students to think about why being able to connect and collaborate with
others is so important -- especially for successful work projects (see Appendix for suggested
prompts).
2. Check in with students during class: Meet one-on-one or in small groups as students watch videos
(see Appendix for suggested prompts).
3. Wrap up the lesson: Give a short closing and facilitate brief discussion about what students learned
and experienced (see Appendix for suggested prompts).

Check Outcomes

Walk around the class and monitor progress to

ensure students:

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● Select a digital skill to learn.

● Either learn how to send a direct message, use
comments, set up a shared folder, or schedule a
meeting in Google Calendar.

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Assessments

● Use the reflection at the end of this lesson to assess what students have learned about how digital
tools can enable them to connect and collaborate with colleagues, friends, and family — even if they
are separated by different departments within an organization, different business sites, or physical
location.

Resources

● Appendix

Tip: This lesson is designed to be completed in a single class period. It has multiple videos for students to
watch, which vary in duration and guide students through building a main project around a central theme.
Also included are three optional extension videos, which are each approximately 5 minutes in length. They
can be added to the main lesson to extend instructional time and allow students to add on to their projects
and reinforce skills.

Tip: Assign groups. Some videos require students to work in pairs or groups. Save time by assigning
students before the lesson begins.

Tip: Reserve 5 minutes at the beginning and end of each lesson. Start each class with a 5-minute
introduction and end each class with a 5-minute closing.

Appendix
Connect and Collaborate From Anywhere with Digital Tools

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Introduce the lesson and prompt students to think about why people may feel disconnected from colleagues,
friends, or family members when they are not located in the same place and what ideas they may have for
improving how they connect and collaborate.
Say To get started and join our class, go to g.co/applieddigitalskills and select “Sign In.” Click on
your Google account (or create one), choose “I am a student,” and enter our class code.
(Teacher note: Locate your class code on your dashboard.) After you join our class,
proceed to Video 1 and begin watching.

Ask ● How does it make you feel when you have to accomplish a project or task with
others, but you are not located in the same place?
● What are some technologies people use to stay connected to friends and family
members who are far away, and how might these tools be applied in the workplace?

Describe the activities and outcomes for the lesson.

Say In this lesson, you will select a digital collaboration skill to learn.

Say Go to g.co/applieddigitalskills and select “Sign In” to log into your profile. If you see “Wait,”
click it and move onto the next unit. If you already see “Introduction to Connect and
Collaborate Anywhere with Digital Tools,” then you are ready to begin watching the first
video. Watch the first video, and complete the steps described.

Teacher Note If students need help accessing the lesson, have them navigate the curriculum menu by
clicking on “Lessons” at the top of the page, then scrolling down and selecting the correct
lesson.

Intro/Closing ● Why do you think more people are able to work from home these days?
Questions ● What obstacles do you think you would encounter if you were a remote worker?

Engage ● When you learn something new, how do you make sure you will remember the skill,
information, or knowledge? What are some other techniques you could try to
reinforce a new ability?

Wrap up the lesson.

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Wrap-Up Summarize the lesson and celebrate that, as a result of the skills learned, they learned a
new skill.

Say In this lesson, you learned a new digital collaboration tool that can help you connect with
others no matter their locations, make teams more efficient and productive, and help
achieve business objectives.

Ask ● What did you learn that can help you do your job or school work more successfully in
the future?
● Do you think you would enjoy working from home?

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