Learn Google Docs

Whether you are a High School student or a Undergrad/Grad student or even an adult learner, this learning capsule can help you with an important digital literacy skill – creating and editing documents like your resume, project reports, assignments and more.

Remember: Learning the tool is NOT enough. A life skill is to be able to create impactful communications.

What You Need

Ensure you have a Google Account. <your google id>@gmail.com. From your Gmail Inbox, you should be able to access Google Drive, Google Docs and other workspace apps. A Headphone helps as you will view videos suggested in this capsule.

Start Learning

Work on these Google published courses in the order suggested:

  1. Create a Resume in Google Docs
    Design, write, and format a professional resume that stands out.
  2. Evaluate Credibility of Online Sources
  3. Determine if a source is credible using a table of key questions in a document.
  4. Annotate Text in Google Docs
    Increase your understanding of what you read by making digital notes in an article.
  5. Plan and Promote an Event
    Promote an event by creating to-do lists and assigning tasks to others.
  6. Create a Photo Journal in Google Docs
    Write a journal about your experiences and add photos to a digital document.
  7. Write a Press Release
    Communicate the important details of a project to the public by writing a press release in Google Docs.
  8. Take Notes in a Table
    Take notes for class by creating a table in Google Docs.
  9. Write a Story Using Emojis
    Create a rebus by adding emojis to your story in Google Docs.
  10. Write Effectively for Your Audience
    Write appropriate communications for different audiences by customizing language and style.
  11. Use Drive to Organize Files
    Learn how to store, access, and share documents, presentations, forms, and photos in the cloud.

Practice

To practice what you learned, create your actual resume or a project report using Google Docs.

Also, write an instruction manual for an electronic or electric gadget you use often. Remember: you already know what you are trying to teach. But the person reading your manual doesn’t. Communicating what you know is difficult. Find empathy for people who don’t know what you know yet.

If writing a manual for an electronic or electric gadget does not excite you, here are few more ideas:

  • Write a small manual on how to update address on Aadhar website.
  • Write a manual on Google Maps. How to share your current location, or share your trip progress, remember a parking space, invoke street view, estimate trip duration by departure time, or send a map search from your computer to your phone.
  • Write a recipe you learned from your parents or grand-parents

Blog your work on writing an instruction manual or the cooking recipe.
Take feedback from your friends/family after they actually tried using your manual/recipe.

Tip: Importance of planning your Table of Contents (TOC) early

Creating a draft TOC early in your writing helps in so many ways: 

  • Your TOC guides your thinking over the long haul.
  • Your TOC shows you what to focus on, and what to leave out.
  • Your TOC gives you solid structure on which to build new ideas.
  • Your TOC lets you see your entire story in advance.
  • And, of course, your TOC is a critical component of your document! 

A Self Learning Tip: Practice or apply what you learn as often as you can. Successful learners acquire better skills by doing. So, do not skip writing the instruction manual or recipe suggested for practice in the capsule and post it in your blog!

,