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Google Workspace

If your institution's system administrator has integrated Google Workspace, you can add read-only or collaborative Google documents to your courses. Areas where you can add files include:

  • Your Course Content area

  • Learning Modules

  • Folders

There are two options for adding files from Google Workspace to your course.

  1. Read-only for students. You can link to read-only Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides from your Google Workspace to your courses in Blackboard. These Google documents are read-only for students, but you can edit them within Blackboard. You do not need to go to your Google Drive to edit documents.

  2. Editing access for students. You can add collaborative Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides that students can edit. Students can collaborate with each other and engage more deeply with your course content.

Important

To use Google Workspace within Blackboard, your institution's system administrator needs to register the Google Workspace LTI tool in the Administrator Panel.

Settings available for Google Documents

Read-only files in Google Workspace have the same settings available as other files in Blackboard. Settings included for read-only files are:

  • Align the file to course goals and outcomes

  • Class conversations

  • Description

Select Save to apply your settings.

Image of the Cloud Document Settings panel

The document is embedded, depending on the document type, and now available in your course.

Image of a Google Sheets document embedded in Learn, with editing options available

Edit a Google Document

You can edit the document in Blackboard without opening your Google Workspace in another tab or window in your browser.

Image of a Google Sheet embedded in Learn. The ribbon for editing a document is highlighted.

You can also edit additional document settings within Blackboard. You can edit:

  • Student visibility

  • Document name

Changes to the document name you make in Blackboard do not affect the document name in your Google Workspace.

Create a Google collaborative document

Google collaborative documents provide students with opportunities to engage with one another as well as engage more deeply with your course content. You can create a Google collaborative document from within Blackboard.

Important

To use Google Workspace within Blackboard, your institution’s system administrator needs to register the Google Workspace LTI tool in the Administrator Panel.

Select the plus button on the Course Content page. In the Create Item panel, select Google Collaborative Document under Participation and Engagement.

Once the login window displays, log in to your Google Workspace account with your username and password.

Create Item panel with Google Collaborative Document highlighted

On the Create a new collaborative document page, you can either

  • Create a new file in Blackboard or

  • Select an existing file in your Google Drive

For either option, you are required to add a name under Document Name. You can also add an optional Description to add context or instructions for students.

Create a new file

Files that will be rendered in the Google picker are the files stored in your My Drive folder. Select your file and then select Save.

Now the document is available to you and your students for collaboration.

Create a new collaborative document page with File Type highlighted

Add an existing file in Google Drive

To add an existing file in Google Drive, select the Select File button.

Create a new collaborative document page with Select File highlighted

Choose your file and select Select. Once it's chosen, if you need to remove the file, select Remove File. Otherwise, select Save.

  • Google Docs

  • Google Sheets

  • Google Slides

A pop up to your drive will display, allowing you to add.

To create a new file, select the menu under File Type. You have the option to add

  • Google Docs

  • Google Sheets

  • Google Slides

Now the document is available to you and your students for collaboration.

Create a new collaborative document page with Google File Picker popup

Once added to your course, you can edit the document without opening your Google Workspace in another tab or window in your browser.

You can also edit additional document settings within Blackboard. You can edit

  • Student visibility

  • Document name

Changes to the document name you make in Blackboard do not affect the document name in your Google Workspace.

Once a document is available to students, they can select it and immediately begin editing.

Google Collaborative Document embedded in Learn Ultra

Tip

TIP: If you uploaded a document to your Google Workspace that is a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file, you can still link the document. Go to your Google Workspace outside of Blackboard, then open the document that you want to link. Select Save as a Google Document in the File menu.