Create a shared class folder on Google Drive
Did you know that Google Drive can be used to share documents, spreadsheets, forms, as well as audio and video - which can be played directly in Google drive?
If you've decided to use Google Drive to share resources with your students, we recommend you start by creating a shared folder on Google Drive.
Once you create a folder and ensure the students have access to view the contents of the folder, all you need to do is upload the content to be shared!
Below, we have outlined two different ways of sharing this folder, depending on the nature of the content.
Important: If you plan to use Google Drive to have your students upload or collaborate on work, we recommend making the folder completely private.
Support
Digital Media Projects does not provide technical support for Google Workspace. For technical support, please contact:
- Email: help@torontomu.ca
- Faculty & Staff Support:
(416) 979 - 5000 ext. 556806
- Student Support:
(416) 979 - 5000 ext. 556840
Google Drive can be found in my.torontomu.ca, under "Apps".
- Click the New button in the top-left corner of Google Drive.
- Click Folder in the menu.
- Enter a name for the new folder. We recommend using a combination of your course code, term and section number (if appropriate).
- Click the Create button at the bottom.
Note: you can create folders within this folder to further organize the content you wish to share with your students.
If your content is private, and you only want the members of your class to be able to access it, you may want to use a class Google Group.
Select the folder name you would like to share and a dropdown menu will appear.
Select Share, and then select Share again in the submenu.
Within the sharing pop-up, type in the email address of the Google Group you created for your class. Hit the Enter or Return key on your keyboard.
Look to the right of the class email address. You should see a dropdown menu, possibly with the label Viewer or Editor. Select this to review the sharing permission options.
We recommend setting the permission to Viewer, which will only allow your students to view the contents of the folder and not edit them, nor make changes to the folder itself.
You may want to write a message to let the students know about the new class folder. An email will be sent to them with a link to the folder. Alternatively, you can uncheck the Notify people checkbox if you would prefer not to notify the students about the shared folder.
Select the Send to proceed with the changes.
Note: Users will be required to login with only their TMU Google account in order to access this content.
If the content you are sharing isn't private, but you don't want it to be totally visible to the public, you may choose to share the folder with anyone at Toronto Metropolitan University who has the link to the content.
Please note that this setting may not be appropriate if your students will be contributing to the folder, or the documents contained within.
Within the sharing pop-up, under “General access” select the Restricted button.
Select Toronto Metropolitan University within the dropdown menu.
Please note, users will be required to login with only their TMU Google account in order to access this content.
We recommend setting the permission to Viewer, which will only allow your students to view the contents of the folder and not edit them, nor make changes to the folder itself.
Select Copy link and then select Done. You can now share the link to the folder.
We've heard from many instructors who would like to share content, but prevent it from being downloaded by the students.
This isn't something that can be set on an entire folder - you need to enable it on each item.
This will not prevent students from recording their screens, taking photos/screenshots or copying and pasting sections of text.
This setting does not disable downloading for those with edit access to the item.
Create or upload an item into your shared Google drive folder.
Select the item you would like to share. A toolbar will appear below the folder name. Select the Share button.
Within the sharing pop-up, look to the top-right and select the Settings button.
Some new options will appear. Uncheck the option Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print and copy.
Select the back button (left arrow) to go back to the sharing settings and select Done.
Once you have created content and folders in Google Drive and set the sharing settings so that your students can access them, how do you provide them with the links?
We recommend posting the links to your class Google resources and activities to the Content tool in D2L Brightspace. This is an ideal place to collect all class resources so students can easily find them.
You may also choose to provide links via email or other tools in Brightspace, like Announcements... but we recommend also having the links available in the Content.
Copy the link from Google
You can select folders and items, and then select the Copy Link from the toolbar that appears. This toolbar appears below the folder name, and sometimes to the right of the item you are selecting. Alternatively, right click on the folder or item, and then select Share, and then Copy Link.
There is a slightly different process required for embedding multimedia files from Google, which we have outlined in our document on sharing audio and video from Google.
Once you have the link copied, you can proceed to the sharing steps!
"Create a Link" in the Brightspace Content tool
- Login to D2L Brightspace, enter your course shell, and go to the Contents tool.
- If you already have a module in which you would like to share the audio/video link, go into that module. If not, create a new module.
- Click the "Upload / Create" button, then "Create a link".
- Give the new link a title, then paste the address of your Google Drive file into the "URL" field.
- You may need to check the box "Open as External Resource" if your files are located in a Google Shared Drive or if you are linking to a folder. Otherwise, you may choose to leave this unchecked.
- Click the "Create" button.
As long as the Google Drive folder has been properly shared and the students are only logged in with their TMU Google account, the audio/video should play directly in D2L Brightspace.
Are your students emailing you to request access to a Google document that you know you have already shared with the class?
It may be that the student has another Google account that is conflicting with their Toronto Metropolitan University account, and is preventing them from accessing your shared resources.
Here is a workflow that should prevent this problem.
These instructions can also be found on the student guide to accessing content in D2L Brightspace - please feel free to share it with them.
Recommendation: Use a separate browser for your TMU account and personal accounts. We recommend using Google Chrome for all TMU related applications. Consider using Mozilla Firefox or Safari for personal accounts.
Otherwise, these steps will help to ensure you can access content that is shared with you from Google Drive.
- Go to google.com (external link) and select the user icon in the top-right corner. This pop-up will tell you which account you are currently logged into, and give you the option to logout or add your TMU account to this list.
- You can either select:
- Sign out of all accounts. This quick method is useful for a one-time access of materials, but adding your TMU account will ensure your access isn't impeded long-term. If your course relies heavily on materials shared from Google Drive, adding your TMU account may be the better option.
- Or you can Add another account, and then proceed to login using your TMU email address and password.
In this example, you can see the person is both logged into their personal and TMU account.
- Go to my.torontomu.ca and log out completely. You must restart the login process from the beginning.
- After logging out, log back in at my.torontomu.ca. Complete the remaining steps within 30 minutes.
- Select the Apps drawer and open Google Drive, just to ensure you have a new session in your TMU Google account.
- Proceed to the page or application from which you are trying to access shared Google content (D2L Brightspace, email, or another application used in your course).
Google Workspace general information
Google Workspace is the university's official email, calendar & file storage platform, which includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Meet, and more.