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Using Google Docs

activities for teaching biology

Log in to your Google account.
On the Serendip page for the activity you want to use, click on the link for the Student Handout Google Doc.
Click on the Make a Copy button to make a copy in your Google drive where you can edit the Student Handout.
If you want to rename the file or move your copy of the Student Handout to a folder of Serendip biology activities, click on the File tab and then click on Rename or Move.
You can instruct each student to make a copy of the Student Handout; they just need to click on the File tab and then click on Make a Copy. Then, each student can answer the questions in his/her individual copy.
To encourage discussion, you can have pairs of students collaborate electronically to answer the questions.
Some questions require students to label a diagram or draw on a figure. To answer these questions, students can either print the relevant pages, draw on those and send you a picture, or they will need to know how to modify a drawing online. They can double-click on the relevant drawing in the Google doc, which will open a drawing window. Then, they can use the editing tools to add lines, shapes, text boxes.[1]
To make shorter assignments, you can either assign specific questions or a single page in the Student Handout or you can create shorter Google Docs. To create shorter Google Docs, decide how many assignments you want to make from the Student Handout and then make that number of copies of the Student Handout (by clicking on the File tab and then make a copy, assigning a new name to each copy, e.g. by adding a number to designate the different parts). Then, for each assignment, just delete the parts that you don’t want.

[1]To draw a line
At the top of the page, find Select line and pick the type of line you want.

Place the line on your drawing:

Line, Elbow Connector, Curved Connector or Arrow: Click to start, then drag across the canvas.
Curve or Polyline: Click to start, then click at each point you want the line to bend. Double-click or complete the shape to finish.
Scribble: Click to start, then drag across the canvas.

To draw a shape