Google Drive Assignments

Platform Managers can integrate Google Drive with online submissions for assignments in Blackbaud's Learning Management System. For information about how to enable the integration from Core, refer to Google Drive for Students.

Note: Single Sign On (SSO) with Google is not required to use the Google Drive integration.

Tip: Watch the video demonstration on YouTube.

When the integration is enabled, students can submit files from their Google Drive accounts for assignments that have Blackbaud online submissions enabled. To do so, students select Attach Files on the Assignment Detail page. They then select Add from Google Drive to login and select the appropriate files.

  • If a student selects a non-Google file from Google Drive, the file is handled the same as a file selected from the student’s local computer.

  • If a student selects a Google file, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides from Google Drive, the student can choose:

    • to convert the file and submit it as an attachment for the faculty to download. The student must select a conversion format based on the Google file type.

      • Google Docs can be converted to PDF, HTML, Text (TXT), RTF, Open Office (ODT), or Word (DOCX).

      • Google Sheets can be converted to PDF, CSV, Excel (XLSX), or Open Office (ODS).

      • Google Slides can be converted to PDF, Text (TXT), or PowerPoint (PPTX).

    • to submit the file as a Google Drive Link which the faculty can access from Google’s website. The student must ensure that the file is shared correctly. If the files is not shared correctly, the faculty won’t be able to access it in Google. When faculty access files in Google Drive, they can use Google’s collaboration tools. Based on the sharing settings, these may include the ability to edit and/or add comments to the shared document.

      Before attaching a Google Drive file to an online submission assignment, students see the filename, the type of file it is, and who the file is going to be shared with. All faculty for the active term are selected to have the file shared with them by default, though students can select or add specific users from Share if needed.

Note: If a student submits a file as a Google Drive Link, they can still access and modify the file after submitting it for their assignment. To prevent students from editing files after submitting, instruct students to convert their files to one of the available file types. Keep in mind that faculty cannot utilize Google's collaboration tools on converted files.

When faculty access the Assignment Detail page, they are able to click on the name of each student to see all submitted files. Depending on how the student uploaded the files, they may see options to download, annotate, or share via the Google icon.

If a file is shared via Google Drive, the faculty will have access to all of the tools that Google Drive offers, including commenting, editing, revision history, and many more. Once saved, the file will be automatically updated.