Do use your Google Drive often? Would you like to be able to access your Google Drive with your iPad or iPhone/iPod? What’s the app for that?  The Google Drive App!

Google Drive App  (free) developed by Google provides mobile access to your documents, files and media on your iPhone, iPad or Android device. Google provides 5 GB of space with their free Google Drive account with additional storage available for purchase. Similar to Dropbox, Google Drive App provides Cloud based storage between devices with WiFi/ or Internet connection. With many institutions using Google services (especially school systems), use of an app with direct connection makes retrieval and storage (workflow) easier.

Here’s a few things you can do with your iOS Google Drive app:

• Edit Google documents with formatting and collaboration
• Manage Google presentations with animations and speaker notes
• Create new folder or Google document
• Upload photos and videos from your device or a photo directly from your camera
• Organize documents and folders within your Drive
• Some document and media formats are available offline

Here’s what the iOS app looks like:

Basic functions are available, but I find in the school system this is a wonderful method of managing photos and videos taken on an iPad. How many times have you been asked why you can’t download an app or take anymore picture due to maxed capacity of your device due to media? Move it the photos, videos to your Google Drive for retrieval on your mobile device or to print or manage off of your device from your Google account!

Here are some of the features available in Android Google Drive:

• Create folder, upload to folder and move to folder.
• Filter folder contents by file type.
• Option to auto-sync pinned content while on 3G.
• View presentations
• Basic table support in Documents Editor.
• Create, reply and resolve comments in Documents Editor.
• View and change fonts in Documents Editor.
• Pinch to zoom in Documents Editor.
• Print files using Google Cloud Print.

Here’s what the Android Google Drive app looks like:

Video overview of what of the Android Google Drive app has to offer:

Both apps appear similar. The listing of the Android Google Drive shows a few more functions than the iOS however at initial glance they look very similar. Recent updates of the Android app may provide different functions.

With Google Educators account available in more and more schools, Google Drive becomes a familiar and secure location for managing documents of a sensitive nature (check with your institutions rules for that) and media with access 24/7 . I am happy to have a Google developed app that supplies access my files from my mobile device. It may not be as full featured as the options available in Google on my laptop, but it provides an easy access, transfer and storage for some file formats. This is a must have for my OT iTool Kit as well as for the rest of the iPads at our school for workflow management.

Unfamiliar with Google Drive Accounts? For more information check out what they have to offer here: https://www.google.com/intl/en_US/drive/start/index.html?authuser=0

More on about uses of Google apps to come!

Carol