Collaborations with Google

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Accessing Google Collaborations

Canvas uses collaborative technology to allow multiple users to work together on the same document at the same time. Collaborative documents are saved in real-time, meaning a change made by any of the members will be immediately visible to everyone. You can use Google Drive to create a collaboration with Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides.

Course Collaborations

In the course navigation, click on the "Collaboration" link. The Collaborations page displays all collaborations where you have been invited to participate. You can view the name of the collaboration, description, person that created the collaboration, and date that the collaboration was created.

Group Collaborations

1. 1. In the Global Navigation, click on the "Groups" button.
  2. Select the group page that you would like to access.
  3. On the group page, click on the "Collaborations" link. The Collaborations page displays all collaborations where your group has been invited to participate.

Group collaborations would only be available if your instructor has created Groups in the course.

Creating a Google Collaboration

You can use Google Drive to create a collaboration with a Google Document, Spreadsheet, or Presentation. Google Docs allows you to add up to 50 users per collaboration, and all users can view and edit a document at the same time.

Creating a Google Drive Collaboration

1. 1. In Course Navigation, click the Collaborations link.
  2. Click the + Start a new collaboration button.
  3. If you have not previously authorized Google Drive access in Canvas, you may be prompted to authorize access. Click the Authorize button.
  4. Select "Document," "Presentation," or "Sheet," from the drop-down menu.
  5. Add the name and details for the collaboration.
  6. Select the name of a person in the course, OR use the "Groups" tab to add classmates to your collaboration document.
  7. Click "Submit".

Keep in mind that your instructor can view and access all collaborations added in the course, even if you do not add your instructor to the collaboration directly.

All collaborators must have a Google account and will need to authorize Canvas before they can view the collaboration.

You can add multiple groups to a collaboration, but all groups will collaborate in the same document.

Related Canvas Guides

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