School Loop Google Drive Integration

Carlsbad Unified, along with hundreds of other school districts, use School Loop for their major home-school communication system.  Recently, the company announced that they are working on a Google Drive Integration project (currently in beta). This allows users to access their Google Drive from School Loop lockers (online file storage portals).  Districts must request this feature in order for it to be turned on, and Carlsbad was one of the first districts to do so.

Some of  the benefits of Google Integration include:

• It is easy to move files back and forth between Google Drive and School Loop lockers.
• Students can actually submit assignments stored in their Drive via their School Loop locker without having the download and upload the files.
• Creating the document in Google Drive and then copying it to the locker will create a link to the file in Drive (not just a copy), so any changes made to it will be reflected in the locker.  This solves the "multiple copies" issue that many have experienced using the lockers to transfer files to and from home.
• Have a typo your document? No worries. Teachers can make changes to assignments/resources and give students immediate access to the most updated version. 
• Use the same documents/resources year after year in your classroom? Now teachers can safely store their documents in Google Drive and easily link them to School Loop lockers when appropriate during the school year.
• Schools can ensure all documents linked on their webpages are the most up to date by using Google Drive. 

I asked Ashley Crawford (@AshleyC13368912), teacher at Aviara Oaks Middle School, if she was interested in playing with the new system and she jumped at it.  AOM is currently piloting Google Apps for Education (GAFE) for our district, so most students have a Google account they can link to their locker. I spoke with her yesterday and she is absolutely loving it.

A couple of things to note before linking Google Drive and School Loop lockers:

• The user (student/teachers/staff) must be using the new updated Locker system in School Loop.  This new version makes it easier to navigate through the many different lockers teachers may have (personal locker, different course lockers, group lockers, website lockers, etc) and to use a drag and drop feature to add files to them. To activate it, open your locker and click on Try our new locker.
• Your Google Drive must have a folder in it before you attempt to connect it to School Loop lockers. That is a little glitch in the system that will be fixed on the next update.
• Once you are using the new locker, you can connect to your Google Drive using the button shown below.  You will be asked to enter your Google Account name and your Google password. Just agree to the Terms and Conditions and you're done.
  
  

For more information on using Google Drive and School Loop lockers, check out these School Loop webpages here and here.

While Carlsbad is working on the transition to GAFE, any teacher who has their own Google account can use that to link to School Loop lockers. So go for it! Try it! And let me know how it goes!