Those of us who love Google Docs/Drive and iPads have long lamented that the two don't play well together. An update to the Google Drive App is finally beginning to make that friendship a reality. Here is a quick overview of the top four new features.
Edit Google Docs within the App:
You can now edit Google Docs from within the Drive App. The lack of this functionality made the App virtually pointless before. Shared Docs can be edited in real time and you can easily see who is editing the doc with you. Unfortunately the editor still lacks an integrated chat and does not have the full functionality of browser based Google Docs. Most notably lacking is the comment feature that teachers love.
Create a new Google Docs within the App:
Now you can create a new Document, and also a new folder, right in Google Drive. Since you have always been able to control sharing within Google Drive there is no need for a computer to create and share your Google Docs.
Import Photo or Video:
Another great new feature is the ability to import directly from the camera roll. This is great particularly for those teachers who want to use iMovie for students to create video project. Previously it was difficult for students to share their work without using Social Media sites or several Apps. Now they simply save the video to the Camera Roll and upload it to Google Drive.
Keep your Google Drive Organized:
Google Drive now allows you to keep your files organized from within the App. You could always rename your documents, but now you an move them from one folder into another.
For now you can not edit Google Spreadsheets or Presentations from within the app. You also cannot convert .docs to Google Docs format from within the App. There is still plenty more functionality that I would like to see Google add, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
As more and more Apps add the functionality to export to Google Drive we may actually see Google Apps and and iPad becoming a great educational team.
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