Google Workspace
Google Workspace is a suite of tools including Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Sites. They enhance communication and collaboration, making it easy to work and study from any device.
The key tools include:
- Gmail: your personal inbox which integrates with Google Calendar and other apps
- Drive: cloud storage for storing and sharing files securely
- Docs, Sheets and Slides: collaborative document editing, spreadsheets and presentations with real-time feedback
- Forms: create surveys, quizzes and forms for data collection
- Sites: simple website creation for projects, portfolios and class pages.
See about Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms for more information.
Key features
- Collaborative editing: you view, edit and collaborate on documents together in real-time. (Store collaborative documents in shared Google Drives so your team can access documents even if the original creator leaves the University.)
- Regular backups: your work will save automatically in the cloud, providing you have an internet connection.
- Offline access: you can make files available for offline editing.
- Version history: keep track of everyone's changes to your document and revert to an older version.
- Mobile access: work on the go with Google Workspace mobile apps.
Access instructions
- Sign in with your University email address.
- Google two-factor authentication (2FA) is mandatory for University Google accounts.
- If you’re based in a country that prohibits access to Google, you can set up email forwarding.
- There are some limitations to using this service in sanctioned countries.
Additional information
About Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms
Docs
- Easily format your documents.
- Invite others by email to edit or view your documents by sharing a link.
- Collaborate online in real time and chat with other collaborators.
- View your documents' revision history and restore a previous version.
- Publish documents online as web pages, or post documents to your blog.
- Export documents as Word, OpenOffice, RTF, PDF, HTML or zip files.
- Upload and convert Word docs, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML, text (.txt), Open Office (.odt) and StarOffice Writer (.sxw) files.
- Use with Paperpile for referencing.
- Lacks complex layout options and other advanced Word features, but includes features designed to aid collaboration.
- Request digital signatures using eSignature fields.
We don't recommend Google Docs for producing a final thesis, as a thesis will often include features that are either not supported in Google Docs or are better supported in Word.
For more information:
Sheets
- Import and convert .xls, .csv, .txt and .ods formatted data.
- Export sheets as .xls, .csv, .txt and .ods formatted data and PDF and HTML files.
- Use formatting and formula editing so you can calculate results and make your data look the way you want it.
- Chat in real time with others who are editing your spreadsheet.
- Create charts and gadgets.
- Embed a spreadsheet, or individual sheets of your spreadsheet, in your blog or website.
- Comparable functionality to Excel, with features designed to aid collaboration.
- Create rules in spreadsheets that send email notifications when certain criteria are met.
For more information:
Slides
- Share and edit presentations with course groups and colleagues.
- Suitable for digital whiteboarding. In a group, work on the same slide together, or if you want each user or breakout group to have their own space to work on, assign them a specific slide number.
- Import and convert existing presentations in .ppt and .pps file types.
- Export your presentations as a PDF, a PPT, or a TXT file.
- Insert images and videos, and format your slides to fit your preferences.
- Allow real-time viewing of presentations, online, from separate remote locations.
- Publish and embed your presentations in a website, allowing access to a wide audience.
- Record your presentation as a video.
For more information:
- Getting Started Guide for Google Slides (support.google.com)
- Practical guide for Presentations
Forms
- Create professional-looking forms/surveys.
- Share your survey via email.
- View responses in a spreadsheet format.
- Automatically generate sophisticated charts and graphs.
For more information:
Google integrations
To keep our University information secure, users are not allowed to integrate new third-party services that require high-risk permissions into their University Google accounts. This includes services that request access to read, write, or delete content in Google Drive, Mail, or Calendar.
High-risk permissions into Google are controlled by the Cyber Security team and will only be granted to enterprise-grade software that has been introduced in alignment with the University's Cloud Computing policy.
To request that a third-party application be integrated into Google, please complete the Google integration request form. As well as aligning with the Cloud Computing policy integrations will need to evidence a meaningful operational benefit to a large number of university users.
Assistive technologies which require high-risk permissions will be assessed on a case by case basis to meet the needs of staff and students.