Google Drive and iPad - it never gets dull in the cloud

Are you using an iPad or iPhone and connect from there to Google drive?

(if you are not, some of your students will!)

So far you had only 2 basic options:

- use a browser (such as Chrome) and use the 'desktop' version of Google drive (same as using your laptop)

- use the 'Drive' App on your iPad/Phone (and live with the limitations of cumbersome editing)

Google has changed it's philosophy, and now offers (3 so far) separate apps for accessing and working with 

content in your drive from a mobile platform.

New: Google Drive to view

   and 

   Google Sheets to edit

   Google Docs to edit.

Are we there yet?

Nope, not completely. Of course, we will want to see an App for Google presentation slides (soon!)

and there are still significant differences between the mobile and desktop user experience.

Now, what are some of the improvements with this splitting of Apps?

Commenting:

Now possible, and one can see the workflow in all docs. (Add comments and resolve them)

Working off-line:

Hurrah. Typing and learning in the bus, on the beach, now possible!

Whenever one comes back into a wireless network, files and content will be synced again.

4-Digit passcode:

You can set (and it's recommended!) a 4-digit passcode to protect the contents of your Google Drive folder.

The code can be different on each device you own, giving you the option to - e.g. - secure a device that is also used by your children.

As comments suggest, Google is aiming here to compete better with it's close competitors

(Microsoft with Office 365 in the cloud, and Apple with iWork in iCloud). Separate apps can do

this better, hence the split up of the single Google Drive app.