Free Google Lessons for Students: Google Applied Digital Skills

Today we are talking all about Google Applied Digital Skills. This is a curriculum that Google has developed that not only teaches students how to use Google apps, but it also teaches them how to create something of value. 

Instead of just making a random spreadsheet and playing with the fields, the lesson asks them to create a study schedule for themselves or a place to keep track of college research and applications. 

It is an incredible tool that is completely free! It also integrates with Google Classroom and has its own grade book area where you can see student progress and check their understanding. 

I am so passionate about students understanding the technology before they are asked to use it for content learning and this is a great way to teach the Google Tools before you dive into using them all of the time in your classroom. 

Here is a quick rundown of my favorite lesson (but remember that they are adding new lessons all the time, so there are a ton of awesome new ones coming out all of the time!): 

• My absolute favorite is one that teaches students all about Google Drive while also helping them to get organized! What could be better than that!? The “Use Drive to Organize Files” Lesson takes the students through what drive is, what it does and walks them through making folders for themselves to get organized. (If your students are already Google Drive rockstars, you could skip all the videos and such and do my Organizing Google Drive Lesson linked here. 

•  The next lesson is actually a student favorite and that is what makes it one of my favorites. The “Write an If-Then Adventure Story” lesson teaches students all about Google Slides while also asking them to be creative and create a super fun story. The best part? When they share them with the other students in class and they all have a ton of fun going through each other’s stories!

• Another super practical lesson that I like to do at the beginning of the school year is the “Organize Your Time with a Digital Agenda” lesson. It takes students through Google Calendar and they actually make a plan for themselves to get their time and themselves organized! I know that Google Calendar is indispensable to me and I use it for like everything, so helping them learn about it early, can help them get their life in order early on. 

• Another practical one that I use with my high schoolers is the “Create a Resume in Google Docs” lesson. It goes over how to write a quality resume and helps them access the templates that already exist in Google Docs. Then they learn about formatting and revising their resume. It is a great way to help teach high school students this invaluable skill.

• The final one is pretty cool because it helps students learn about Gmail as well as emailing skills and goal setting! The “Schedule Emails for Goal-Setting” lesson teaches students about all the cool features in email that they can use when writing emails and then has them send emails to themselves and schedule them for their future to check in about their goals. (If you are looking for a way to also teach your students about email etiquette, check out my fun email activity here.)

Head over to the Google Applied Digital Skills website and browse through their lessons! There are so many and they are adding more all the time. There are some in there that are brand new since I last used it just a couple of months ago! 

If you are looking for a way to introduce your students to all the Google Apps before diving into each one with Google Applied Digital Skills, check out my Basics of Google lesson!