Embedded Files
How to Access Backpack for Google Drive
How to Access Backpack for Google Drive
Go to the link provided for you by your school IT staff for your customized Backpack platform. This may also be provided as an icon in Google waffle or as a managed bookmark.
Click log in
If you are asked to select an account, select your school-provided Google account. You may be asked more than once.
You may be asked to agree to give Backpack access to your Drive and other information. Click allow.
If you do not have access, notify your school IT staff to get access.
Adding Classes
Adding Classes
In the Rosters page, click the + to add a class. You can add an existing Google Classroom (strongly recommended) or add students manually. Choosing an existing Google Classroom allows your roster to sync daily and stay up to date
Once you've added a class, clicking the three dots menu allows you to change, archive or force sync a class the class. Once you add a student to your roster, you will have access to their Google Drive Artifacts folders.
Viewing Students’ Artifacts
Viewing Students’ Artifacts
Click the class’s title to provide a high level overview of student work.
The colored numbers under the Skills competency indicator show how many Artifacts a student has submitted in that category for the current school year. The Academic years dropdown lets you toggle between school years to see year over year comparison. Clicking on the student’s name allows you to view their Artifacts, reflections, showcases, and recent activity. Clicking the folder shows you the student’s Artifacts in their Google Drive.
If you see blanks instead of totals listed for Artifacts, the students have not yet signed into Backpack. Clicking on the folder will create the Google Drive Artifact folders for the students. In general we recommend that teachers not create folders for students, since students will better understand their purpose if you allow them to be created automatically the first time they log in.
Student folders and file counts sync automatically whenever a student logs in, or a teacher views their artifacts page. If Artifact folders are trashed, moved, or renamed by accident, the tool will restore them.
Single Student View
Single Student View
Click on a single student to get a detailed view of Artifacts and alignment per Skill. Clicking into each category allows you to view the Artifacts and reflections that have submitted in that category. Clicking the refresh will force a sync with the Google Drive folders where their Artifacts are saved, and the history shows the artifact activity history. You can also add Artifacts for the student if you feel like an assignment should be nominated for a Skill. Clicking Add allows you to pick an existing document or add a new one.
How to Add Collaborative Artifacts
How to Add Collaborative Artifacts
Team projects can be great examples of Skills concepts, but typically are done using a shared document. Shared documents are still able to be added as Skills even if the student is not the owner of the original document. The tool will recognize that the document is not theirs, and prompt them to create a copy of the document to be saved in their Google Drive, allowing them to proceed with adding it as an Artifact.
Single Artifact View
Single Artifact View
Click on an Artifact title to open the single Artifact view, where you have edit access to the Artifact using Google's inline commenting feature. You will also be able to see the student alignment and reflection on the Artifact.
Viewing Showcases
Viewing Showcases
After you click on a student from the roster, there are 2 tabs across the top of the screen. The first is Artifacts, the second is Showcase. Clicking on Showcase will allow you to search and view and Showcases that the student has created.
Selecting one of the Showcases will allow you to see any of the artifacts and Google Slides presentations they have added. You can comment on the Presentation or artifacts through Google's commenting features, or you can leave feedback by clicking on Give Feedback.
Showcase Feedback Requests Inbox
Showcase Feedback Requests Inbox
Yourself and students are able to communicate through feedback requests on Showcases. You can access those feedback requests in 2 ways; from the home tile or from the menu sidebar. There are also notifications in each place to show how many new feedback requests you have.
Clicking in either place will bring you to your feedback inbox. Here is where you can respond to feedback, and see the status of existing feedback requests. Your inbox is organized by feedback status, as well as a dropdown menu that allows you to filter by class.
Clicking on any of the feedback requests will pop open the related Showcase, allowing you to real-time converse with your students on their Showcase. Active conversations will show under the Unresolved Feedback Requests section, and once you or the student marks the conversation as resolved, it will be moved down to the Resolved Feedback Requests section and is able to reference again if needed.
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