Skip to main content

Compare Two Google Documents - Great for Grading or Seeing Differences!

Have you ever faced a situation where two Google documents exist that are similar, and you want to quickly figure out the differences?  Last week's blog post covered how you can use Version History to compare a single document's changes over time - and even restore a previous version if you had an 'oops'!

This week we explore the newly introduced option to compare two separate documents.

If you are a teacher who has students submit one document as a 'rough draft,' and students submit an entirely different document as their 'final draft,' you should love how easy it is to see what suggestions students incorporated into the last version.

Comparing Two Google Documents:

To analyze the differences between the two documents, open the first document.   From the toolbar, select Tools > Compare Documents.
  • In the dialogue, click on Choose document to select the second Google Doc to compare against. 
  • In the “Attribute differences to field,” enter the name of the user who will be labeled as the author of the suggested edits in the comparison output file. 
  • Select Compare





Google will notify you when the document highlighting changes and comments has been created for your review!




Graphics courtesy of the GSuite Updates blog.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Draftback Replays a Google Document's Changes in Video Format!

Student plagiarism can be a problem.  The world we live in makes it easy for students to copy/paste,  using works not their own. Identifying plagiarism and addressing it is a big part of students learning to be good digital citizens.  My last post outlined the new Originality Reports in Google Classroom, which check student submissions for plagiarism and incorrect or missing citations.    Occasionally, you will have a situation that needs a thorough investigation.  The Google Chrome extension Draftback is your superhero in this situation!  (Shout out to the Science Department, who discovered this gem!) Can't I see a document's version history? You may be aware that you can look at the revision history for any Google Doc or Slide.  Click File>Version History>See version history.   You are provided a right sidebar.  You can click on any revision to review the document at that time.  Changes from the pr...

Google Classroom: Why Are Students Seeing Graded Returned Work as Assigned or Late?

Are students giving you feedback that work you returned to them after grading is now showing as 'late' or 'assigned'?   The addition of the Grading module to Google Classroom has impacted this process.  Read on to understand what is happening and how to fix it! What is happening? Let's follow through the typical workflow in Google Classroom where students are submitting work to you.  You create an assignment in Google Classroom and assign the appropriate points to the assignment .   You assign the work to students, which puts the work in status ' Assigned ' in the student view.   After updating the assignment, students turn in or submit work back to you by clicking the Turn In button.   The work status changes to ' Turned in.' After grading, you return work to students.  This is a necessary step to ensure the student owns the document.   The status now changes to ' Returned ' if you...

Zipgrade - Leverage your phone camera for grading!

If you have used a scantron to grade exams in the past, you may have been frustrated with the Scantron availability, speed, accuracy, and data.  Consider using Zipgrade , a free app that leverages the camera in your cell phone! Why Should I use Zipgrade? Quick -  grade your exams as fast as your phone camera scans! Easy to use! Accurate! Cost effective  - 100 scans per month free! Convenient  - grade tests when you want, not when the machine is available! If you change the answer key, Zipgrade re-grade s all exams automatically! Easy to analyze data by student and question! How do I use Zipgrade? Create Account & Download App Navigate to  https://www.zipgrade.com/login/ and create an account. Download the Zipgrade app from the appropriate app store for your phone: App Store Google Play Create a Class While logged into Zipgrade's web application, under the  Class heading, select Add New Class ...