5 Powerful Google Docs Features Every Teacher Should Use
5 Powerful Google Docs Features Every Teacher Should Use
12 Tech Tips of Christmas 2025 – Evolve EdTech
Hello everybody and welcome to Day Six of the 12 Tech Tips of Christmas for 2025!
We’ve officially hit the halfway point of the series, and today we’re diving into a tool that has completely transformed the way I plan, collaborate and organise my teaching life: Google Docs.
If we haven’t met before, I’m Tristan Herron, Future-Ready Teaching Specialist at Evolve EdTech, and I’m thrilled you’re joining us for this one. Whether you’re a returning friend or brand new to the series — welcome in. Grab a cuppa, and let’s explore how Google Docs can level up your classroom.
What Is Google Docs (and Why Is It Brilliant for Teachers)?
Google Docs is a cloud-based word processor that lets you and your students:
Create, edit and share documents from any device
Collaborate in real time
Comment, suggest and respond to feedback instantly
Integrate seamlessly with Google Classroom and the wider Google Workspace tools
Some of the most popular ways teachers use Google Docs include:
Drafting and submitting student essays and writing tasks
Creating templates for units, lessons, assessment tasks and reports
Sharing feedback using comments and suggestion mode
Managing group projects and collaborative writing activities
Docs auto-saves as you go (no more “I lost my assignment, sir!”), keeps a full version history, and is constantly evolving with new features that boost productivity and organisation.
Today, we’re zooming in on five powerful — and sometimes underused — features that can make a huge difference to your workflow.
1. Document Tabs: Turn One Doc into a Mini Notebook
If you’re a fan of Microsoft OneNote but prefer staying inside Google’s ecosystem, you’re going to love document tabs.
On the left-hand side of your Doc, you can open a panel that lets you:
Create sections (tabs) within a single document
Use Headings (e.g. Heading 1) to organise content under each tab
Add sub-tabs nested under a main section
Rename sections and even add emojis to make them easy to spot
Some practical ways to use document tabs:
One Doc per unit, with a tab for each lesson
One Doc per class, with tabs for week-by-week lesson plans
A single Doc for report comments, with a tab for each class
Drafting emails or announcements, each stored as a separate tab
This means:
Less hunting through endless files
More structure in your planning
A cleaner, more organised digital space
Think of it as turning one Google Doc into a little digital binder.
2. Building Blocks: Save Time with Reusable Templates
Next up: Building blocks — a game changer if you ever find yourself recreating the same layout over and over.
You’ll find them under:
Insert → Building blocks
Google offers some built-in options (like a task tracker), but the real magic is in Custom building blocks, where you can:
Design something you use regularly, such as:
A relief teacher lesson template
A meeting notes structure
A parent phone call log
A feedback frame for student work
Select that content
Save it as a Custom building block
Then, whenever you need it:
Go to Insert → Building blocks → Custom building blocks
Click your template
It drops straight into your doc, ready to use
No more reinventing tables, layouts or formats every time. Huge time-saver, especially during busy reporting or planning periods.
3. Smart Chips: Make Your Docs Dynamic and Connected
Smart chips turn your documents into interactive, connected hubs — especially handy if you’re working across Google tools all day.
Head to:
Insert → Smart chips
You can add:
Dates (linked to calendar-style options)
People (tagging colleagues or students in your domain)
Files from Google Drive
Calendar events
Dropdowns with custom statuses or labels
The dropdown chips are particularly powerful for teachers. You can:
Create custom dropdowns like:
Not started / In progress / Completed
Draft submitted / Feedback given / Finalised
Absent / Partially completed / Completed
Use them to track:
Student progress on portfolio tasks
Completion of assessments
Follow-up conversations or support
These are great for:
Keeping a live overview of where each student is up to
Collaborating with other staff on shared classes
Running project check-ins with student groups
Smart chips make your Google Docs feel more like a lightweight database, without needing anything complex.
4. Mixed Page Orientations: Portrait and Landscape in One Doc
For a long time, Google Docs only allowed one page orientation per document. That was… limiting.
Now, you can have portrait and landscape pages in the same Doc, which is perfect for:
Wide tables
Graphic organisers
Certificates or checklists
Visuals that need more horizontal space
To change orientation for a specific section:
Insert a Section break:
Go to Insert → Break → Section break
Then go to Format → Page orientation
Under Apply to, choose:
This section or This section onwards
Select Portrait or Landscape and click OK
You can repeat this process to switch back and forth as needed.
This change alone makes Google Docs a much more viable replacement for traditional Word documents in many school contexts.
5. Version History: Your Safety Net When Things Go Wrong
The last tip is an oldie but an absolute lifesaver: Version history.
If:
A student accidentally deletes their work
A collaborator overwrites a section
You edit the wrong document (we’ve all done it)
…version history can save the day.
Access it via:
File → Version history → See version history
From there you can:
View every saved version of the Doc
See who changed what and when
Restore an earlier version completely
Or copy and paste content from a previous version back into the current one
Name important versions (e.g. “Final draft before feedback” or “Semester 1 reports – submitted”)
It’s especially useful when:
Students are working in groups
You’re co-planning with colleagues
You want evidence of growth or changes to a document over time
Knowing version history exists gives you the confidence to experiment and collaborate without the fear of “breaking” a document permanently.
Bringing It All Together
When you combine:
Document tabs for structure
Building blocks for reusable templates
Smart chips for tracking and linking
Mixed page orientations for flexible layout
Version history for safety and accountability
…Google Docs becomes far more than “just a word processor”. It becomes a powerful, flexible, collaborative workspace for you and your students.
If you’re already in a Google Workspace school, it’s well worth exploring these features and weaving Docs more intentionally into your:
Planning
Feedback
Collaboration
Student learning experiences
Keep the Tech Tips Coming
That wraps up Day Six of the 12 Tech Tips of Christmas 2025!
If you found even one new idea to try with Google Docs:
Head over to the Evolve EdTech YouTube channel
Subscribe to support the work we’re doing for educators
Give the video a thumbs up so more teachers can discover these tools
We’ve got six more tech tips coming your way, packed with practical ideas to help you and your students thrive in a future-focused classroom.
