"Google Apps Script is a JavaScript cloud scripting language that provides easy ways to automate tasks across Google products and third party services and build web applications."
I have known how to code in JavaScript for years. I have not needed to use it in any professional capacity as a teacher, until now.
In a previous announcement, I talked about my use of a service called Pear Deck. It allows me to present my lessons in a more engaging way. Just as importantly, it provides students with "takeaways". These takeaways are copies of the slides from the lesson along with all the answers a student typed/drew in that day. However, it only does this for students that are signed in and present. Pear Deck does create a blank takeaway for the teacher and I post this to my website for students that are absent that day. Here is an example takeaway.
The process of finding the blank takeaway on my Google Drive and then moving it to the shared folder that is shown on my website, was a boring and annoying task that I would have to do at the end of each day. I was finding myself putting it off for weeks at a time.
Then came Google Apps Script to the rescue. With this service I was able to code a Google Spreadsheet add-on that looks for my daily takeaway in my Google Drive and then publishes it to my shared folder that is shown on my website.
Now, with the click of a button, I can find my blank takeaways and publish them on my site. If you know how to code in JavaScript, and you have a repeated task every single day, use this. You'll never look back.
Feel free to copy any or all of this code for yourself. It is used for a very specific case (only myself), but maybe it will be useful to someone. If you have any questions about the code, contact me and ask away.
