UMass Boston

Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a free service available to UMass Boston faculty, students, and staff. Educators can access these specialized tools to facilitate organization and collaboration securely with their UMass Boston email account. Presentations, spreadsheets, forms and more can be created online in Google Workspace.

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Access Account

All faculty, staff and students have a Google account. To log in to your UMass Boston Google account, visit the Google Accounts homepage, select “Go to Google Account,” and log on with your UMass Boston email and password. If you’re already logged into a personal Google account, click your profile image in the top-right, select “Add another account,” and log in with your UMass Boston email and password.

Note:

  • For the best results, use a separate dedicated browser for using the UMass Boston Google account.

Get Training

Visit LinkedIn Learning for videos on practical uses of Google Workspace.

Why Should I Use My UMass Boston Google Account?

When using Google tools for educational purposes at UMass Boston, you should always use your UMass Boston Google account. This ensures compliance with FERPA and COPPA, as well as provides you with generous storage and no advertisements.

To learn more, visit Google Workspace for Education: Common Questions and Visit the Google Workspace Learning Center

Google Workspace Tools to Consider

Collaboration

  • Google Docs: create, share, and allow others to edit text-based documents simultaneously. An online alternative to (and compatible with) MS Word.
  • Google Sheets: create and share data reports, charts, and other spreadsheets. An online alternative to (and compatible with) MS Excel.

Presentation

  • Google Slides: a simple and easy to use presentation tool for live lectures and group presentations. Includes polling features. Online alternative to (and compatible with) MS PowerPoint.
  • Google Sites: create and publish websites with no web development experience.

Organization

  • Google Drive: the folder that stores Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and other files created online. Drive also allows uploaded non-Google files (PDFs, audio and video files, photos etc.) giving you access to your files anywhere (on the web, on your hard drive, or on your mobile phone). An alternative to Dropbox (with more storage space!).
  • Google Calendar: an online calendar, shareable with other Google users, that keeps track of events, tasks and schedules.

Coursework

  • Google Classroom: allows teachers to set up a classroom space, assign work, grade work, and return the work to students.
  • Google Forms: can be used for quizzes, questionnaires, surveys and peer reviews. Easily create online forms that both gather information and store it in a spreadsheet.
  • Google Groups: provides a space for informal discussion groups for people sharing common interests.
  • Google Gemini: AI personal assistant / chatbot that can help you with writing and organization tasks. An alternative to ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Learn more about AI tools at Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance.