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Google Drive is a fantastic storage space. For many educators, you are provided 30 GB or more! This is a ton of storage, for no cost to you! Google Drive stores any file type, making it a one stop shop for all your needs. There are many ways to make your Google Drive better, and one of them is tagging your work. In this post, I will highlight the process and reasons why this is critical.


Pictured above is a picture of what my Google Drive looks like. This is a fraction of the many folders that are held in it. As your Google Drive holds more and more items, you need to have a way of finding items quickly, and effectively. If you are like me, I like to keep my files organized in folders. This means two things:
  1. Your Drive is well organized
  2. You have MANY layers
The many layers you have created can be an obstacle when you need to find something specific. This is where tagging becomes critical. More often than not, if I cannot remember exactly where something is, I use the search option within Drive. This option allows you to search through all of your items, with just a keyword.

How, and What to Tag
I will first start by sharing what I tag. The primary target of the items that I tag are folders. They are the warehouse that I use to hold the items behind it. As I am layering my folders, I first start by titling the folder correctly. I try not to be too broad when naming things so that a folder does not get too bulky. Once I have a title for the folder, I add specific tags. I have color coded the tags to help give you a visual. Some examples of the tags that I include are:
  • Teacher grade level
  • The building where the teacher works
  • Teacher's name
  • Subject
  • Title
As I am adding tags, I include as many as I feel are relevant. For very important items, I would add 3-4 tags. For almost everything else, a minimum of 2 tags are added.

Here are some examples of properly tagged folders. All of the examples below are the entire folder names:
  • Common Assessments | 3rd
  • Late Assignments | 4th | Template
  • Running Record | Make Copy | Kindergarten | FH
  • Westward Expansion | Social Studies | RR
  • Audio Recordings Template | Ginder | Reading | 4th
How it Helps
When I am lost in my drive, and can't remember the file name. I can search by the tags I have added. More often than not, I can remember the grade level, the building the teacher works in, or their name. Since I have these items in the name of the folder, I can just enter these into the search bar and find what I am looking for. Losing items in your Drive will never happen again!