⏰ Do Now — Start Here
Have you ever worked on a shared Google Doc or Sheet with a group before? What went well, and what got messy?
This is a community project
Unlike a solo studio project, the yearbook only works if the whole class communicates, follows through on assigned sections, and treats classmates as teammates rather than competitors. Build in real check-ins, not just a due date.
🎯 Today's Big Question
- How do we build the shared systems that will keep the whole class organized for months?
📈 By the End of Today, You Will Be Able To
- Organize a shared Google Drive folder structure (one subfolder per section).
- Set up a shared class planning Google Doc that lists every section, its owner, and its status.
- Set up a shared tracking spreadsheet that will record senior quotes, photo coverage counts, and baby-photo status.
🧰 What You'll Need
- Computer with Google Drive access
- Planning Doc template (reference)
- Tracking Spreadsheet template (reference)
📋 Your Plan for Today
Day 1: Build the Drive & Planning Doc
- Do Now (5 min).
- Mini-lesson/demo (8 min): what a shared Drive folder structure should look like.
- Build (25 min): as a class, create the folder structure (one subfolder per section), confirm everyone has edit access, and copy the Planning Doc template, filling in every section, owner, and starting status.
- Check (7 min): confirm every student can access and edit.
Day 2: Build the Tracking Spreadsheet
- Do Now (5 min): what should we track to keep the yearbook fair and complete? Mini-lesson/demo (8 min): walk through the spreadsheet template's columns.
- Build (25 min): copy the template and set up columns for senior quote status, photo-appearance counts per student, and baby-photo submission status.
- Assign ownership (7 min): decide who keeps it updated weekly.
📚 Key Words
- Shared Drive Folder
- A Google Drive folder every student in the class can access and add files to.
- Planning Document
- A living Google Doc tracking every section's owner, status, and deadlines.
- Tracking Spreadsheet
- A shared spreadsheet used to record and monitor data across the whole class (quotes, photo counts, submissions).
✅ What Your Finished Work Should Include
Drive folder, Planning Doc, and Spreadsheet checked for correct structure and that every section/owner is listed.
Exit Ticket: What is one column or section of our new tracking spreadsheet that you think will matter most, and why?
📊 Before You Leave
Quick, anonymous class check-in -- takes less than a minute.
🔗 Want to Learn More?
🚀 The Extra Mile
Cross-Class Connection: The same shared-systems thinking a Business or Computer Science class covers in workflow and file management.
Career Connection: Clean file organization is explicitly named as a required skill on the Video Design career page and expected on day one in every studio job.
Go further -- turn this into a portfolio piece:
- Design a folder-naming and file-organization system, then document it as a real reference guide for the whole team to follow. Start here: open your current project folder and count how many different naming patterns already exist — that mess is your baseline problem to solve.
- Build a status-tracking dashboard (spreadsheet or simple webpage) that a real client could check to see project progress. Start here: open a spreadsheet and set up one row per section with a single status column before adding any visual styling.