Naming versions of Google Docs to keep track of drafts

One powerful thing about using Google Docs for teaching the writing process is the ability to see the revision history of any document. As students make changes, add and delete content, and respond to feedback from teachers and peers, they can return to previous versions of the document. Here's an older post that talks more about that (note that Google has changed "revision history" to "version history" but the rest remains the same).

A more recent feature of Version History is the ability to name specific versions of a document. This doesn't stop all the changes from being tracked; it just allows you to return to one or more specific, important past versions. You might name one "Rough draft", "Revised draft after peer edits", "Revised draft after teacher edits" and then "Final draft". Either the student or the teacher can do this and see the named versions.

Here's how it works:

This is a helpful way for both teacher and student to be able to see improvements over time.