1 - Introduction

Welcome

Your Work Experience supervisor has just asked you to email over last Monday's stocktake. You open your cloud drive and find 47 files named things like stocktake.xlsx, stocktake (1).xlsx, stocktake_final_FINAL.xlsx. Which one is it? Today you'll learn the folder structure and naming convention that stops this ever happening to you, so your Project Portfolio stays ready for an assessor, a supervisor, or future-you to open any time.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Create, rename, and move folders and files in cloud storage
Apply a clear date-topic-version file-naming convention
Organise a messy folder into a logical sub-folder structure

Warm-up

Think about the most recent screenshot or downloaded file on your phone. What's its filename? Odds are it's something like IMG_5827.JPG or Screenshot_20251110_141529.png. Could you find that exact file in six months if you needed it for a Work Experience report or a Key Assignment submission? No need to write anything, just hold the question in your head.

Teacher Notes

The warm-up is designed to be quick and personal. If a few students want to share the worst filename on their phone, let them, it's a natural way to surface why naming matters before you've even defined the term.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Key Concepts

Four ideas carry the rest of the lesson. Read the table, then look at the sample naming pattern below it before you start the step-by-step.

Concept	Why it matters	Example
Folder hierarchy — nested folders that group related files together	A flat folder with 80 loose files buries what you need; a tidy hierarchy finds it in one click	Your {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} holds numbered sub-folders, one for each Key Assignment: {{code:01_}}, {{code:02_}}, {{code:03_}}, and so on
Date-topic-version naming — the rule {{code:YYYY-MM-DD_topic_vN}}	Files sort automatically in date order, and {{code:v2}} beats {{code:final_FINAL_actuallyfinal}} every time	{{code:2025-11-10_centra_stocktake_v2}} sorts above {{code:2025-11-09_delivery_note_v1}} without any manual work
File extension — the three or four letters after the dot that tell the computer what kind of file it is	If you accidentally delete the extension while renaming, the file may refuse to open	{{code:report.docx}} opens in Word; {{code:report}} on its own opens nowhere
Rename vs Move — renaming changes the label; moving changes the location	Tidying is mostly renaming, with some moving. Confuse them and files end up somewhere you can't find	—

Sample naming pattern

Every filename you create in this course should follow this shape. Read each part left to right:

2025-11-10 — the date in year-month-day order (four-digit year, two-digit month, two-digit day, separated by dashes)
_centra_stocktake — the topic, in lowercase, with underscores instead of spaces
_v1 — the version, starting at {{code:v1}}. If you edit the file and keep a copy of the old version, the new copy becomes {{code:v2}}

Full example: {{code:2025-11-10_centra_stocktake_v1}}. The extension (.xlsx, .docx, .pdf) is added automatically by the app when you save, so you never type it yourself.

Teacher Notes

If students ask why the date goes year-first instead of day-first: it's the only order that makes files sort chronologically without any manual effort. Ireland writes dates 10/11/2025 in handwriting, but for filenames the ISO order (2025-11-10) is the industry-standard convention.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Step-by-step Task

You'll tidy a small sample folder that mimics a week of Centra Work Experience files. Create the practice folder, add three blank documents with careless default names, rename each using the date-topic-version convention, sort them into two sub-folders, and finish by capturing and uploading a screenshot of the tidy layout.

Teacher Notes

Expect students to stumble on dragging vs right-click moving in a browser. The right-click Move option is more reliable than drag-and-drop in both OneDrive and Google Drive, so the instructions use right-click. Keep an eye on anyone typing a file extension into the rename box (e.g. '.docx' at the end), that's a common mistake because the app adds the extension automatically. On Windows, Win+Shift+S captures to clipboard and triggers a Snipping Tool notification; students need to click the notification and save from there, otherwise they'll have nothing to upload.

+15 XP

4 - Common Issues

Common issues

If something in the step-by-step didn't behave the way the instructions said, check this table before asking for help.

Issue	Solution
The {{btn:Rename}} option is greyed out or missing from the right-click menu	The file is probably open in another browser tab. Close any tab showing that document, then right-click the file again.
I renamed the file and now it won't open	You likely typed the extension (e.g. {{code:.docx}}) into the name box, so the file ended up called {{code:2025-11-10_stocktake_v1.docx.docx}} or similar. Rename it again and leave the extension off, the app handles it.
I moved a file and now I can't find it	Use the search bar at the top of OneDrive or Google Drive, type part of the filename. When the file appears, right-click and choose {{btn:Show file location}} (OneDrive) or {{btn:Show file location}} (Google Drive) to jump to the correct folder.
Drag-to-move drops the file into the wrong folder	Use right-click instead of dragging. OneDrive: {{btn:Move to}}. Google Drive: {{btn:Organise}} then {{btn:Move}}. The panel lets you pick the exact destination without misfires.
I took the screenshot on Windows but can't find a file to upload	{{kbd:Win+Shift+S}} captures to the clipboard first. Click the thumbnail notification that pops up in the bottom-right corner to open Snipping Tool, then press {{kbd:Ctrl+S}} to save the image as a file before uploading.

Teacher Notes

The double-extension bug (stocktake.docx.docx) is the single most common failure mode, watch for it during the step-by-step and flag it early. The Windows screenshot-to-clipboard behaviour is the second most common stall point.

+10 XP

5 - Independent Practice

Independent Practice

Your goal: Use the folder and naming skills you just practised to restructure your real Project Portfolio into an assessor-ready layout, so when a Key Assignment is due you can find the right file in one click.

Time: ~20 minutes

Task: Open your {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} folder in your cloud storage and create one numbered sub-folder for each Key Assignment on the list your teacher has given you, using {{code:01_}}, {{code:02_}}, {{code:03_}} and so on as the prefix (for example, {{code:01_work_placement_diary}}, {{code:02_cv_and_cover_letter}}). Move any files that are currently loose in {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} into the sub-folder that matches their topic, and rename anything that doesn't fit the date-topic-version convention. If a file doesn't obviously fit any Key Assignment, make one extra sub-folder called {{code:99_misc}} and put it there, you can move it later once you're sure. Finish by taking a screenshot of the tidy layout, uploading it into {{code:Digital_Portfolio}}, and renaming it {{code:05_portfolio_structure}}.

Success criteria:

Your {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} folder contains one numbered sub-folder per Key Assignment (e.g. {{code:01_work_placement_diary}}, {{code:02_cv_and_cover_letter}}) and every folder name uses lowercase with underscores instead of spaces
No files are loose in the root of {{code:Digital_Portfolio}}, every file lives inside a sub-folder (use {{code:99_misc}} for anything that doesn't clearly fit)
Any existing files you had with vague default names have been renamed to the date-topic-version pattern
A screenshot called {{code:05_portfolio_structure}} is saved inside {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} and shows the finished layout at a glance

Teacher Notes

Students joining the course partway through may only have one or two existing files, that is fine. The point is the structure is ready for the remaining Key Assignments, not that every folder currently contains something. The 99_misc safety net means nobody stalls on 'I don't know which folder this goes in' and there is a single known location for you to check at the end.

+15 XP

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Files and Folders: Creating, Naming, Organising

Teacher Class Feed

1 - Introduction

Welcome

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Warm-up

2 - Key Concepts

Sample naming pattern

3 - Step-by-step Task

4 - Common Issues

Common issues

5 - Independent Practice

Independent Practice

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