PVA Academy · Beginner VA Journey · Stage 2: Build Your Foundation

Internet, Email & Google Workspace Basics

Use your computer to work online: your Google account, searching, Gmail, Google Drive, Docs and Sheets, and sharing files with the right access.

FreeSelf-PacedNo Login7 Lessons + Final Challenge

Before You Start

No login is required. You can start learning right away.

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You are responsible for keeping a backup. Use Export Progress to save a backup file.

Your earlier Internet, Email & Google Workspace progress on the PVA Academy site is not carried over. This version of the course starts fresh.

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About this course

Working online for VA work

Most VA work happens inside a browser. A task arrives by email, the file is in a shared Google Drive folder, you update a Doc or a Sheet, and you send back a link. This course is about doing those things without getting stuck.

This course is for you if you've used Gmail or Google Drive on your phone but never for work, you often see "You need access" when you open a link, or you're not sure whether to attach a file or send a link.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

check which Google account you're using, and switch to the right one before you start work
search for a specific answer and pick a useful, official source
find a specific email, check Spam, and download an attachment and find the file
choose between Reply, Reply all and Forward, and between To, Cc and Bcc
attach a file or send a Drive link, and check both before you send
find, organize and upload files in Google Drive
open and edit a Google Doc or Sheet, make a copy, download it, and tell the online file apart from a downloaded copy
share a file or folder with the right access, and fix "You need access"

You'll need a Google account to practice for real. A free Gmail account is fine. The lessons use Google tools because most clients do. If a client uses Outlook and OneDrive, the same ideas apply; the buttons are just in different places.

This course builds on Computer & Laptop Basics and doesn't repeat it: downloading, files and folders, and the browser are used here, not taught again. Writing clear messages to clients is taught in Stage 3, Learn to Work. Here you learn which button to press, not what to write.

Names, email addresses and companies in the examples are made up. The example screens are simplified drawings, so your own screen will look a little different.

The PVA Beginner VA Journey

You are in Stage 2: Build Your Foundation

Stage 2 makes you ready to learn and work online. It has two courses, taken in this order:

Computer & Laptop Basics: the computer itself.
Internet, Email & Google Workspace Basics (this course): working online with email and Google tools.

After Stage 2 comes Stage 3, Learn to Work, starting with Communication & Professionalism.

1. EXPLORE
Understand the VA world
What VA work is, what it can look like, and where to start.
2. BUILD YOUR FOUNDATIONYou are here
Become ready to learn and work
3. LEARN TO WORK
Learn how work is actually done
Communication, professionalism, instructions, and client work.
4. FIND YOUR DIRECTION
Choose work worth learning
Explore skills and possible VA directions.
5. PRACTICE & PROVE
Build functional skill and evidence
Practice realistic tasks and create proof of what you can do.
6. ENTER THE MARKET
Present yourself and begin working
Prepare your profile, apply for work, and start entering the market.

Optional practice

This course only touches Docs and Sheets. These separate PVA modules go further. They are not part of this course:

Document Basics: Practice creating, formatting and saving simple documents.
Spreadsheet Basics: Practice rows, columns, cells and simple spreadsheet tasks.

Course map

7 lessons + Final Challenge