I have spent a lot of time over the last ten years refining the way that I use the Google suite in my classroom. One of my favorite tools is using Google Sites as a creative and comprehensive way for students to present their work. Since our school started using Google Classroom three years ago, I have expanded the way that I use it, primarily in these three ways. Show 1. As a portfolio for work created during the school year: Google Sites has changed a lot since I started using it for student portfolios, but gone are the years of collecting huge binders full of student work and spending hours at school grading those binders because it was too much work to carry the crates full of portfolios home. With the new Google Sites, they can neatly insert each paper that I want them to include and organize them in a way that shows their progress over the year. Instead of paging through binders, I’m quickly clicking my way through the pages with more time to spend on their actual personal evaluations.  2. As a multi-genre response to a literary work, but non-English teachers could do something similar: I’ve had my students do all sorts of multilayered website responses to an assigned book, discovering that using a website instead of a slide presentation has some definite advantages, especially for more complex assignments. The website they can create using Google Sites is more user-friendly than students turning in multiple separate assignments (nice for us teachers) and gives them more freedom to be creative in layout and design, which they also enjoy. 3. As a way to present a research paper or topic using a form that more likely mirrors the kind of research reporting they will be doing once they are no longer going to school: After spending the last couple years using Google Sites for the first two purposes, this year I decided to try using it for the very last project I had my AP Literature students do this past school year: a social change project. The website allowed them to easily and neatly organize their research and reporting into three parts: the problem, why it is a problem, and proposed solution. They could insert pictures, graphs, and infographics to help support their claims, the very kind of work that many of them could be doing in their professional lives in four to five years. When I asked them if they preferred the traditional paper to the way I was having them do it, they overwhelmingly replied that they preferred the website. They were doing the same amount of research and writing, but the visual organization made sense to them. While I don’t think I would ever get rid of the traditional research paper, I now have a new way for students to present their research once they have mastered the art of tradition research writing. Using electronic tools for student presentations doesn’t have to be complicated, but it’s important to note that opening up student options simultaneously teaches them writing skills, reading skills, and the computing skills they will need as they start looking for professional jobs. If we want them to develop this multifaceted proficiency, this is a good place to start. Teachers just need a lot of patience (with themselves and with students) and the appropriate amount of time as everyone learns the ropes together. Are you looking to create your own classroom website? Google Site is an amazing, FREE platform where you can easily create a website viewable to anyone online. This is a great way for teachers to make a fun website. My school currently has their own website platform, but Google Sites is easier to use and can be more interactive. It integrates well with other Google apps which makes it simple to post resources. SETTING UP YOUR GOOGLE SITE Worried about not being tech savvy? Google Site is very user friendly! Google Site works in a grid which allows you to insert various items and move them around easily. Snap items in place to align them. You will create and edit your site right from your Google Drive. Once your site is published, anyone on the web can view it. I have a few tutorials that can walk you through setting up your site. WHAT CAN I ADD ON MY GOOGLE SITE? Pretty much anything!!!! You can insert photos, text, videos straight from YouTube, a slide show in your Google Drive, Forms for surveys, documents, a class calendar, and more. The great thing about this is all items will be interactive. This means, if you add in a slideshow of a choice board, students can actually click the links directly from your site! Click here to see a sample site. THERE HAS TO BE SOME NEGATIVES? The pretty fonts and colors we all love …..unfortunately those can not be added to a Google Site. There are only a few themes to choose from which slightly change the font throughout your site. There is very little wiggle room for changing fonts on each page. However, there is always a hack! You can create images separately with your own fonts and colors then upload them into your site. You can add custom headers and buttons to make your site more fun, like my farmhouse sample. Even add PDFS or slide shows right in.Check out my Google Site decor kit here. GOOGLE SITE VS GOOGLE CLASSROOM? They are two separate things! Your Google Site is just a generic website. This is a great site to send to parents and to use as a home base for your classroom. You can easily link other important websites and information to it. Google Site is not a way to send personal assignments to students, for this, use Classroom. Classroom will allow you to send files to each student. You can view students’ work and grade assignments through Classroom. The good thing, you can share the link to your Google Classroom, or even specific assignments on your class site. Use Google Site to better organize items. This will make it easier for students to use both platforms. WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? You can even create digital escape rooms or webquests using Google Sites. Creating a site is free, so you can create multiple sites in your Drive. My students even created their own sites as part of their Genius Hour projects. They loved sharing their own website with family and friends. This is a great way for students to share information and demonstrate learning. Students can even create an online portfolio, club website, extra help site and more. The options are endless really! If you have any questions on Google Sites, please contact me! I have been using Google Sites for 6 years and I am happy to help in any way!!! Why is Google Sites helpful for students?As students search for the answers to their questions, they'll also learn about more of Sites' features and can then expand how they use it. Just by building their own sites, students will learn about the web, about design, and about organizing their material.
What is the importance of Google Classroom for teachers and students?Google Classroom makes it easy to customize assignments for individual students or small groups. Teachers can give modified or differing assignments to specific students or groups in a class. You also have the option to check in with a student privately to see whether they have questions or need extra help.
What is the main benefits of Google Site?Google Sites is a free, easy-to-use website creator that allows you to create a site in a few simple steps from your desktop or laptop. With Google Sites, you get the tools you need to create a site that's both professional-looking and fast and easy to manage.
How can the use of Google Apps benefit you and your students in the classroom?Google apps are recommended to use for educational purposes because they offer an unlimited amount of educational resources for teachers and students to take advantage of. The many digital tools the apps offer allows students to learn new information in unique and creative ways, no matter their learning style.
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