It is not often that I write about a technology before I have at least tested it with a few students and decided if it is worth sharing, but I am going to make an exception with Google Sites, a tool which allows you to create a website very easily and which is completely free. It is very easy to use and allows easy links through to all Google’s other products. If you are looking for a really simple way to set up a school site, a class blog, a teacher blog or even individual student blogs, then this could be the tool for you.
What is Google Sites?
Google Sites is part of the growing range of products that Google offers as part of their sign-up, so you do need a Google account to use it. Basically, it lets you create a website with a menu system and pages, but there are a few additional elements that mean it has the flexibility that we need as teachers or school administrators. You sign up, click on ‘Create site’, give your site a title and a URL (the web address where people can find your site) and then you can begin to add pages. The menu is automatically produced, so the more pages you add, the more pages will appear in your menu.
Flexibility is provided by the different page types that you can produce. The standard type, called ‘Web Page’, allows you to produce pages where you can include pictures, links, text and video. You have lots of choices for formatting, including different set layouts and columns. You can customise almost any feature to make sure that you get the right look and feel for your site. You can even make use of pre-defined templates where most of the hard work has been done for you. However, it is so easy, there is really no need to use these.
Another page type is ‘Announcements’. Here you can post your latest news, announce something important (eg a reminder to hand in coursework) or even treat it as a blogging page where you write your latest post. You can give your announcements page any title you like and, of course, you could have several. So, for example, I could have one where I update users on my latest videos and call it ‘Latest videos’, then another where I write my blog. The announcements page simply displays the information so that your posts or entries can all be viewed on it. It also allows for comments, so you can develop the social aspect of your site.
The ‘List’ page type works slightly differently as there are pre-defined templates for you to use. In order to choose the right one, you have to think about when you might want to use a list. In my case, it might be a list of my upcoming talks or perhaps a list of the articles I have written that can be found online. You can, of course, make lists on any web page, but this page type helps you to create them easily and add and display further information.
The next page type, ‘File share’, is really useful for teachers. It allows you to create a page specifically for file sharing. If you are creating a class website, this is the page where the students could access the learning content. You can organise the files by week or by type, and your students can either view or download them. Of course, Google Sites is fully integrated with Google Docs, so if you keep your files on Google Docs, it is even easier to make them accessible on your new website. I really like this page type and I can think of all sorts of ways to use it. For example, you could have a main section called ‘Course content’ and then various submenus organised week by week. Each submenu page would contain the learning content for that week. You would simply create a separate ‘File share’ page for each submenu page that you created.
The benefits
I will definitely be using Google Sites in the future and it is certainly something I will be training teachers to use. I like it for the following reasons:
- It is very easy to use but can produce something quite complex.
- It has a simple initial learning curve, but if you want, you can really get into detail with it through Google Gadgets, etc.
- It links with other Google products really easily, including email, Google Drive, Google Docs and even Google Calendar.
- It is free.
Beyond the basics
Once you have got your head around the basics (see below for my help videos), keep pushing on, as Google Sites could open a whole new world to you. You could start thinking about it for things like assessment, course management and flipping the classroom (delivering instruction online and doing ‘homework- style’ activities in class). The integration with other products, such as Google Docs, could even allow you to produce questionnaires, surveys and quizzes. The number of ways you could use Google Sites will grow as your knowledge of it and the products it links with develop.
Google has its sights on you, too!
It is also worth thinking about the future. Google is moving more and more towards the educational market, and the Google educational apps are generating increasing interest. We may start to see schools moving away from platforms like Moodle and Blackboard and looking towards Google to host their content. I have even heard rumours that Google is developing a virtual learning environment like Moodle.
When we work with Google products, we are helping our students to learn about them, too, and it is very likely that these skills will be useful to them in the future. Of course, like many, I worry about Google’s dominance on the internet, but we can’t get away from the fact that having an awareness of their products and the way they work together is very useful to us and to our students.
Help videos on using Google Sites can be found at:
(for the basics)
(for more advanced features)
Russell Stannard is the founder of www.teachertrainingvideos.com, which won a British Council ELTons award for technology. He is a freelance teacher and writer and also a NILE Associate Trainer.
