Design a School/Class Google Website Eilis Stokes

Table of Contents ► Creating a Gmail Account ► Designing a Google Website ► Embedding a Google Calendar ► Using Google Documents

Why use Google to Create a Website? ► Single-click page creation ► No HTML required ► Customizable look and feel ► Settings for accessing and sharing information ► And it's free!

You will need to sign up for a Gmail account before you can create a Google Website. To sign up for a Gmail account go to and click on the Gmail button at the top of the page.

Click on “Create an Account” and complete the application form. Then go to “View my Account.”

Click on the “Sites” tab at the top of the page. Then click on create site.

1.Give your site a name and URL (Example: Mrs. Smith’s Class Website URL: /site/mrssmithclass /site/mrssmithclass 2.Select who you would like to share the website with (Everyone or specific people) 3.Select a theme 4.Create site

Once you have created a basic site, begin designing your home page by choosing a layout

Click on the “Insert” tab to add images, spreadsheets, or documents to your website. Use the tool bar at the top to modify fonts.

Once you are finished adding content to your home page, be sure to click the save button in the upper right-hand corner. Then click on “Create page” to add another page to your site.

Page Ideas ► School/Homework Calendar ► About the Teacher ► Links page: homework help sites ► Announcements/Message Board ► Documents: Upload assignments/notes ► Projects: Showcase student work ► Wish List/ Donations

Create a Google Calendar A Google calendar can be a great tool to keep track of student homework and school events. Once you create a Google calendar, it can be uploaded to your Google site.

Be sure to click on the “save” button in the upper right-hand corner to save changes to your home page.

By sharing your calendar with other teachers or staff, they can add events as well.

Click within the calendar to add events

Embed a Google Calendar in Your Site While in the edit mode, click on the “Insert” tab and select calendar. Enter your Google calendar URL and click save.

After you insert the calendar, you will see the Google calendar icon appear. Click on save and the calendar itself will appear on the page.

Google Documents With Google documents, you can easily create, share, and edit documents online.

Google Docs Allow You to… ► Edit documents online simultaneously with anyone you choose, and invite others to view them. ► Keep track of who made changes to a document and when, and roll back to any version. ► Publish documents online to the world, as webpages or post documents to your blog.

Google Docs in the Classroom Click on the apple to learn how students and teachers use Google docs in the classroom *You must be in slideshow mode to access the link

► Promote group collaboration and creativity by having your students record their group projects together in a single doc. ► Facilitate writing as a process by encouraging students to write in a document shared with you. You can check up on their work at any time, provide insight and help using the comments feature. ► Create quizzes and tests using spreadsheets forms, your students' time-stamped answers will arrive neatly ordered in a spreadsheet. ► Encourage collaborative presentation skills by asking your students to work together on a shared presentation, then present it to the class. ► Collaborate on a document with fellow teachers to help you all track the status and success of students you share. ► Maintain, update and share lesson plans over time in a single document. Specific Ways to Use Docs in the Classroom…

How to create and share docs To create a doc: ► From your Docs list, select "New" from the upper-left corner. ► Select which kind of doc you'd like to create: document, spreadsheet or presentation. ► A brand new version of the doc type selected will open for you, ready to be edited and shared.

To share a doc: ► From within the document you'd like to share, click the "Share" tab, in the upper-right corner*. ► Enter the addresses of whomever you'd like to add and select the button next to "As collaborators:" or "As viewers", depending on what kind of access you'd like them to have. ► Click "Invite collaborators." ► If you'd like, in the window that appears send an to your collaborators explaining a little about the doc. Whether or not you send this , your doc is now shared.

Edit and Manage your Docs To edit your docs: ► Log in to docs.google.com from any computer with Internet access. ► Select the doc you'd like to edit from the Docs list. ► Once it's open, start adding and changing content. All of your changes will be saved and available to your collaborators and viewers almost as quickly as you can make them.

Use the "Revert to this one" button, at the top of the selected revision if you'd like to return to an earlier version

Working with version control: The "Revisions" tab, at the top of each doc allows you to: ► View changes you or a collaborator have made on a document (All revisions will be listed in order) ► Track what each student has contributed to a group project

Tips for Teachers Using Google Docs

Tip #1 Use standard document names and folders to keep organized

Tip #2 Timestamps help keep track of student work ► When you sort your document list by 'Date' and see each of your student's documents sorted by the last time they edited their document. You'll see documents ordered by "Today," "Yesterday," "Earlier this Week," and "Earlier this Month." ► It's a great way to check, at a glance, which students have completed their assignments and which ones still need to do their work.

Tip #3 Encourage the use of "comments" for peer feedback

Linking Your Google Document to a Blog Site

Create a free blog using your Google Account. Sign in using your gmail address and password.

Linking Docs to Blogger Click on the Blogger icon below to watch a tutorial on uploading Google docs to your blog Click on the Blogger icon below to watch a tutorial on uploading Google docs to your blog *You must be in slideshow mode to access the link

Classroom Resources ► Google search tips & help using Google apps ► Lessons Using Google Apps ► Educational blogging resources: Teaching Today – Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom eMints Teaching Tips: Using Online Journals and Blogs My eCoach – Classroom Blogs Teaching Today – Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom eMints Teaching Tips: Using Online Journals and Blogs My eCoach – Classroom Blogs Teaching Today – Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom eMints Teaching Tips: Using Online Journals and Blogs My eCoach – Classroom Blogs