Google Sites
What is Google Sites?
Google Sites is a website authoring tool. It allows a user to create a website that can either be private or public facing. Features available within Google Sites are the ability to embed images, videos, documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and a number of other types of content. It is also a platform known for its simplicity, allowing someone with little to no experience in web site development to create content quickly and in a visually appealing way. Websites built with Google Sites can be displayed on a computer, tablet, or smart phone.
Why Should I Use Google Sites?
Because it is such a simple tool, Google Sites allows for website authoring to be a quick and easy process. This, combined with the variety of content it supports, makes Google Sites a great platform for students to showcase the work that they have done. If you have projects in which students have to create some type of presentation or other deliverable, Google Sites can be a great platform to leverage. Another possible way to utilize Sites is in the creation of ePortfolios. The video below showcases an example of what this could potentially look like.
There are also more creative ways that you can utilize Sites as a teaching tool. For example, in some health-related programs, Sites has been utilized to recreate the experience a student might have with accessing a medical database.
How Do I Start Using Google Sites?
The video below discusses Project Based Learning, and in this demonstration, Google Sites is highlighted as a tool that can be used.