UEMS - TEL - Google Sites

Google Sites are part of the G-Suite for Education package that students at the University of Exeter have access to. The Sites application allows users to quickly and easily create their own websites using a graphic user interface. The Sites are commonly used for Intranets, wikis and reusable learning resources (RLOs). These pages of the TEL site will offer some basic guidance for using Google Sites and also outline content standards for member of UEMS staff who are creating or modifying resources for the BMBS curriculum.

IMPORTANT: You must sign into Google using your Exeter Google account: username@exeter.ac.uk BEFORE you attempt to access this Google site. If you attempt to sign in with a personal Google account you will be blocked as this site is restricted to University of Exeter log-ins. Also you may find access blocked if you are signed into a personal Google account on your browser in 'the background'. If you experience a 'Error 404 (URL not found)' message, sign out of all your personal google accounts before trying again.

Accessing Google Sites

You can access Google Sites using the app picker or through the direct URL:

This URL will show you all the sites you have either created or been given access to. However, you should hopefully be able to access every site you need to for the BMBS programme from the BMBS Homepage

Google Sites Help

If you need some advice about editing your Site, you can ask the e-Learning Team.

Otherwise, Google's products are extremely well documented online and a quick Google search usually reveals a video or text solution that might help.

Finally, you can use the Google Sites help tool by clicking on the settings cog in the top right of your screen then clicking Sites Help. The following pop up box will let you search for solutions and FAQs to help you develop your site further.

Editing Pages

To make edits to pages on Google Sites, first click the Pencil button in the bottom right hand corner. The main text area will now allow you to edit it and you can add pictures using the Insert menu in the top left. The editing interface is very similar to Microsoft Word or any other rich text editor.

Once you've finished editing make sure you click on Publish in the top right. However, if you forget and navigate away from the page, Google Sites will recover your draft from your previous session and give you the opportunity to publish it again next time you visit the page.

Creating a Google Site

If you are academic or professional services staff then all the sites for your programme should already be set up for you to edit and update. However you can create a brand new site for another collaborative, professional or personal project quickly and easily. This useful video below shows the process of setting up a Google Site from scratch.

The presenter starts from Gmail, which we don't use at Exeter, but the instructions are the same if you start from Google Drive.

Adding Files

To upload documents to your Google site use the Add Files button below the main text area. You can select multiple items at once. Unless you are a site owner you can only remove your own files from the site. If you don't see the delete button next to your file, refresh the page.

If you don't see the add files option on your page you can add this under page settings.

Logging onto Google or the BMBS Launch Page

This brief video shows you how to login to the University of Exeter's Google for Education platform. It also covers the basics of accessing Google Sites, Drive and using the BMBS Launch Page.

Author: Russell O'Brien

Date: July 2018

Platform: New Google Sites

Adding Files from a Team Drive

This short video demonstrates how to locate and select a file from a Team Drive, and embed it into a Google Site page.

Author: Russell O'Brien

Date: July 2018

Platform: New Google Sites

Adding Links to a Google Page or Menu

This short video demonstrates how to locate and select a file from a Team Drive, and embed it into a Google Site page.

Author: Russell O'Brien

Date: July 2018

Platform: New Google Sites

Using a "Template Page" - Workflow to Share and Embed a File on a Google Site

This 9 minute video demonstrates how to use a template page, and then runs through the workflow to upload a file to Google drive, share it to students, and then embed it into a Google Site page.

Author: Russell O'Brien and Louise Crook

Date: September 2018

Platform: New Google Sites

Using Manage Versions to Update a File in Google Drive and Automatically Update a Google Site

This short video demonstrates the "Manage Versions" feature of Google Drive for native Microsoft Office files and PDFs. This allows documents to be updated without the need for second uploads, and a second benefit is Google site pages using these documents automatically show the new version!

Author: Russell O'Brien and Louise Crook

Date: September 2018

Platform: New Google Sites

Tutorial Walkthrough - Upload, Share, Rename, Insert with Template and Update in Drive!

This is a full walkthrough of uploading, renaming, sharing and inserting a tutorial into a templated area of a Google page. Followed by process to update a presentation without the need to update the Google Site

Author: Russell O'Brien and Louise Crook

Date: October 2018

Platform: New Google Sites