Why make a portfolio?
In this short video, I talk about why we are making a student portfolio and how you can make the most of it.
This page will tell you the basics of getting started using Google Sites to make your student portfolio. If you feel like you want to make something that stands out. Consider these online courses below.
Getting Started
We will be using Google Sites to create our student portfolio websites. Google Sites is a free service from Google that allows you to make web sites very easily. If you have never heard of Google Sites before, please take a few minutes to watch this video to understand what it is and how we will be using this tool.
Learn the basics about Google Sites, how to access them, and what they can be used for.
5 Steps to your student portfolio
STEP 1: CREATE A NEW SITE
Create your Google Site
Create your first site
Click the PLUS on the bottom right to start your NEW Google Sites Project
or Start another site
Another way to start your Google Sites project is to start from Google Drive and click on NEW – Google Sites.
Step 2: Add your name, student #, and picture
Change page header
To change your page header, click on the text box and adjust your text as needed. You can use the blue circles to adjust the width of any text box or object in Google Sites.
Add your first and last name, your student number in the home page header.
Add images
There are several ways to add images to your Google Site. One of them is to simply drag an image from your desktop onto your canvas. Another way is to click on an image in Chrome and drag it into the canvas. Both of these methods will work fine. In this example, we will use the IMAGE option on the top right and locate an image from our Google Drive or Google Photos.
Add you picture to your home page
Step 3: Add a menu and subpages for your other classes
Adding a menu to your website
Add a subpage on your website called 'Classes' and 'Community Engagement'
Add subpages under Classes for your classes
Step 4: Give access to your site
Draft Settings
If you click on the “Draft” section, you will see the traditional Google Sharing Settings menu that allows you to open or close your website to the public. My strong suggestion is to NOT mess with this section. If you set this part to ON, it means that anyone who visits your website has the ability to EDIT!
If you click on the second section in the above picture “Published” you will see a new series of options where you can publish your website, but only allow a certain user or group of users see the published version.
“Share with others” Google Sites Settings
When adding additional editors, you must make sure you are clicking on the proper settings. It is very easy to create a website that allows your end user (site-visitor) to access the edit version of your site. To add a collaborator, first, click on the “little person” icon on the top of the window.
Next, you can invite individual users (email addresses) to become contributors to the website (allow them to edit) by adding their emails in the text box.
Step 5: Publish your site
Name your site your student number - The same as your login
Step 6: Register your site
Use this link to submit the URL of your created Google Site
Tutorial Video
If you would like a step by step tutorial of how you might set up your student portfolio, please watch this video and follow along with your own portfolio.
Getting Started with Student Portfolios
This video will give you a step-by-step guide to creating your student portfolio using Google Sites.
More great tutorial videos on the together learning YouTube channel.
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Official Google Resources
Basics of Google Sites
In this post, I'll show you:
How to create a New Google Site
How to create and customize a page header
How to add text to your website
How to add images to your website
How to add Google Docs, Sheets, Slides etc… to your website
How to add additional editors to your Google Site
How to publish your website
Google Sites “Show and Tell”
Special Note About Browsers
Using Google Sites sometimes is not compatible with Microsoft Explorer - You may have to install and use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox
How to create a New Google Site
At the moment the quickest way to create a website using New Google Sites is to point your browser directly to https://sites.google.com/new. From this point, you will see all of your other New Google Sites. Click on the plus button on the bottom right to start a New Google Site project.
Create your first site
Click the PLUS on the bottom right to start your NEW Google Sites Project
or Start another site
Another way to start your Google Sites project is to start from Google Drive and click on NEW – Google Sites.
How to create and customize a page header
Change page header
To change your page header, click on the text box and adjust your text as needed. You can use the blue circles to adjust the width of any text box or object in Google Sites.
How to add text to your website
Add text
There are two ways to add text to your Google Site. The first way is to click on the TEXT button on the upper right. The second way is to double-click anywhere on the canvas (webpage) and click TEXT. From this point, you can type inside of your text box and move the box where you want on the page.
How to add images to your website
Add images
There are several ways to add images to your Google Site. One of them is to simply drag an image from your desktop onto your canvas. Another way is to click on an image in Chrome and drag it into the canvas. Both of these methods will work fine. In this example, we will use the IMAGE option on the top right and locate an image from our Google Drive or Google Photos.
How to add Google Docs, Sheets, Slides etc… to your website
Add Drive content
As long as you adjust your sharing permissions on your Google Docs (Sheets, Slides, etc…) beyond “Private,” you can embed any type of Google File onto your website. One way to embed your Google Doc is to click on the Google Application name on the right-hand menu. This will then bring up a menu in reverse order from the items you last viewed. The reality of this section is that it is nothing more than a filter for whatever application you are interested in embedding. The quickest way to embed anything from Google is to simply copy the URL and while inside of Google Sites click the paste button (Control or Command – V) and it will automatically be inserted into your canvas. Remember to open your sharing permissions or else your site visitors will not be able to see your item.
How to add additional editors to your Google Site
Draft Settings
If you click on the “Draft” section, you will see the traditional Google Sharing Settings menu that allows you to open or close your website to the public. My strong suggestion is to NOT mess with this section. If you set this part to ON, it means that anyone who visits your website has the ability to EDIT!
If you click on the second section in the above picture “Published” you will see a new series of options where you can publish your website, but only allow a certain user or group of users see the published version.
“Share with others” Google Sites Settings
When adding additional editors, you must make sure you are clicking on the proper settings. It is very easy to create a website that allows your end user (site-visitor) to access the edit version of your site. To add a collaborator, first, click on the “little person” icon on the top of the window.
Next, you can invite individual users (email addresses) to become contributors to the website (allow them to edit) by adding their emails in the text box.
How to publish your website
