Creating a class website

1) Use Google Chrome as your web browser (editing your Google website requires use of chrome)

2) Sign in to your Google account (district email and password or a personal Google account)

3) Navigate to Google sites https://sites.google.com/

4) Click the ‘Create’ button in the upper left corner of the screen

a) Options are in New Sites or Classic Sites

b) Choose New Sites

5) Click Create at the top left corner

6) Your first page will come up, along with formatting tools in the right hand sidebar

7) At the top left corner, you will name your site document so you can find it from your Google Drive

a) I named the site document ‘Tech’

8) The top left corner of the page will be your site name

a) Click on the line, site name, to edit

b) I named the site ‘BD Technology’

9) Under the site name, is the Header

a) The header type I chose was Banner

b) Click on the header to choose a relevant image

i) I chose the notebook and iPad, as this site is meant to help teachers implement tech tools to add to their teaching kit

c) Type a Title

i) This is your home page, so make it site but not page specific

ii) I chose Tech for Teachers

10) At the top right corner, on the formatting bar, click the Themes option

a) This allows you to change font styles and colors

b) I used Diplomat in blue, which added a bluish tone to the picture and framed my Title.

c) In the drop down menu Font style, I chose Classic

11) Under the banner, click on the section to edit text.

a) Type a brief description or welcome message.

b) Click on the palette icon to the left to set the background color and font type

i) I chose Emphasis 2. This sets the background color to blue, to go along with the banner theme from earlier, with a white font. I chose these as I find it easier to read light letters on a dark background.

12) On the right hand side bar, click on the Pages tab

a) At the bottom of the sidebar, click the Plus sign and choose New Page

i) Name your new page

ii) I chose Graphics

13) On the right hand sidebar, choose Insert

a) Since these will be graphics, I chose the Images option at the top right of the Insert tab in the sidebar

b) I chose an image from my Google drive

14) On the right hand side bar, click on the Pages tab

a) At the bottom of the sidebar, click the Plus sign and choose New Page

i) Name your new page

ii) I chose Printed Material

15) On the right hand sidebar, choose Insert

a) Since these will be pages used to print, I chose the Upload option at the top right of the Insert tab in the sidebar

b) I chose a file from my computer

i) Files can be PDFs, Google Docs, or web docs

16) On the right hand side bar, click on the Pages tab

a) At the bottom of the sidebar, click the Plus sign and choose New Page

i) Name your new page

ii) I chose Multimedia

17) On the right hand sidebar, choose Insert

a) Since this will be a multimedia presentation, I chose the Google Drive option from the Insert tab

b) I chose a Quick time movie from my Google drive

18) On the right hand side bar, click on the Pages tab

a) At the bottom of the sidebar, click the Plus sign and choose New Page

i) Name your new page

ii) I chose Links

19) On the right hand sidebar, choose Insert

a) Since this will be a page of links to other sites, I chose the embed option from the Insert tab

b) I copied a link from our Symbaloo page (I used the embed code option from share the webmix and inserted the embed code. Another option is to just copy the URL address)

c) Resize the window by holding down the left button on the edge of your linked window as you move the frame

d) Another option I used is to add the link as a drop down navigation button

i) On the right hand sidebar, choose Insert

ii) Choose insert link

iii) Name the link. I chose How to Use Sites

iv) Go to the site you wish to link, copy URL

v) Paste the URL into the LINK line on your site

vi) At the right hand sidebar, choose Pages option

vii) Click and hold the left mouse button on the link you just created

viii) Holding down the left mouse button, move the link to another page. I chose ‘Links’

20) On the Pages tab at the right hand sidebar, you can rearrange your pages in an order that pleases you. This will change the navigation bar at the top of each page on your site.

Congratulations! You’ve set up a basic website, and can start adding content to help you share your subject with your students.