“e” is for Easy:e-Portfolios Using Google SitesChris Carman & Chris KnopickTheodore Roosevelt High School, Kent, Ohio

What is Google Sites?

Easy-to-use, free web page creation software

Editor is web-based through Google Apps

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

Did we mention it’s FREE?

Why use Google Sites in the classroom?Encourages writing, sharing and collaboration

Use of technology engages students

Similar to work in online college courses

Alternative assessment

Research suggests “writing across the curriculum” improves test scores

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Features of Google SitesWeb-based, WYSIWYG editing - no HTML!

Accessible anywhere

Easy insertion of images and videos

Easy attachment and embedding of documents, files and calendars

Highly customizable with themes

Collaboration tools allow for multiple editors and reader comments

Hundreds of “gadgets” add live interaction

Free!

Our Chemistry Sitehttp://sites.google.com/site/rhscpchemistry/

How we use Google Sites in Chemistry4th quarter research project on a chemistry topic of their choice is done using Google Sites

Students create their site over several weeks within defined parameters (min. # pages, images, etc.) with weekly computer lab visits

On the due date, students look at several other students’ sites and complete a short summary of each

Sites are graded based on a rubric

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Examples of student work

Possible uses of Google SitesAll: research projects, group assignments, current events, field trips, peer review, multimedia/video collections, presentations, podcasts

School-wide: meetings & events calendar, photos of past events, member list, important documents/forms

English/Language Arts: peer review, online newspaper, journaling*

Foreign Language: translations, virtual field trips, collaboration with foreign partner school

Math: spreadsheets, graphs, word problems, survey of architecture

Science: lab reports, spreadsheets, graphs, videos of experiments

Social Studies: opinion papers, mock elections

* Google Sites can be set to “Private”

How do I sign up?

Go to http://sites.google.com/

Log in with your existing Google account or create a new one - you do NOT need to create a Gmail account!

Click the button

Enter a site name & web address (URL) - the URL must be unique!

Choose privacy settings and a theme (optional)

Type in the scrambled security code (i.e. )

Click , and you’re done!

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Things to consider when creating a SiteSite URLs cannot be changed - to get a new address, you must delete your site and create a new one

Many Site URLs have already been taken - YMMV!

Have your students use a consistent URL prefix - i.e. “rhschem1flast” for 1st period Chemistry, flast is first initial + last name

Many school web filters block Google Sites by default - your technology coordinator may be able to lift this for you, especially if you use a consistent URL prefix, e.g. “rhschem”

Free Sites have a maximum space of 100MB, 20MB per attachment, unlimited pages

Creating & editing pagesTo create a page, click and choose a template:

To edit an existing page, click

Make your edits just like you would in a word processor and click

It’s that simple!

Adding other content to pagesWhile editing a page, click the Insert menu to add:

Calendars

Documents & Spreadsheets

Images

Links

Maps

Photos

Slideshows

Videos

Gadgets - interactive plug-ins

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Some useful tips...Before you even start planning, make sure Google Sites isn’t filtered by your district; using the same URL prefix can make it easier for your tech coordinator to ‘whitelist’

Make your own Google Site with pages for directions, due date(s), scoring rubric, handout attachments, and a list of links to all student Sites (if applicable)

Have students set up their Site during class in a computer lab or media center so you can help them and record their Site URLsSet aside additional class time for larger assignments or regular journaling

Break larger assignments into smaller progress ‘checkpoints’ to make sure no one gets lostEncourage collaboration through page comments or by establishing multiple Site editors for group projects

Useful links for Google Siteshttp://sites.google.com/ - Google Sites home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD-4FRTzxkI - intro to Google Sites

https://www.google.com/support/sites/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=153055 - Google Sites for Teachers

http://www.google.com/support/sites/ - Google Sites Help

http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2009/09/electronic-portfolios-with-google-apps.html - Electronic Portfolios with Google Apps

ReferencesCroxton, C. & Berger, R. (n.d.). Journal Writing: Does it Promote Long Term Retention of Course Concepts?. The National Teaching & Learning Forum. Retrieved August 21, 2009, from http://www.ntlf.com/html/sf/journal.htm

Google. (2009). Google Sites Help. Retrieved August 21, 2009, from http://sites.google.com/support/

Miller, A. (2008). Maine’s Laptop Initiative Improves Student Writing. Retrieved August 21, 2009, from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2531

Papert, S. (2002). Hard Fun. Retrieved August 21, 2009, from http://www.papert.org/articles/HardFun.html

Quitadamo, I. & Kurtz, M. (2007). Learning to Improve: Using Writing to Increase Critical Thinking Performance in General Education Biology. CBE Life Sciences Education: 6(2). Retrieved August 21, 2009, from http://www.lifescied.org/cgi/content/full/6/2/140

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Questions? Comments?

ke_ccarman@kentschools.netke_cknopick@kentschools.net

This presentation is available at:http://www.kentschools.net/ccarman/etech/

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