This summer I have been searching for things that will make it easier for my students and families to communicate, stay organized, and on the same page with me. Since we will be 100% Virtual to start the year, I want an EASY solution. In that search, I stumbled upon Google Sites....and I am in love!
Getting Started
Setting up a Google Site isn't super difficult. You have access to it (for FREE) in your Google Suite. That is the little waffle you see by your name at the top of the Google page. It is one of the options, just like Google Slides or Docs. After you choose a site (make sure you go to the NEW Google Sites), it is pretty much a blank slate with lots of layout options for you. I just started by playing around with what was there. I moved things around. I added things from the LAYOUTS menu. Once you get the hang of it, it is actually rather intuitive. Here is a video that walks you through setting up rather easily and clearly.
It was deciding the direction and focus of the site that had me stumped at first. I couldn't settle upon my desired outcome with the entire thing. Did I want it to service parents? Only a place for the kids? Replace my existing class website? Work hand in hand with Google Classroom? The answer was, in truth, all of those things. I wanted this to be a One Stop Shop if you will -- a classroom hub. Once that was figured out, I was off and running.
Cover Page
My site cover page simply introduces the two PORTALS that I wanted my families to be able to access. They are the STUDENT PORTAL and the PARENT PORTAL. They are not in the navigation bar, as I wanted them to truly be a portal to another place type of thing. You can see that at the top of the picture above. Here is a picture of how I set that up.
You can see I did Pages > Student Portal > Press 3 dots > Hide from Navigation. You can also see a visual of this here in my Instagram Highlights.
Due to the limited font and picture capabilities on Google, the Portal pictures were made in Power Point using a stock photos from Deposit Photos. I have an account there, so they did cost me a nominal fee to access. I am sure there are free stock photo sites that you can use though and achieve a similar look. The fonts are from A Primary Kind of Life.
Once I made the two picture (student and parent portal), I inserted them onto the page using the "Image" button on the Layout menu. I then made them clickable by highlighting them, pushing the link icon, and linking it to the hidden "Student Portal" page on the site.
Student Portal
Once the kids click STUDENT PORTAL, they will be taken to their main page. This is the page I intend for them to check daily. I want them to start here as their morning work so to speak. There are three sections. The first is a Daily Check-in (from Jennifer Findley) that will serve as a way for us to connect AND for attendance purposes.
The Daily Agenda is next. That is where the kids will see specifics on our learning goals and standards for the week. These are Google Files from Ladybug's Teacher Files. Since they are housed in Google when I update them in my Google Drive, they automatically update on my Google Site. My plan is to update them once a week, as all 5 days are there. I used the "Google Drive" button on the Layout section to embed these into the site. If a student needs a more close up look, just clicking on it will make it enlarge.
Finally, there is a link to our Google Classroom. That will take the kids to the actual work section to turn things in. As always, this is password protected, so I will also be keeping the Zoom link there.
At the bottom, there is a link to a secondary page that has extra practice links and above and beyond work for those kids who want "extra credit" or to take their learning further. I plan to update this throughout the year.
OK...that was information overload!! I will stop here for now so you can get this part set up. In Part 2, I will show you what I have on the Parent Portal page, including the links that are there. I will also show you the Amazing Work and Classroom Library sections.
So, with all of thatso far, what questions do you have for me? I will try my best to answer them.
