Students can search for images to use right in the Sites interface, and results are restricted to those labeled for commercial reuse with modification, taking the guesswork out of image rights. It's easy to insert links to anywhere on the web, including other pages on their site. Just by building their own sites, students will learn about the web, about design, and about organizing their material. As students search for the answers to their questions, they'll also learn about more of Sites' features and can then expand how they use it. Built-in help, though, has plenty of useful information on getting started, creating sites, editing and sharing, accessibility, troubleshooting, and more. Still, most students will eventually need to access the help files within Sites and possibly even the more in-depth help on the Google site itself. ![]() Staring at a blank page to begin with, though, might discourage some students, but the open-ended possibilities will excite others. They can customize their site with logos and use matching colors and style. Students can really personalize their Google Sites page by creating their own website style, even making and adding their own personal favicon. Many features, such as sophisticated templates, haven't (yet) been brought over from classic, but Google keeps adding new features as it works to phase out the old version. This new Google Sites incarnation brings a lot of changes from the classic Sites, which is slowly being phased out. The interface allows for previewing the site at any time students can see what it will look like on a computer, tablet, or phone. Additional pages can be created and placed in hierarchies, which are accessible in a menu from the main page. There are six built-in themes to choose from that help students create a look-and-feel for their site, and minor modifications can be made to those as well. They can organize, reorganize, and edit most elements, making minor modifications in font, color, background, and other basic traits. They can create collapsible text areas, automatically create a table of contents from page headers, make clickable buttons, and create image galleries. Students can use one of six section layout templates for images and text. Options for what to add to the website include additional pages, text boxes, images, documents, and embedded elements, such as videos, maps, calendars, documents, other websites, and more. The site's name will become students' default URL once they publish unless they change it. There's a very brief tour of the interface, and then students are given a mostly blank page with a place to add their site's name and the main page's name. To start using Google Sites, students log in, click on the rainbow "+" button, and dive right into the design. The drag-and-drop editor is easy to use, but there's little design inspiration built in. Google Sites helps anyone create clean, functional, responsive websites on any topic. Teachers can create their own templates and then duplicate these template sites as needed, or publish sites that only the teachers and administrative staff can access. Older students will also enjoy experimenting with graphic design and layout - the basics of web design - while establishing a place that's theirs on the web. So even students without much web savvy can use Sites for school or personal needs. Though the tool can be used to create fairly sophisticated websites, basic ones can also be created quickly with the easy drag-and-drop features. Once published, a site can also be shared with a specific audience, making it easy to keep sites accessible only to those inside your class, school, family, etc. ![]() Sharing is a key component of Google Sites, with students being able to share their sites while in edit mode to allow for collaboration. Students can even create websites as assignments themselves, demonstrating their knowledge on a subject. Sites can have multiple contributors, making this a good way for students to learn collaboration projects could include a school newspaper, student club, sports team, or magazine of student writing and artwork. You can also post photographs that document class projects and highlight student accomplishments. Class-related sites let users post daily features and polls, maintain a calendar, and upload assignments. You and your older students will find the most value in Google Sites.
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