The New Google Sites

Check out:

• Screencast on the basics of the NEW Google Sites

I have been using Google sites for my class website for nearly 3 years now. My students have learned how to create Google Sites for class projects and this year they will be using them to create digital portfolios. I have been anxiously awaiting for the new and improved Google Sites, knowing that I would need to recreate my teaching tools and my class website upon its arrival. So the other day when I saw the new Google Sites link in my old sites I got to work!

Immediately I was shocked that the new Sites did not migrate my old sites into the new format. However, as I got to work on building a new Site, I understood why, many of the features I have used in my old sites are not available (yet) in the new. Also the goal of the new Sites is to make more mobile friendly websites for various types of devices. This was not the case with the old sites and it is necessary today, especially in my community where many families rely on cell phones as their only internet accessible devices.

The new features that I enjoy with the new Sites include the snap grid for aligning elements of the page, the simplistic themes, the tool tabs and the publish button. Beginning with the grid, in the old Sites I relied heavily on using various layouts in my sites. I really like using columns because they add interest to websites as well as make them more navigable. The grid allows the user to create their own layout while keeping elements aligned. There are not many themes available however the ones they have are simple and attractive allowing the user to create a professional looking site in very little time. I suspect Google will provide a way to customize themes soon. The tools for the new Sites are found in tabs to the right. They include text, image, embed and upload as well as access to Google Drive items, Calendars and Youtube videos. This makes adding items to your Site easy and will be especially useful for my students making their digital portfolios. Also in the tools tab is where you create and organize your Site pages, this is much simpler than in the old Sites. The last new feature that I enjoy is the Publish button. In old Sites, you had to click Save between pages you were working on, immediately sending your edits to the public website. With Publish your work is saved as you edit but not changed on the website until you click Publish.

As with everything Google does, I know that they will quickly improve features of new Sites. Some changes I would like to see is the ability to embed outside websites and features into the new Sites. For example on the old Sites, I used the embed gadgets often to include Quizlet study cards for my students. In new Sites the embed simply puts a link to Quizlet, its not as flashy. It would also be useful if Google created a way to migrate old Sites into the new version. That would keep users from having to start from scratch as I did. As you can see I have decided to keep the old Site for my blog. I really like the Announcements format option in old Sites for this purpose and I do not want to lose my other blog posts.

Feel free to use the links above to access my NEW Site and a screencast on how to use the NEW Sites. Have fun creating and come back to visit my blog in January to see some of my students' digital portfolios!