Adding Tools to Your Site

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Introduction

Now that you have a Google site and have decided how you want to use it, it is time for you to add some of the features to your site that will make it a useful tool in your classroom. The tools in this unit are just a few of the many available to you on Google sites. I encourage you to explore and try any that interest you. As you will see there are many tutorials available to assist you in adding them to your site, all you need to do is type "tutorials for google sites" into your search engine.

Navigation tips

I recommend that whenever you go to a page outside of this mini course you open it in a new window. To open any page in a new window you need to right click on the link and select "open in new window". By using a new window, you will be able to get back to this course without having to use the back button on your browser.

When creating and editing your google site, you can make both the Google window and the mini course window smaller. You will then be able to follow the instructions as I walk you through the steps by seeing both screens at the same time.

Evaluating web sites

Think back to the articles you read in Unit 1 and the websites you looked at. In the discussion area of this unit, write a short description of each web site and categorize it using the five levels outlined in "Making the Most of Your Class Website". Here are the links to the article and the three websites.

Orchestra site[1] Teacher site[2] Band site[3] "Making the Most or Your Class Website"[4]

Creating new pages

As you saw on the example sites in Unit 1, you will need to create new pages on your website for different intended uses. If you want a very simple site with only one page, you can add all the tools in this unit to your homepage but I recommend creating at least one new page so that you know how to.

1. Sign into your Google account
2. Click "more" on the tool bar at the top of the page and click on "sites"
3. A page will open that lists all your Google sites, click on your classroom or teacher site to go to your home page
4. Click the "Create page" button
5. Name your page, select a template and choose where you want your page to appear on your site based on its intended use, then click "Create Page" (be sure to chose the name of your page carefully, you can not change the name after the page has been created)
6. When you are ready to add content to your page, click on "Edit page"
7. You can change the layout of the page to suit your needs by using the layout button on the tool bar

It is very important to remember that all changes you make to your pages must be saved or they will be lost when you navigate away from the page. To save the changes just click "Save" in the top right corner of the screen. If you change your mind about any changes you make just click "Cancel" instead of "Save" and all the changes will be undone.

Calendars

A calendar can be a very useful tool on your website. You can use it to help students remember their lesson times, remind parents and students of concert dates, or even put a practice schedule on it.

Here is a link[5] to a video tutorial for setting up a Google calendar if you do not have one already and would like use one. This is the first video tutorial in a series. You can watch as many of the videos in the series as you would like to learn more about the various features of Google calendars.

This tutorial[6] will walk you through the steps to adding a google calendar to your website.

Graphic Images

Pictures or graphics can add a lot to your website and can be used for a variety of educational purposes. They are also very easy to add to your site. You can use pictures or graphics that are on your computer or any image you have uploaded to the internet.

1. Go to the page you want to add a graphic to and click "Edit page"
2. Chose the column or sidebar you want the picture to be in and click on it to activate the box
3. Click "Insert" on the tool bar and chose "Image"
4. Find the image you want by browsing on your computer or put in the URL for an image that is already uploaded to the internet and click "ok"
5. When the image appears on the page be sure to save the page by clicking "Save"

Link

Adding a link to another website or a different page on your site can be a helpful navigation tool. You can also have pages on your site with links to resources for yourself, other teachers, your students or their parents.

1. When you are on the page where you are want to add a link, click "Edit page"
2. Type the text you want to use for your link then highlight it with your mouse
3. Click the "Insert" button on the tool bar and select "Link"
4. Select a page on your site to link to or select "Web address" and paste or type in the URL of whatever internet site you want to create a link to (an easy way to get the correct address is to open the site in another screen, copy the URL and paste it into the link box
5. I recommend selecting the "Open this link in a new window" box so that anyone using your website will not leave the site when following links
6. Click "Ok" to create the link
7. Save the page

Proceed to Unit 3 Embedding Video on Your Site