The Answer Is Always a Google Site

It’s long been said that ‘the answer is always a spreadsheet’ but I think it’s time to update this phrase. I say this as a die-hard fan of spreadsheets and know the wonders a good formula can do. But, on a day-to-day basis in the classroom, spreadsheets have limited use and impact, whereas the use for a Google Site is endless. Google Sites addresses common classroom challenges, such as sharing resources, organising information, and fostering collaboration.

The versatility of a Google Site has proven to be its greatest feature. It is simply the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of Google Workspace. Not only is the user interface intuitive and easy to navigate, but if you can master the tools of a Google Site then you’ve pretty much graduated into the main features of any Google Workspace tools. A seamless integration with Google Docs & Drive, Photos and YouTube, amongst others, means it’s incredibly easy to import and integrate any type of document, photo and video. Add in the easiest of drag-and-drop functions and it’s no exaggeration to say that you can create and publish a competent and effective website within thirty minutes.

Not only can you use a pre-defined template or theme - or create and add your own - but each page element is easy to identify and use.  Be it content blocks, collapsible groups, page buttons or place holders, each element can easily be inserted and moved around a page and resized.  As with everything Google, everything is saved automatically and ‘Version History’ means it’s easy to revert back to a previous version - or see if/how a user has amended a page.

Being able to apply ‘Hide from Navigation’ to a page means you can create new pages and links on a published site without any fuss for the user and simply ‘Show’ them when they’re completed.

One of the most appealing features of Google Sites, is the option of making your site visible (and searchable) to the Public or just within your domain. Restricting a published site to just your domain allows you to share a Google Site just with your students.

Here are some simple, but effective, ways you can use a Google Site within your school

Curriculum Resource Hub

A resource hub is a simple way of collating multi-media resources for a subject, lesson or unit of work. Google Sites allows users to quickly create an online learning environment that can be shared with just one link.

Why not use a Google Site to share a wealth of asynchronous resources e.g. a history topic, a maths strategy, authors, online safety, mental and physical well-being etc. It's a fast and effective way to share information with students.

A Staff Training Hub

With the adoption of Google Workspace comes staff training and as a Google Certified Trainer, that involves a lot of PD sessions and bespoke training. One way of supporting the development of staff digital skills is through short tutorial videos and links to other important resources. Creating a staff training hub using a Google Site makes it easy to collate resources and ensure all staff can easily access them. A tutorial video created to support a single staff member can also be added to benefit other users. Having created 100+ video tutorials, a staff training hub is a one-stop shop for asynchronous learning!

A Student & Parent Help Centre

Just like school staff, in the digital age, parents need all the help they can get when it comes to supporting their children in using a range of digital platforms.  Creating short tutorial videos and providing links to ‘How To...’ guides using a Google Site not only empowers parents to navigate unfamiliar tools and software but it allows them to work through them at their own pace. It’s important to recognise that parents’ digital skills are often lacking compared to students. Creating a Help Centre Google Site answers any questions that may arise when supporting their child in completing homeworks and other school related tasks.

School Portal/Landing Page

There are many websites that are accessed every day by different workspace users so why not arrange them all into a simple portal/landing page for easy access?

With a little ‘magic’ in the Google Admin Console, you can ensure each workspace user - students, teaching staff, TAs and Admin staff - have access to a portal that best serves their needs. This is particularly useful when digital subscriptions involve a bespoke URL for a school. They are easy to create and update and you can ensure each page appears as a ‘Home’ or ‘New Tab’ page.  

Student Digital Portfolios

Using digital tools to enhance teaching and learning can result in numerous documents and files. Google Sites' Template Gallery provides a couple of options that can make it easier to organise your student's work throughout the academic year. With a little bit of training, they’ll soon be able to add and organise pages for different subjects/courses and share their work. Thanks to the likes of www.eduscripts.uk/solutions/site-duplicator it’s easy to mass duplicate a Google Site and retain ownership. The added bonus is that you can then publish their portfolios and share with parents.

Subject Leader Portfolios

It’s very difficult being an educator and also having responsibility for at least one curriculum subject (how do teachers at small schools do it?). Likewise, monitoring the teaching and learning of a subject in other classrooms can be a challenge too. Creating a Subject Leader Portfolio that staff can add to at their leisure - or during dedicated staff meeting times - helps to curate a whole school overview across all subjects, ensuring curriculum alignment and subject pedagogy. From a management perspective, it allows trouble-free monitoring and enables staff to showcase the outcomes of their lessons and share exemplary pieces of work.  If you want to go further, create a ‘master’ subject leader Google Site so SLT can access all subject leader portfolios in just a few clicks.

My favourite recent uses of Google Sites

Holiday Boredom Fighters!

Creating and sharing a list of external websites and/or activities

is a great way to assist parents during holiday periods.

Lost Property

Ideal for all the nameless lost property and an effective way to reunite lost items with their owners.  Simply photo and number each item and wait for parents to email in.

Trips & Residentials

The easiest way to share a multiple photos and videos from school trips and residentials with parents.

Google Sites offers endless possibilities for educators, combining simplicity and versatility to meet the diverse needs of classrooms. By integrating this tool, schools can foster collaboration, enhance organisation, and create even more engaging learning environments. 

Sayonara spreadsheets!