Google+Sites

==** Google Sites sites.google.com **==

** A Web 2.0 Review by Crystal McDowell **
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** Introduction: What is Google Sites? **
Google Sites is one of many Web 2.0 tools accessible FREE to online users with a Google account. It allows individuals to construct web pages or wikis using templates for page layouts and themes to change the aesthetic appearance of the pages. Users can also craft their own template to adapt the tool for their own applications and customize the site for their personal preferences. I specifically chose this site because of my interest in implementing ePortfolios in Honors Biology for an independent research project our students complete. There is also another type of account designed specifically for Education known as Google Apps for Education (Primary and Secondary Education). The following link explains the difference between these two different types of accounts that utilize Google Sites as one of many tools. ([|Google Versus Google Apps]) I plan to use the version accessible via my personal Google account. Before researching Google Sites, I did not realize there were different accounts and I was unaware of the difference.

Implementation: How can Google Sites be incorporated into instruction and assessment?
From the research I have conducted, I found different uses of web-based ePortfolios. One teacher I found uses Google Sites for students to create ePortfolios as a collection of their work typical of how portfolios have been used in the classroom previously. The difference is that the portfolio is stored online in a collection of web pages students prepare. There is a link below to a sample of a cumulative student ePortfolio. Another application of ePortfolios is for communicating information about a science research project. I actually found an example of this type of ePortfolio prior to taking this class and was wondering how I could find a way to use this strategy in the classroom. The following link shows how another teacher has utilized ePortfolios in this manner ([|Sample ePortfolio Science Experiment]). Although, I am not certain which program this teacher used for students to create the pages, I feel that Google Sites would be an excellent Web 2.0 tool to use for this type of communication of student research and results.

One of my goals is for students to learn and practice the various ways scientists communicate their findings to each other and to the public in today's digital age. Previously, I primarily had students write lab reports using different formats I had been exposed to in college. How we communicate, however, has changed. I want my students to know how to share their research through the use of research posters that are used at universities now and through the use of ePortfolios like the example mentioned above and the sample Google Site prepared by a climatologist that I included in the Sample Google Site Pages below.

Each year, our Honors Biology students complete an independent research project on plant growth and development. They have historically turned in a written journal of observations and a formal paper documenting their research, data, results, conclusions and inferences. I would like to offer alternative formats that model additional ways scientists communicate today.

The document below is the file I created last year after learning about this requirement. I added some components like the abstract and the checkpoints that my Professional Learning Community did not include in the past. Most of the other requirements and formatting were the same, though. Students are supposed to work on this project for the entire first quarter and submit it just prior to the end of first quarter. Even with the checkpoints, many of the students procrastinate and wait to begin the project or to compose the finished project. My aim is through the ePortfolio format, sharing of information will be ongoing. I can grade portions of the project throughout the semester. Students can view each other's pages and conduct peer reviews and learn from each other's findings.



My aim is through the ePortfolio format, sharing of information will be ongoing. I can grade portions of the project throughout the semester. Students can view each other's pages and conduct peer reviews and learn from each other's findings. Check out the sample Google Site I created with directions for the Seed Germination Project. Students will have the option of creating an e-Portfolio to submit their findings or they will be able to turn in a traditional paper copy.

[|Sample Seed Germination Project Instructions]

** Learn more about Google Sites and how to use this Web 2.0 tool in your classroom. **
[|Signing up is easy. Click here to learn more.] [|Want to know more? Let Google Overview Google Sites for You] [|Google Apps for Education, K-12] [|Google Apps for Education Training Center for Sites] [|Google sites for ePortfolios, a Webinar from Clemson University] [|Q & A: A Teacher Shares Use of ePortfolios] Samples and Tips for Google Sites

** Sample Google Site Pages **
Sample: Climatologist Uses Google Sites to Share Research Sample: Cumulative Student ePortfolio Sample: Environmental Science Project