Presented at the Illinois Association of Teachers of English Conference 2009 in Rockford, IL. This presentation documents ways Google Groups and Google Sites can be used in the classroom.

1.
Sites and Groups
Google for the Classroom
Presented at the Illinois Association of Teachers of English Conference 2009 by
Gianna Valentine and Kristin Dragos
Western Illinois University
Preservice Teachers
Chapter 1:

2. Chapter 1: Google Introduction 1
Becoming a Member of Google 1
Benefits of Two Applications 4
Ideas for Classroom Uses 5
Chapter 2: Google Groups 9
Getting Started with Google Groups 9
Home Page: A Brief Introduction 11
Editing the Welcome Message 12
Adding Discussions 13
Viewing and Adding Members 13
Adding Pages 14
Adding Files 14
About This Group 15
Edit my Membership 15
Group Settings 16
Management Tasks 18
Invite Members 19
Chapter 3: Google Sites 20
Getting Started with Google Sites 20
The Home Page 21
Editing Pages 22
Creating a New Page 24
More Actions 27
Managing your Site 27
Adding Comments and Attachments 30
Chapter 4: Closing Remarks 31

3. Google Introduction
Welcome to Google, the webhost that allows you to create websites and web groups for
your classrooms. Although Google is not only limited to sites and groups, for the purposes of our
presentations the sites and groups are the only applications we will be focusing on. Using these
two applications will allow you to integrate technology in your classroom while sustaining high
levels of cognitive learning.
Becoming a Member of Google
Becoming a member of Google is free and the sign-up process is simple. You begin by
signing onto the Google website (http://www.google.com). Click on the “Sign In” link located at
the top right corner of the screen. You will then be located to the account screen where you can
enter your e-mail address and password (if an account has already been set up) or where you can
create an account. To create an account all you have to do is click the link that says “Create an
account now.”
Figure 1.1 The Google Homepage
You will be transported to the sign-up screen where you will enter your e-mail address, create a
password, choose your location, verify the word they have provided, and agree to the terms of
service.
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4. Once you have set up your Google account you can begin setting up Google Groups and Google
Sites. This set-up process will be explained in detail further in this packet.
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5. To get started, go to www.google.com. You’ll see some options along the top. Click “More” and
then go to “Even More.”
This will open up a
variety of options. This is
how you access both
Google Sites and Google
Groups.
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6. Benefits of Two Applications
Before you begin setting up your Google Group or Google Site you first need to consider
how you are going to use the application in your classroom. How you will want to use this
technology will decide which application you should set up. Of course we encourage you to
explore both Google Groups and Google Sites, but if you do not want to use a multitude of
applications in your classroom, choosing the correct application is essential. Both sites offer
themes that allow you to give your site or group a specific identity that you and your students
could appreciate. Making a webpage visually appealing is important because it makes the
application more personal and more fun. Some teachers may want to keep the site looking
professional while others may give their students the opportunity to vote on the style of the class
webpage. Whatever you feel comfortable with is the path you should take, but your options of
giving your webpage personality are numerous.
Characteristics Specific to Google Groups:
If you are looking for an application that houses all discussions in one location, Google
Groups is the application for you. Google Groups has a specific page for discussions where
discussion topics can be posted and students can comment on those discussions. Having
discussions in one place will make it easy for both students and teachers to see what information
is being posted and commented on. Keeping track of which students make what comments is
easy when it is all in one location.
Searching through the posts a specific student has made is easy with Google Groups. All a
teacher would have to do is click on the students’ profile in the “members” tab on the Google
Groups homepage. Once the teacher has clicked on a student’s profile he/she can click on the
“Search author’s post” tab and they will receive a list of all the posts a specific student has made.
This is a great resource for teachers who require a certain amount of posts or comments to be
made by the students on a given day. Teachers no longer have to search through each individual
student’s site to find how many posts students have made recently, they can simply look through
all students quickly from their own “Members” page. Grading can be made quick and easy with
this function on Google Groups.
Privacy settings in Google Groups are more extensive then Google Sites, allowing you to
choose specific areas of the website to be private or public. For instance, you can make the entire
site public so anyone can view the group’s content, but adding or commenting on the content of
the site can be made private so that only members of the site are allowed to post information.
This would be helpful if you wanted students to have limited access to the content that has been
posted on the group, so they would not be able to change information you have posted. The
privacy settings you would choose would depend on your group’s function in your classroom.
Another characteristic of Google Groups that is not really seen in Google Sites is your
ability to change e-mail settings. Although your Google Group does not have a separate e-mail
address, it does send e-mail notifications to its members when new content is added. You can
create a footer message, such as a signature, or a subject prefix, such as the class name, that will
be visible every time an e-mail notification is sent. This is helpful when students have subscribed
to e-mail notifications from multiple groups because it allows students to identify which group
the message is from. You can also decide who receives reply messages that people may send. If
you want to keep messages private you would choose the option that only allows the owners of
the group to receive e-mail replies. The opposite holds true if you want reply messages to be seen
by all group members or select group members.
Characteristics Specific to Google Sites:
Although Google Sites do not allow you to post discussions and comments in one specific
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7. location, it does allow comments to be made on all pages that are included in the site. Comments
that are made on the homepage are seen only on the homepage. When students make comments
on a specific page, let’s say a page about Edgar Allan Poe, those comments are organized in that
one page. This is useful when students are asked to comment specifically on a given topic,
author, book, or event. All comments on that specific area of study are located in the page that
includes all information about that area of study. This means that students and teachers do not
need to rummage through all the comments made to find specific comments on Martin Luther
King Jr.
Google Sites allow you to add Gadgets to your site, making it more personal to your
needs. There are numerous Gadgets to choose from, such as a weather gadget that allows you to
see live weather conditions or a Google Calendar that would allow students to see when large
assignments are due. These Gadgets can be posted onto any page in your Google Site, and can be
useful tools for students to remember import dates or locate specific information.
Ideas for Classroom Uses
There are numerous ways to incorporate Google Groups and Google Sites within your
classroom instruction. Below are some examples of ways to use these applications within a
classroom, but the possibilities are not in any way limited to the ideas listed. Use your
imagination and creativity when thinking about how you can use these in your classroom, and
make sure to consider your audience. A great way to get your students involved is to ask them
what they would like to include on a Site or Group. The Site and/or Group will then suit their
needs, and they will feel they have contributed to the classroom instruction.
Providing students with a classroom resource: all materials would be posted in one place.
Students have numerous classes, all with their own requirements and paperwork. Students walk
from class to class with backpacks and binders overflowing with loose leaf papers just waiting to
fall into the hallway abyss. Since it is so easy for students to lose or misplace their homework
assignment a class website would be a great way to keep all documents at the students’ disposal.
A class website that houses class documents will also excuse teachers from having to
continuously pass out numerous copies of the same assignments. Giving students access to
assignments can also help students who want to get ahead. The students who have completed
other assignments can begin working on new assignments if the handouts were posted on the
website. Students who know they will be absent on a given day will also be able to complete an
assignment ahead of time using the documents available on the class website. Teachers may
even decide to have a somewhat paperless classroom if they include all documents from their
class syllabus to assignments and grading rubrics on a website.
Creating a classroom discussion: when students have access to a class website, they can have
online discussions with their classmates over any topic. Students could post questions or
comments about an assignment or text they have been asked to complete. If students are having
trouble understanding an assignment, they can post a question that their classmates can
respond to, hopefully providing them with the information they need to be successful. Teachers
can keep track of these comments and assign participation grades for their contributions. This
may also cut down on the number of repeat questions teachers will receive from students.
Teachers can begin a discussion by posting a prompt question in which students will be expected
to provide their opinion. Another way to include an online discussion is to ask students to post
reflections to a book they are reading for an independent assignment. Classmates could then
comment about why they would or would not consider reading the book. If they have questions
regarding what the book is about, they would simply post a question within their response. The
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8. student who has already read the book can answer questions and show his/her knowledge of the
reading material. This is a great way for students who are shy in class discussion to show their
knowledge of a given topic.
Cataloging books: posting information about books that are used within the classroom will give
students the resources they need when reading a given text. Teachers can post information
about required reading materials that may help students comprehend the text better. Books
included in the classroom library can also be posted on the website. If teachers post summaries
and/or critical reviews on the books that are in their classroom library, it may entice students to
explore new reading materials. Students may be more likely to read a book if they find the
comments that other people made about the book interesting. It is difficult for a teacher to
explain each and every book that is located in the classroom library or teaching instruction to
every student, especially if numerous students ask about the same book at different times. If a
teacher includes the book information on a website, students will have access to that
information without having to ask the teacher. Students can also post book recommendations on
the class website that may help to expand a teacher’s classroom library.
Classroom book clubs: both in and outside the classroom a book club could be a great resource
for students. Many students do not like to read because the books they are forced to read may be
too boring or too difficult. Setting up a book club within the classroom will allow students to
read what they are interested in. Students will learn how to lead discussions and collaborate
with others when choosing books to read as a group. When submitting a book for consideration,
students would need to present their information on a book and explain why it would be
valuable for the class to read it. Holding a vote to see which book is chosen would show students
how a democracy works. Having the students who submitted the book for consideration post
discussion questions will help them think critically about the book and the other students who
are reading the book. They will want their classmates to understand the book the way they have,
so their questions will be personal and provocative. When posting book discussions on a
website, it allows for the resource to remain visible to anyone with access. This way, students
will be able to show their parents or caregivers what they are reading, and it would provide
teachers with a great resource when choosing books to use in their classroom. The more
students’ input a teacher receives on a given book, the more likely he/she will choose materials
students enjoy. With an online book club parents could also contribute to book discussions while
reading the materials their son or daughter is interested in.
Absence resources: when students are absent the worst thing a teacher hears is “did we do
anything the day I was absent?” When a teacher has posted his/her classroom materials on a
website the absent student will have little to no reason to ask that question. Students will be able
to check the website from home, which will allow a student who is sick to get the information
he/she needs for the next day they go to school. If students do not have internet access at home,
they may print out materials from a classroom or library computer. Even if they do not get the
information they have missed until they return to school, students would still be accessing that
information without the help of the teacher. If teachers post their PowerPoint presentations or
class notes students will not miss valuable information if they are absent. Of course many
teachers may be concerned about giving students easy access to classroom notes because they
may feel students will be more likely to be absent if the resources are available. Yes, students
may feel it would be easier to be absent if they can easily get the information they have missed,
but teachers can always limit the amount of information they include on the website if the
resource becomes abused. Another way teachers can prevent students from thinking they are
allowed to be absent since they can access the materials from home is to have material on the
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9. test that comes strictly from class. Teachers could only provided an outline for their classroom
notes instead of detailing what was discussed word for word. If teachers only post a limited
amount of lecture materials on a website, it would provide a basis of information for the absent
student, but it would also mean that students would miss valuable material that could be seen
on a test if they do not attend class.
Examples: most students do not know exactly what the teacher expects when they receive an
assignment. Some students may feel lost on what they should write or how their final paper
should look and sound. If teachers include examples of their assignments, either from past
students or created by them as a model, on their web page students may find it easier to begin
and complete their assignments. These examples, along with assignment rubrics, will help
students understand your expectations as a teacher. They will be more likely to succeed on an
assignment if they know exactly what they are expected to do, especially if it is a somewhat
subjective assignment like a paper or presentation.
Peer editing: using Google Groups and Google Sites to post papers and comments will allow
students to peer edit each other’s work. Peer editing can also take place within a classroom
setting but because of time limits only one student is usually able to read through and comment
on another student’s work. When peer editing takes place on the web, numerous people can
comment on one students’ work. Each person who peer edits a paper will give their own views
and opinions that will help students gain different perspectives. If one student misses
grammatical errors, another student could identify those errors and help a student realize some
mistakes that he/she is making.
Links to resources: aside from posting papers and discussions, students and teachers could post
links to resources. Posting links to resources will help both teachers and students stay updated
with current events and share information useful for research projects. Teachers could post links
that have to do with teaching strategies and lesson plans on their own web page. They could then
search those links if they are looking for a new instruction idea to use in their classroom.
Students could post links to websites they are using for a research project. They can add
comments about their own links to identify specific characteristics they found useful about the
article or website. Other students could search their classmates’ websites to gain new research
resources to use in their own papers. Sharing information among teachers and students is useful
in all areas of study because it helps students collaborate with their peers and instructors and it
provides resources that may not have been discovered otherwise.
Student portfolio: an online resource that will allow students to keep a cumulative file of their
work throughout a class, school year, or their academic career. Having students keep track of
their assignments by posting them to a web site will provide a way for students to track their
educational progress. Not only can students track their progress but teachers can as well. If a
website is made visible to all school personnel teachers can search students’ sites to see what
information students have learned in other classes. Teachers can use this information to identify
the skill students have mastered and the skills students struggle with. If students consistently
cite sources incorrectly on papers they post on their website, teachers could identify these
mistakes and teach a lesson to correct misconceptions the students may have.
Students creating sites and groups: creating a chance for students to work with technology in
an academic environment. Students can create their own websites to fit their needs as students.
They can add content that they feel is important to their learning process. Including specific
links to sources they have used in other classes or links to current event articles that they find
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10. interesting and important will help students grow as autonomous learners. Creating a personal
site will also give students the opportunity to take charge of their own learning.
Unit Sites: a specific site for a specific unit would also be interesting use of Google Sites.
Teachers could create a site for the specific units they cover in their teaching instruction. Those
sites would include information specific to a theme, book, or author that the students are
studying in class. Having a multitude of information that is specific to a unit of instruction in
one place would be helpful for students who miss class, are looking for answers to questions they
may have about a specific text or theme, and to continuously educate students about a specific
topic throughout the unit. Having a site specific to a unit would also help teachers keep track of
information and resources they are using to teach that unit.
Department collaboration: using Google Sites for collaboration within and between
departments is also a useful tool. Teachers can search each other’s pages to find useful
assignments, assessments, and lesson plans. Comments can be posted on specific lesson plans
detailing questions or comments in regards to that lesson plan. This means that if another
instructor has previously taught a specific book, he/she can make a comment about resources
they have used that they found successful. Collaboration will help make classroom instruction
more successful because ideas one teacher may not have thought about can be presented by a
coworker. Teachers can also collaborate among the different content areas. This means that an
English teacher can search a history teacher’s calendar that is posted on his/her website to find
the dates he/she will be teaching about the Civil Rights Movement. The English teacher could
then teach African-American literature during the same time the history teacher teaches the
Civil Rights Movement. Connecting ideas between classes will help students understand and
remember the information they are learning.
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11. Google Groups
Getting Started with Google Groups
After clicking “Even More” from www.google.com, click on the “Google Groups” option. Select
“Create a group” from the right hand column.
You’ll then be prompted to choose a name,
group email and web address, and a brief
description of your group.
Along the bottom of this screen you will be
able to set the privacy level for your group.
To maintain the privacy of students, use
the restricted access level. This will ensure
that only people you invite will be able to
read and contribute to your group.
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12. Next, you will be given the option to add members to your group. If you don’t know who you
want to invite yet, that’s okay. You can skip this step and continue with the creation of your
group.
After you finish setting up your group, you will be taken to the group’s home page. Clicking on
“Home” from the right column will get you back to this page from anywhere.
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13. Home page: A brief introduction Clicking any of these
If you have multiple groups links will take you to
set up on Google groups, this the pages of your
Clicking here will allow you to edit group. If you get lost
button provides a way to
the welcome message that shows up at any time, click
quickly and easily transition
along the top of your group. It will the home link to
between them.
be the first thing your visitors see. return to this page.
(See example below)
Allows you to invite
people to your group.
Provides you with more
information about your
group’s settings.
When you first set up your group, clicking any of these links will allow you to do what
they say. Start a discussion, add files, etc. After you have some content in the area,
clicking these will take you to that portion of your group, allowing you to see all of the
content posted in the category.
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14. Once you have some content on your group’s site, the home page will look something like this:
You can click any link to go to a specific page or click the appropriate button for each section to
add more content or view the content in a section.
Editing the Welcome Message
Click “Edit Welcome Message” from the home page and add your text. Below is a sample of how
your welcome message could appear after editing.
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15. Adding Discussions
Discussions can be added to your group by clicking the discussions link from the menu on the
right side of the home page. The process is similar to sending an email.
Add the title to your discussion to the subject box and your text in the message box. Click the
“Post Message” button to post your discussion to the group. Once your message is posted,
viewers can respond by adding comments to the page
Viewing and Adding Members
Click the members tab from the menu on the right and you can view the members of your group,
add new members or search through members. Clicking on a member’s name will bring up a
profile page where you can see how that person is contributing to your group.
Search through
the author’s
View a list of posts.
posts.
See the number
of posts added 13
each month.

16. Adding Pages
To add pages to your group, click the pages link from the main menu along the right. Give your
page a name and add text. For your page to be viewed by the group you’ll need to click the “Save
and Publish” button along the bottom.
Clicking the picture and/or link
button will allow you to add
pictures or links to files, other
pages of your group, or other
websites.
Adding Files
You can add files for your group by selecting “Files” from the main menu. Click the “Upload File”
button and then the “Browse” button. You’ll be prompted with a common uploading box. Select
the file you wish to add and select “Open.” Your file will be added to the list and members of
your group can view your file. Note that a Google group does have a limit on storage space of 100
MB, which can go quickly if music or multimedia files are added.
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17. About this Group
The second half of the main menu starts off with an “About this Group” link. The link allows you
to see and edit your group’s current settings.
Edit my Membership
The “Edit my Membership” link allows you to edit how involved you wish to be in the group. You
can get updates about the group’s postings via email, and change your nickname.
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18. Group Settings
The “Group Settings” is probably the most complicated tab of Google Groups. Through this tab,
you can change the group’s access, appearance, and other options.
A. The general tab (shown below) allows you to change the name, description, and group
address.
B. The access tab allows
you to edit the privacy
of your group. You can
change who can see or
search for your group,
how people are
invited, and who can
post or comment to
the group. Any
comments or posts
can be held until the
group’s moderator
approves each
message.
C. The appearance tab
provides some options
in the look of your site.
You can choose a
template and color
scheme created by
Google or make your
own. You can also add
a group picture.
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19. D. The navigation tab allows you to change how your group’s main menu is set up. You wish
to reorder the tabs along the right, rename them, or remove them altogether.
E. Email delivery allows you to set up features of the group’s email. This includes adding a
footer to emails sent to group members and notifications to members if their message
was rejected.
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20. F. The categories tab allows the group to be categorized. This will allow people to search for
your group according to the category it’s under. A school book club group, for example,
may be classified under schools and universities or arts and entertainment.
G. The advanced tab allows you to delete your group, change the primary language, or set
the group to inactive. When a group is marked as inactive, Google freezes the group’s
pages, preventing any additional comments or files to be added.
Management Tasks
The management tasks tab allows for you to approve or reject comments or posts to the group
and approve, manage or reject members of the group. Review pending messages allows the
moderator to approve or disapprove messages, comments or files that users wish to add to the
group. This adds an extra element of security for teachers because they can see what people want
to post before the message is actually posted.
The review pending members tab allows you to approve or reject people who wish to join your
group.
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21. The manage members tab allows you to see a list of all group members. You can see the date
they joined, their status in the group and if they are allowed to post. You can also click the edit
link next to members to edit options on an individual basis. You can change how messages are
emailed to the member, the type of membership each person has, and their posting permission.
Say for example you have your group settings set so that the moderator has to approve all
messages before they are posted. Clicking edit next to a person’s name will give you an override
option to change the settings for one or more people.
Invite Members
The last tab in the main menu bar is invite members. This tab will allow you to invite people to
your group. You can send invites to individuals or large groups of people by separating each
email address with a comma.
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22. Google Sites
Getting Started with Google Sites
After clicking “Even More” from www.google.com, click on the Google Sites option. Click “Create
new site.”
Follow the directions to create a site.
Give your site a name (which will
also be the group’s URL), set the
privacy settings and look of the site.
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23. The Home Page
The homepage is fairly basic until content is added. Here’s a brief explanation.
The site navigation menu
allows you to quickly
move between pages of The My Sites button
the site. Clicking the The editing toolbar allows allows you to switch
home link will return you you to edit, create or between multiple sites
to this page. delete pages of your site. you’ve created or are a
member of.
The recent activity menu
shows what content has Allows you to search the
been recently edited, site to find specific posts
added or deleted. or pages.
Comments and
attachments for the page
will be shown at the
bottom of the page.
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24. Editing Pages
Click the “Edit Page” button from the editing tool bar. The page will seem to change slightly.
You’ll be able to edit text, add links, gadgets, and pictures.
To add content to the page, click the “Insert” button. From this
dropdown menu you can add pictures, links, videos, and gadgets. Click
the appropriate link for the content you wish to add and follow the
directions.
Note: Remember to click the save button that appears in the editing
toolbar after you’ve made changes to any page. Viewers of the site will
not be able to see any of the changes you have made until you do so.
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25. Gadgets are additions to your
website, and there are a variety
that can be added to your site.
Google offers gadgets about the
weather, current news feeds,
literary quotes, games, and
many more. To add a gadget,
click on the “Insert” dropdown
menu, then select “More
Gadgets.” This will pull up a
box that will allow you to
search for gadgets. Once you
find one that you think you
may want to add to your site,
you can preview and resize the
gadget before adding it to the
page.
When your content is added to the page, it will appear as a box. This is normal. Finish adding
content to the page. Remember to click the “Save” button after you’ve finished editing to finalize
your changes and make the changes viewable.
Clicking on the “Format” dropdown menu will allow you to change the text of your page.
Clicking the “Table” option will allow you to create a custom table in the page.
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26. The “Layout” dropdown menu provides
options about the layout of your page.
You can change the number of columns
and where the sidebar appears on the
page.
When you are finished adding content, click the save button that has appeared in the editing
toolbar. Now your page will be viewable to visitors of your site.
Creating a New Page
Click the “Create Page” button from the editing toolbar. It will pull up a list of options for what
the page could be.
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27. Selecting “Web Page” creates a page similar to the home page.
Selecting “Announcements” creates a page for general announcements for viewers of your site.
Selecting “File Cabinet” creates a page where viewers can add files. Note: To add files, viewers
need to have a gmail account and sign in.
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28. Selecting “List” creates a list for your site. Google has templates that can be used to create lists
for keeping track of projects or concerns. You can also create your own list.
Once you’ve selected the type of page you wish to add, you’ll have to give your page a name and
figure out where you want the page placed within your site. Selecting the top level will put a link
on the navigation menu on the home page. If you choose to put a page under another, you’ll have
to go to that page to get to the new one.
These pages
were placed
under the
home page.
Users have to
click the links
here to get to
the page.
Click “Create Page” and your new page will appear. You will have to add content to the page.
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29. More Actions
In addition to creating and editing pages and content, Google Sites offers the ability to do a lot
more. Click the “More Actions” button in the editing toolbar, and you’ll see a dropdown menu
with additional options. From this menu you can delete, move, and print pages, subscribe to
email updates about the changes made to the page, and access the revision history for the page.
Clicking on “Revision History” will pull up a menu that
lists the dates and times that the page was revised. You
can click the link to revert back to a previous version. This
helps to prevent people from making unwanted changes,
and you can see who the last person was to edit the page.
Managing your Site
Site Content
Select the “Manage Site” link
from the More Actions
dropdown menu and you will
be taken to a page that lets you
manage various aspects of your
site. “Recent Site Activity”
shows a history of each time
your site was edited. “Pages”
shows a list of each of the pages
of your site and allows you to
switch between revisions.
“Attachments” show a list of
files that have been uploaded to
the site.
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30. Site Settings
The “General” tab provides options to change the site’s name and description. From this tab, you
can see how much of the file space the site is taking up with attachments. Google Sites are
limited to 100MB of storage space.
The “Sharing” tab allows you to share your site with other people as well as invite people to help
create and edit your site. There are three different levels of permissions with Google Sites.
Owners will have the same permissions as the original creator of the site. They will be able to
change, edit, or delete the pages and the entire site. Collaborators are people who are able to
help edit pages and create content for the site. They will also be able to delete pages, but they
cannot delete the site. The viewer role would be allowed to view the site and make comments on
pages, but they would not be able to edit page content at all.
The “Monetize” tab allows you to add advertisements to your site using AdSense. When enabled,
AdSense will include targeted advertisements to your site and provide an opportunity for you to
make some money on a pay per click basis. (For more information about AdSense go to
https://www.google.com/adsense.) In order to enable the advertisements for your site, the site
has to be open to the public.
“Web Address” tab allows you to add a custom web address for your site. To do this, you need to
own the domain name, which means that you cannot simply make up a new web address.
Site Appearance
This section allows you to change the layout, fonts, color and theme of your site. “Site Layout”
allows you to change the positioning of where things appear on the site.
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31. “Colors and Fonts” allow you to choose a font and color scheme for your site.
“Themes” are color, font and image combinations that you can apply to your site.
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32. Adding Comments and Attachments
On every page there is a place for collaborators and owners to add comments and files. Viewers
are only able to add comments.
If the page currently has no comments or files, click on the small
plus sign next to the word to add content. You’ll be prompted to
either browse for a file to add or given a text box to write your
comment.
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33. Closing Remarks
The best way to get started with Google Groups and Google Sites is to try it out. Explore
the applications to find ways you could use them in your classroom. Before introducing your
students to your new class site navigate your way through the different application tasks. If you
have difficulty adding new content to your site contact your school technician who should be
able to answer questions related to your computer and the internet. Students are also great
resources when you find yourself having difficulty with technology. Asking students to help will
show that they are not the only ones learning within your classroom; being a lifelong learner is a
characteristic that you can model for your students.
Google is constantly changing and developing new web based technology, so make it a
point to continuously check for new updates or applications on the Google website. Adding new
technologies, such as a blog or wiki page, to your classroom will keep your teaching instruction
updated with the newest resources. Your students will also appreciate being able to use new
technologies in the classroom, especially since many of these students will have been previously
exposed to these types of applications. Developing new academic ways to use technologies
students are familiar with is an interesting and exciting way to get your students involved in
their own learning processes.
The information included in this packet on Google Groups and Google Sites is not the
only resource you can use for your classroom. Technologies like RSS feeds and blogs are great
resources to include in your classroom. Google has created an RSS reader and a blog site that is
free for teachers and students use, so keep your eyes open for interesting applications that will
create more possibilities for your classroom instruction. Other Google applications are located in
the same place where you will find Google Groups and Google Sites. Take a look around and
enjoy your experience with Google.
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