Google Sites - DFI

Google Sites 

Today we talked all things Google Sites. We had the opportunity to look at a wide range of different class sites and think about the pros and cons of them for our learners. 

Things I thought were important...

• The less scrolling the better
• Easy to use for students and parents
• Visually appealing
• Transparent learning
• Student voice / student pictures

Things I found difficult...

• Over stimulation (lots of bright colours that clash), different fonts, different sized buttons etc.
• Too much on the home page can be overwhelming

My main focus was creating an easy to use, visually appealing website. I looked at some examples of what that might look like for me and went from there. I started by creating buttons on google draw. I used the background remover on some of my buttons to make it look tidier. I removed the pages from the navigation bar allowing students only one entry into each page. The less decisions on the website, the more focus that can be applied to their digital tasks.  

Below are some examples of the site buttons I created for my Te Reo Māori page. The idea is they can push on music to find all the music they need in one place. The glossary is an updated google slide that has all the words the students have learnt in school. This is so parents can scroll through and attempt to use these at home to solidify learning. The Te Reo Māori blog button takes students straight to the whole school Te Reo Māori blog where they will find their weekly challenges. The Māori dictionary is simply a link to an external dictionary. My focus was to make everything straight forward to navigate with only a couple of clicks without compromising on content. I want everything the students and parents might need to be available without it looking like too much content. 

Below was my attempt to bring my students voice into the site they use daily. I saw some wonderful examples of student websites tailored for the students with their pictures helping to navigate the site. I loved this idea. The page is for them and their parents to navigate their learning so why shouldn't it have them front and centre. I didn't have the type of pictures I would have liked to display on the blog but I gave it a go and instantly the page seemed friendlier. Moving forward this is something I'd like to improve on. It could even be something I talk with the students about. What would they like the site to look like?

Another idea I had while looking through other schools class sites was a gallery. Parents don't see enough of what their students do at school. They do marvellous, exciting things and they are always having fun with their learning. I get to see that daily. I want my parents to see that too. Why not have a gallery where parents can access pictures. They get to see what they are doing at school and they can add them to their memories for the future.

Another good chance to explore and try new things. In these moments of exploration, I see the full potential of digital learning.