Welcome Back to a New Google Sites!

Google Sites got a makeover this summer! As many of you begin updating your webpages you will notice Google Sites has a new look. You can access Sites from your Google Drive just like you would when creating a new document. The new version has a minimalist look and feel to it. Like most new Google tools, I'm sure there will be many upgrades/tweaks that silently appear as Google gets feedback. Below is a nice run-down of what you will find in the NEW Google Sites.

Two on Tuesdays: Keeping your Website Updated!

Here are two ideas on how to keep your website updated with minimal effort outside of a little initial setup time.  Don't forget you can stop the videos at any time if you are following along!

1. Remind (remind.com) - It you aren't using this service to update parents/students via text message you really should consider it. Your personal information stays private at the same time the service allows you to text subscribers important updates about your class, your club, your team, etc. If you take it one step further, those same texts can be posted on your Google site so your site is always highlighting the latest and greatest class news without having to log into your site (outside of the initial setup). This five minute video walks you through how to add the Remind widget to your Google site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usrtJKAC-mo

2. Blogger (blogger.com) - If you are sending home weekly or regular emails to a distribution list, you should strongly consider having an announcements page (using Blogger) linked to your Google site.  Your Blogger page can have an email address and by adding that email address to your distribution list, your page gets updated every time you send out an email to that group. The initial setup takes less than 15 minutes and then there is no additional effort required, unless you choose to fancy up your Blogger page.

Here is a 10 minute video that walks you step-by-step through the process: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuVa9Q_I-28

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact your school's ITRT! We look forward to working with you this year!

Let the World See your Documents!

It is not a great idea to assume that your students and/or their families have Microsoft Office on the computer they use to access your website. If you are uploading Word or Publisher documents or Excel files, and your end user does not have Office installed, they may have trouble accessing your documents.

Making all your documents PDF files before you upload/save them to your Google drive helps insure they still look the way you want them to and that they can be read on most computers (a PDF reader is a free download if it isn't standard on a computer).

To make a PDF of the document you want to publish, you can:

1. Choose “save as” and change the file type to PDF when your document is finalized
2. Choose “print” and choose “CutePDF writer” as the printer and follow the prompts to save your document

Enjoy your webmastering!