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Google Apps at NC State

Google Sites Overview – May 2, 2011
Shawn Holmes, DMD, PhD Dept of STEM Education This is an overview of how I have used Google Sites in courses. Our wonderful Bethany Smith can provide the specifics of howto use Google Sites to create a website.

I use Google sites for two courses:
 * EMS 495 Student Teaching Seminar, where students create Evidence #5.
 * They show evidence of Positive Impact on Student Learning.
 * EMS 675 Masters Portfolio, where students create a portfolio demonstrating their growth in teaching, research, and professional leadership throughout the program.

To be frank I turned to Google Sites because I did not want to face a stack of portfolio binders at the end of the semester. The thought of looking through, turning and turning each and every page of each and every binder in the stack was just dreadful!

Google sites were the cure from something I thought was akin to punishment.

Google Sites are used to build websites Students in both courses start their site within the first three weeks of the semester. As they complete or finalize the required documents they start inserting those documents and move forward. Creation of the site is an ongoing process throughout the semester– not a “wait until the end of the semester” weekend process. Take home message: All NC State students have Google applications thus there is a consistent end‐product to grade.
 * Use it specifically for students to build electronic portfolios
 * Students already have Google Sites within their NC State Google suite of applications
 * Faculty do not have NC State Google accounts (yet) permission must be granted by the student
 * It is intuitive
 * Click “Create a New Site”
 * Name your site, choose Blank Template (more versatility), choose
 * Share with only people I specify
 * Create a page, name it
 * Edit pages
 * Images, documents, Google maps, PPT, videos, etc
 * Typical formatting and layout options
 * Save frequently