Follow along below and scroll all the way to the bottom (don't assume you've reached the end until you get to the final step of turning it in). Read every section. Consider that these sections are words I would be "saying" in class, so attentive reading is just as important as attentive listening.
Tech tools and learning how to use a range of technology, as you already know, has become an integral part of life in the 21st century. To prepare you for this, instead of doing work throughout the year that ends up lost on the computer or in a teacher's filing cabinet somewhere, this site will serve as an ongoing portfolio of your English coursework and more. The potential is truly endless!
While this actual assignment is about creating your home page and "about me" section, take the time to explore and have fun learning Google Sites. We'll be coming back to these sites all year long so you might as well as get comfortable with using it. Drag, drop and create!
You're currently on one. Since we have access to all of Google's tools through the school district, you can make websites for free through Google Sites. (Security note: These websites are defaulted so that only people with an MVUSD email can view the sites; they are not publicly viewable.)
YOU WILL ONLY MAKE ONE AND WILL CONTINUE TO ADD TO IT! Do not start multiple sites every time you're asked to "post to your site." This brings me back to the importance of bookmarking so you don't have to go find your site every time.
1. Go to the new Google Sites: https://sites.google.com/new
2. Make a new blank site
3. Bookmark your new site immediately in your bookmarks bar folder for English that we created in class.
4. Title your site using your name. Example: Joanne Tucker (First name, Last name).
5. Title your homepage which is the first and only page created on your site so far. Title your homepage (but with your name of course): Joanne's Learning Journey.
Your site should be looking similar to the screenshot below.
6. Choose a theme, color, and font style. You can choose from any of the themes from the Themes tab on the far right of your screen.
7. Insert an image and an About Me section. You can do this using the layout templates in the Insert tab on the far right of your screen, or by double clicking in a white open space on your site and clicking the image or text icon to insert an image or text box. I recommend the template option. Upload an image of yourself. You can do this by saving it to your school's Google Drive so you can easily insert the image from your Google Drive, or by uploading it from the computer.
If you're unsure, here's a tutorial video below that will help show some of the basics of inserting items. Skip around the video as needed. There's also a tour function you can use by clicking the three dots next to the publish button and click "Take a Tour!" and let Google show you all the different functions.
Did you know? You can take a picture of yourself using the Camera app on your Chromebook!
If you're unsure how to insert, here's another tutorial video below that will help show some of the basics of inserting items. Skip around the video as needed. There's also a tour function you can use by clicking the three dots next to the publish button and click "Take a Tour!" and let Google show you all the different functions.
8. Write out an About Me paragraph (think 4-5 sentences in a Google Doc). This could include things like:
What grade are you in and what subjects are your favorite?
What skills, talents, and knowledge do you have?
What do you like learning about?
How big is your family, do you have any siblings?
What are some of your favorite activities outside of school?
Anything else you'd like your teacher to know about you?
Your site should be starting to look something like the below.
9. Publish your site! Google will automatically use your site name to make the Google Site URL. When it loads and pops up at the bottom of your screen, click "view published site." You can also hit the Publish button arrow drop-down to click the option "view published site" once you've published it.
Note: If you make any changes to your site after you've published it, you will need to hit the publish button again for it to be viewable. Any changes will save as a draft on your site editor but aren't viewable until you re-publish the newest changes.
10. Turn your published link into GC. Turn in here. Click add or create and click the link option and paste your published link in and turn in! Please add a comment when you turn in if you ran into any problems or challenges such as in figuring out how to get a photo from your phone to your Google Drive.