Quick+and+Simple+Websites

=Setting up a quick and simple Teacher Page with Google Sites=

[[image:Google-Sites-logo1.jpg width="347" height="180" align="right"]]Getting your own site started from the template:

 * 1) Make sure you are logged into your Gmail account
 * 2) Click this link to load our sample template.
 * 3) At the top of the page, look for ...
 * //This site is in the Template Gallery. Any changes you make will be visible to all users. Use this template //

Click "Use this template" on the webpage.
 * 1) Create a name for your site; your name should be unique and descriptive of the content
 * 2) Choose a theme you like; you can change it at any time. A theme is applied to the entire site
 * 3) Under "More Options" make sure you set up access settings so that parents and students can see your site
 * 4) You may have to enter some text in a box if many people are operating at the same time
 * 5) Verify all the above is done then hit "Create Webpage". If anything is missing the page will reload and you will have to fill in the information that you missed.

Exploring a sample unit:
Click on the "CT1Blueprint" link on the left margin to see a sample Lesson or Unit. Note the many options that are possible. There are many more, but concentrate on setting up some basics first. If you wish to delete this page, instructions are included on that page.

Modifying existing pages:

 * 1) Click on "Subject or Unit 1" in the left side bar to load up that page.
 * 2) In top right corner of your window, click on "Edit Page" to go into edit mode. You will notice in the top right corner that there are now only 2 buttons "Save" "Cancel". Also, you now see a series of editing icons under the menu items.
 * 3) Highlight the tile of the page and type in a subject or unit title you would like. Many teachers like to organize their sites by their classes (EX: Algebra I Period 1, Geometry, Algebra I Period 4, Algebra II ...). If a teacher were using this type of organization she would just type in one of those subjects in this title.
 * 4) In the main body of this page you have many choices. We will share how to create subpages in a few. For now you may want to just type in a list of content you would want in this unit of study
 * 5) Save your page by clicking on the "Save" button.
 * 6) In step 3 above, we changed some text so we knew what content was to go on this page. The page name is still stored as "Subject1". We can change that easily by doing the following: Click on "More Actions" - "Page Settings" and click on the "Page URL" box so you can change the name of this page to something appropriate for your new page. Click save to return to the live page.
 * 7) You can now practice the above (Modifying existing pages) by clicking on "Subject or Unit 2" on the left sidebar and editing that page to hold your second class or unit.

Adding new pages:
Most likely, you don't teach just two classes, so let's add in another page. There are three basic parts of adding a page to your site. If you make a mistake, you can always make changes (usually in the "More Actions" button) later.

**Create a new page:**

 * 1) Click on "Create New Page" in the top right corner.
 * 2) Enter the name of the page you wish to add.
 * 3) Click on "Put Page under Home". If you don't see that option click on "Choose a different location" and click on "Home" then "Select" on the bottom of that pop up window (may have to move that window up to see the "Select" button)
 * 4) With the name and the location now picked, press the "Create Page" button on the bottom of the page.

**Add in Content:**
This is very similar to what we did in "Modifying Existing Page step 4" above

**Place the page in the left sidebar where you wish:**

 * 1) Click "Edit Sidebar" on left panel
 * 2) You will see three boxes in the middle of the screen. The top Navigation box is where we have Announcements, Handouts and Contact Me links. The Text box is simply a holder for our text "Course Listings" that divides our left sidebar into two parts. The bottom Navigation box is where all our units are going. Click on the "edit" in that bottom Navigation box.
 * 3) In the pop-up window that shows now, you should see your class units listed in the order they are on your page. At the bottom of that list there is a link "Add Page". Clicking that link will show you the site map of all your pages. Remember that we put your new pages under "Home". By clicking the "+" symbol next to "Home" the list will expand so you can see your new pages you added earlier. Select your new page and then select the "Ok" button on the bottom of that window (again, you may have to move the window up to see that button).
 * 4) After you have any of your courses selected you can click on the arrows on the right side of that window to move sites up or down or even next pages as sub pages.
 * 5) After you have your new page(s) added in the sidebar organization, click on "Ok". This returns you to the page with Navigation, Text box, Navigation in the middle. At the top of the page, click "Save Changes"Then you can click the link "Return to site" to the left of that button.
 * 6) You should now see your newly added page

**Adding Content to your unit pages:**

 * Adding links to other sites or resources
 * Introduction to Docs and how to make new documents as well as uploading existing documents teachers have. Link those documents to the website.
 * Plug-ins like calendars showing due dates and other class materials. Another popular plug-in is a built-in blog.