Wednesday 9 September 2009

Sometimes the Teachers are the Students

Throughout the summer we've had the chance to meet with several K-12 teachers as they prepare to go back to school with Google Apps. Once again we were amazed by the creative and inspiring way teachers use Google Docs, Google Sites and other apps to teach their students. One teacher we met integrated Docs so deeply into his curriculum that he now has a "paperless" classroom!

Many teachers are also starting to use Google Sites. We heard sighs of relief when we told teachers they didn't need to know how to code in order to create class websites. In fact, we wanted to make creating sites even easier. Just in time for back to school, we've created Google Sites Set-up Guides. These guides will help teachers create class sites, class project sites, and administrative sites. The guides will also show you how simple it is to embed student presentations, research paper templates, and even pop quizzes.

You can create a class site with a class calendar, embedded forms for pop quizzes, and list student assignments so students never forget their homework and parents can help their children more easily. A class site is also a great way to showcase student work throughout the school year.


Google Sites can also be used to create a school project site. We have lots of great examples of teacher-submitted project sites on our Sites for Teachers Page and the set-up guides will help teachers create project sites of their own. Project sites let students keep track of all their research materials, collaborate on reports, and even track their progress using spreadsheets.


The Sites Set-up Guides can also help teachers set up school administrative sites to help teachers work together to organize school events, share resources and post policies, and track student progress and behavior using Google spreadsheets.


We hope all you teachers out there find these guides useful and we look forward to seeing all the creative ways you use Docs and Sites this school year.

Posted by Ashley Chandler, User Operations, Google Docs and Google Sites