As many of you know, I’m an advocate of students creating and publishing in what is now the most widely read medium that exists — websites. Until recently, it took a considerable amount of effort to get students equipped with the tools needed to create websites easily, safely, and responsibly. Now that Google has updated their Google Sites application, there is nothing holding us back.

Sites can be used by students to create learning portfolios, to share their understandings and important information, to promote civic engagement and raise awareness, to promote products in the consumer sciences, and to build communities and collective understandings around shared interests. Regardless of a website’s purpose, having students create them calls on them to develop essential skills, such as problem solving, media literacy & design, being aware of audience & purpose, and developing a writer’s voice.

I’d love to sit down with you and design a learning experience around student created websites for your classes. In the meantime, see how easy it is to build a Google Site in the video below.

Go here for more information from Google about the rebuilt Sites and what this means for “Classic” Sites users.

Main relevant 21st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Design, Product Creation, Reflection, Citizenship