So, it is kind of cheating using a template. But, once the template is open it is pretty blank. Here comes the hard part: figuring out what needs to go in the empty spaces. Doug Johnson in his article, “Build an awesome class website with Google Apps,” featured on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Blog, provides a step by step checklist for important content information to consider for a teacher site. His comprehensive list of 27 topics includes classroom supply list information, field trip details, and even a student sample work folder.
Johnson seems to have thought of it all. By following his checklist, I feel confident that my Google Site will become a priceless resource for not only myself and my students, but for parents as well. Being a parent of school aged children myself, I have come to appreciate one reliable and centralized place to go for information on all things school related. This classroom site will be just that for me, my students and their families. Once I get it created, it can continue to be a powerful, organized resource for future student as well. This is why I realize that doing a great job up front and incorporating all of the elements that are important to my classes now, will be a big payoff in years to come.
Country singer, Maren Morris has a song with the line, “the house don’t fall if the bones are good.” This is an excellent metaphor for building a class website. If I take the time now and do a great job with the foundation elements, the site will last a long time and fulfill a great need as a communication hub that is currently missing in my own teacher toolbox. This is something I have been aware of for some time and just never sat down to “create the change that I want to see” in my own teaching world. Watch out! I am about to make it happen.
Source:
Build an awesome class website with Google Apps | ISTE. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.iste.org/explore/In-the-classroom/Build-an-awesome-class-website-with-Google-Apps
My Two Cents by Kim Barndt 
Cool! Love your quotation from the song. 🙂 You can do this!
Becky
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