In this video I'm going to show you how to set up e-portfolios with Google Sites. Electronic or
digital portfolios can be used for students to reflect on their work and showcase what they've
done throughout the year. Google Sites is an ideal program for setting up e-portfolios because it's
relatively easy for students to use and each student portfolio that a student makes using Sites
can be linked back to a class page, where everyone can check out each other's portfolios.
So stick around and I'll show you everything you need to know in order to set up e-portfolios
in Google Sites. My name is Sam Kary and this is my YouTube channel for The New EdTech Classroom.
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Let's start here by looking at a final version of a student's digital portfolio
so you can see what one might look like. You'll notice that this student's portfolio includes
a video file, an embedded google slide, and an image to represent a piece of their work.
The video is viewable directly on the student's page and you can also scroll through the slide
deck directly on the page as well to see their work. In addition to the actual work,
the student has also included written reflections about how their work reflects their learning,
as well as what makes them proud about the work they chose to include in their portfolio.
If you're going to have students put digital portfolios together you're likely going to want to
create a single home page with all the links out to the individual portfolios, so let's start there.
If you already have a Google Sites class website it would probably make the most sense to have a
portfolios page as one of the main pages on your site that can be accessed from the menu bar at
the top. After I click on the portfolio page you'll see that I have images that represent each student
on the page, as well as a link that when clicked on takes you over to that student's portfolio.
If you haven't set up a class website with Google Sites, no need to worry, you can still set up a
central location to house all of your students portfolios. In this case you might just want to
set up a single page site as the place where students and families could go to view all the
portfolios. Okay before we look into how to create individual portfolio pages let's look at what's
involved in setting up one of these portfolio home pages. If you already have a class website the
easiest thing to do will be to go to Google Sites, select your class website so you're in edit mode,
then go over to the right hand side of the screen and click on 'Pages' to add a new page.
Click on the 'New page' button at the bottom of the screen and title it "Portfolios" and click 'Done'
when you're ready. You'll see that a new page called "Portfolios" has been created and that your
new page has also been added to the menu bar above. You can click 'Change image' to customize
the header background if you'd like, then go to 'Insert' and choose a layout you want to bring in.
The layout I showed on the previous page was this one with four images and text boxes.
Then to bring the layout in, simply drag and drop it onto the page. Keep dragging and dropping the
same layout until you have enough boxes to represent each of the students you teach.
Then you can add an image that represents each student by clicking on the 'Add' button
and then choosing to either upload an image from your computer, to find an image from Google, or
to bring one in from your Google Drive. To make it more personalized I would recommend that you give
some suggestions to students about the types of images they might want to include, like a headshot,
or an image that represents something about their personality. One idea would be to create a shared
Google Drive folder and then have students drop their images in so that you can access them. I'm
just going to add an image that I touched up using a filter on my iPhone here, which might also be a
fun choice for students. Then underneath the image I'll click on the text box and type "Mr. Kary's
Portfolio" and make any formatting changes that I want to do here, like changing the font. Then I'll
just keep adding images and text until each of my students has a space on the main portfolio page.
After you've created a space for each student you'll be able to start linking their individual
portfolio pages by highlighting the text and selecting 'Link.' Once you have the link to their
portfolio you'll copy and paste it here. Before we create individual student portfolio pages though,
let's just look quickly at a couple more options you have for setting up your main portfolio page.
If you teach more than one class and want to create separate pages, like this one, for each of
your classes all you need to do is set up the layout you drag in to represent those classes.
So here I might use the three box layout and then write "Period 1 Portfolios" and
add a relevant image. Then you'll want to go back over to 'Pages,' hover over 'Portfolios,'
click on the three dot menu, and select 'Add Subpage.' Title the subpage the name of your
entire class, so I'll just write "Period 1" here and then repeat that for the number of
subpages you want to create. Then when back on the portfolios page, highlight the text,
and select 'Insert Link.' Scroll down to choose the subpage you just created and click 'Apply.'
Now you'll see that when you click on the link it takes you over to the Period 1 page you created
and from there you can repeat the same process I just showed of dragging in layouts and adding
text and images for each student. And lastly before we look at the student portfolio pages,
if you don't have a class website and just want to build a portfolio page that stands alone, you
can start from the Google Sites home page, choose to start from a template or just select 'Blank'
and then basically repeat the same exact process I just showed to set up your homepage as the central
location for all your student portfolios. Now that we've set up the main class portfolio page
let's look at how to set up individual student portfolio pages, as well as how to link them back
to your main page. If you're going to have students use Google Sites, you'll be avoiding numerous
headaches later on if you just take the time to teach students now how to use it. Your best bet is
to make a video tutorial so students can re-watch it at their own pace as needed. You can also just
follow the directions I'm going to give you now in order to make your own tutorial. Just like we did
with our own page, you can either have students start with a pre-made template or you can start
by having students create a site from scratch. Once inside, have students give their site a name.
I'll call this one "Sam's Digital Portfolio." Show them how to add a title to their page and then
you can also show them how to choose different font types to make their site more personal, as
well as how to change the background image of the header in order to make it their own. You can also
show students how they can change the theme of their page by clicking on the 'Theme' tab. From there
students can select from different themes that will change the overall look of their page. Then
you'll want to show students how to use the 'Insert' tab to bring in different features.
You might want to have them start by bringing in text first. To add text, students just need to click
'Text box' and then a text box will show up. They can type a short description, such as, "This portfolio
represents everything I have learned so far in 9th grade," and then you can also show them
how they can change the font type alignment, as well as the size of the text on the page.
Next you'll most likely want to show students how to bring in different types of layouts.
I think the most useful layout for an e-portfolio is the single media with text layout. This layout
will allow students to add different forms of media to represent their work,
as well as a title of it and a description. For the title, have them write a title that represents
the work that they're bringing in. So for example, for this one I'm going to call it the "Salem Witch
Trials Video." Then you could have them include a short write-up about the piece of work they choose.
Here you could have students write about the skill development and content knowledge shown
in the project. For example, students might write, "I chose this project because it shows what I
learned about how women were unfairly persecuted during the Salem Witch Trials. It also shows how I
was able to accurately summarize key points from a book, as well as correctly use evidence." I also like
to have students include a line about why they are proud of their work and why it shows growth.
For example, a student could write, "I'm proud of this work because I've never made a video report
before and I think it shows how I've grown in my openness to try new things and to be creative."
Then to bring in the actual video, students will need to click on the 'Add' button
and then in this case upload the video from their Google Drive. Here they just need to find their
file in Drive and then click 'Insert' to add it. Note that in the case of a video or audio file,
students will need to upload those files to Drive if they aren't already there.
They can do this by going to their Google Drive, clicking on the 'Add New' button, and then uploading
the file that they're looking for from their computer. Once students are ready to add new work,
they just need to repeat the same steps as before. This time however, for aesthetic purposes,
I'll show students how to offset the media and text for what they just posted by dragging the
media box over to the right side. Then they can continue to add different pieces of work.
For example they could directly embed a slides presentation, like this example of
a quote analysis project, or they could simply upload an image to their portfolios, like this
one of a digital book. What's most important is that the student portfolios include some way
of visually representing each student's work, as well as text explaining why that work was chosen.
To separate the assignments and make the portfolio pages look even better, you could also show them
how to further customize it by doing things like adding divider lines in between their assignments.
To add divider lines, they would just need to click on the part of the page where
they want the line to go, and then select 'Divider.' Before students publish their page,
have them add you as a collaborator so you are able to help them with edits as needed. They
can add you by clicking on the person icon and then typing your email address and clicking 'Send.'
Of course you could also pre-create the portfolio template yourself and then share portfolios with
students this way if you prefer doing that. Now students will need to publish their
portfolios by clicking on the blue 'Publish' button. They'll need to give their portfolio
page a unique name, though I'd avoid having them include their actual names for privacy reasons,
and then click this box to make sure that the pages don't show up in Google searches. If you want
the portfolio page to be even more private, so that only students in your class can see it for example,
you can do that by managing who can view the page. Once students have clicked 'Publish,' they'll be able
to share the link to their portfolio with you. To get the shareable link, just have them click
on the link button. Remember that you've also had students share the page with you as a collaborator,
so you'll be able to go to their page from your Google Drive folder in order to get this link
as well. It might be a good idea to keep all of the published portfolio links in a single Google Sheet
so that you can easily access them from a single document whenever you need to. Also
remember to tell students that every time they make a change, they'll need to click 'Publish'
again in order for those changes to actually show up on their published page. Now that
you have the published links for your students' portfolios, go back to your main portfolio page.
Once you're there, just highlight the text under the student's image, select 'link,' and then paste the
link to that student's portfolio in. You'll also need to hit 'Publish' in order for those changes
to show up. And then in order to view your published page, you'll also need to get the shareable link.
On the published page you'll now be able to click on the link in order to be taken
directly to a student's portfolio, where you'll be able to see the work that they published.
Although it takes a little bit of time and effort to get your e-portfolio set up, once you've done
so you'll have a central location for all your students to showcase their work in individual
e-portfolios that are fully customizable for every student. Having students reflect on their
work will encourage self-awareness skills and help invest them in the work they do for your class.
Plus by having them build portfolios and sites, you'll be having them practice technology
skills in an authentic, engaging way. And lastly, students will be able to use those portfolios
during student-led conferences where they can share what they've learned with their families.
If you have any questions or ideas about using Google Sites to make e-portfolios, please put
those in the comments below. Thanks so much for watching my video to the end. If you're interested
in learning all about how to use instructional technology to increase student engagement,
personalize instruction, provide authentic learning experiences, improve communication with families,
optimize your organization systems, and so much more, then check out my online course, The 21st
Century Classroom. In the video description, you'll find a link to 21centuryclass.com
where you can learn more about the course, as well as sign up for the latest enrollment updates.
In the video description you'll also find the link to my website where you can find additional
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about teaching with technology. Thanks again for watching and have a great week!