Comments on: Google Sites is a great wiki and website builder http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/01/07/google-sites-is-a-great-wiki-and-website-builder/ Weblog of Wesley Fryer Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:55:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Miguel Guhlin http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/01/07/google-sites-is-a-great-wiki-and-website-builder/comment-page-1/#comment-64076 Miguel Guhlin Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:24:59 +0000 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/?p=3299#comment-64076 Wes, thanks for sharing this! As you know, I've tried my hand at a variety of wikis. For my personal work, I prefer a wiki I can easily back up (like PMWiki) but it uses wiki syntax. You can't just paste things in and expect them to look good unless you convert them to wiki syntax. How do you back up your Google Sites wikis? While I use Sites wikis at work and for personal use, I'm loathe to put anything up that I can't easily back up to somewhere. Also, I tried accessing your list of must-have list of Mac software (i just posted mine at http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/01/must-have-mac-software.html ) and found myself stymied. When I click on the link in the sidebar, it takes me to an inactivity page. Have you moved your list over? Warm regards, Miguel Guhlin Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org http://mguhlin.org Wes, thanks for sharing this! As you know, I’ve tried my hand at a variety of wikis. For my personal work, I prefer a wiki I can easily back up (like PMWiki) but it uses wiki syntax. You can’t just paste things in and expect them to look good unless you convert them to wiki syntax.

How do you back up your Google Sites wikis? While I use Sites wikis at work and for personal use, I’m loathe to put anything up that I can’t easily back up to somewhere.

Also, I tried accessing your list of must-have list of Mac software (i just posted mine at http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/01/must-have-mac-software.html ) and found myself stymied. When I click on the link in the sidebar, it takes me to an inactivity page. Have you moved your list over?

Warm regards,
Miguel Guhlin
Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org
http://mguhlin.org

]]> By: Martha Thornburgh http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/01/07/google-sites-is-a-great-wiki-and-website-builder/comment-page-1/#comment-64043 Martha Thornburgh Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:29:24 +0000 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/?p=3299#comment-64043 After attending the Google Teachers Academy last summer, I made a commitment to myself to really give Google Sites a try. I have used several wikis with PBwiki being the one I used most often. I set up a Weekly Web2.0 Wednesday Challenge site to challenge staff in my district to try new (or new to them) Web 2.0 tools. http://sites.google.com/site/web20wednesdaychallenge/ Using Sites for this purpose has really given me a good insight into Google Sites. I find it difficult to embed non Googley stuff into the site. Which is often necessary with what I am trying to accomplish with the site. I have learned work arounds. Usually, if something won't embed, I can create a widget with WidgetBox.com and then I am able to embed almost anything. Even with this difficulty, I am finding that Google Sites has become my go to wiki of choice. For workshops, personal planning and group projects I have created over 20 Google Sites in the past 6 months. I love how accessible it is and how easy it is to customize and look visually pleasing. It does have limits, but those limits can be pushed. After attending the Google Teachers Academy last summer, I made a commitment to myself to really give Google Sites a try. I have used several wikis with PBwiki being the one I used most often. I set up a Weekly Web2.0 Wednesday Challenge site to challenge staff in my district to try new (or new to them) Web 2.0 tools. http://sites.google.com/site/web20wednesdaychallenge/ Using Sites for this purpose has really given me a good insight into Google Sites. I find it difficult to embed non Googley stuff into the site. Which is often necessary with what I am trying to accomplish with the site. I have learned work arounds. Usually, if something won’t embed, I can create a widget with WidgetBox.com and then I am able to embed almost anything. Even with this difficulty, I am finding that Google Sites has become my go to wiki of choice. For workshops, personal planning and group projects I have created over 20 Google Sites in the past 6 months. I love how accessible it is and how easy it is to customize and look visually pleasing. It does have limits, but those limits can be pushed.

]]> By: Jay Swan http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/01/07/google-sites-is-a-great-wiki-and-website-builder/comment-page-1/#comment-63976 Jay Swan Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:16:16 +0000 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/?p=3299#comment-63976 Two other teachers and I developed a Wiki for our "professional learning community" using PBWiki, and really liked the result; however, since finding the ease of integration of Google Docs and the "file cabinet" feature, I have switched one of my classes to sites. I couldn't be happier with the results. Lee-Anne, while I believe that PBWiki offers wonderfully simple solutions through their "Insert Plugin" feature, I have not found anything that I use on PBWiki that I could not duplicate in Google Sites. Of course it has not always been as easy, but I was able to accomplish the same result. What I have found I like best about using Sites is that it reduces the number of log-in names and passwords I must assign to my students. I want them to have a "professional" email, access to Google Docs, use of a wiki and a forum, a sharable calendar, and on and on. At one point, I realized I my students were juggling log-ins for four different sites. By utilizing the Google suite of applications I can reduce this down to only two log-ins, making my students happier, and managing it all easier. Next semester I am using Sites in all my classes and am excited about the potential. Two other teachers and I developed a Wiki for our “professional learning community” using PBWiki, and really liked the result; however, since finding the ease of integration of Google Docs and the “file cabinet” feature, I have switched one of my classes to sites. I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Lee-Anne, while I believe that PBWiki offers wonderfully simple solutions through their “Insert Plugin” feature, I have not found anything that I use on PBWiki that I could not duplicate in Google Sites. Of course it has not always been as easy, but I was able to accomplish the same result.

What I have found I like best about using Sites is that it reduces the number of log-in names and passwords I must assign to my students. I want them to have a “professional” email, access to Google Docs, use of a wiki and a forum, a sharable calendar, and on and on. At one point, I realized I my students were juggling log-ins for four different sites. By utilizing the Google suite of applications I can reduce this down to only two log-ins, making my students happier, and managing it all easier.

Next semester I am using Sites in all my classes and am excited about the potential.

]]> By: Wesley Fryer http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/01/07/google-sites-is-a-great-wiki-and-website-builder/comment-page-1/#comment-63972 Wesley Fryer Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:02:21 +0000 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/?p=3299#comment-63972 Lee-Anne: Thanks for sharing your experiences. You are right that is a HUGE limitation if you can't embed different types of media in a Google Site. I haven't tried that myself yet but certainly will. I love the "PB Magic" option in PBwiki that lets you embed just about anything. Surely Google has a way to embed like that? Lee-Anne: Thanks for sharing your experiences. You are right that is a HUGE limitation if you can’t embed different types of media in a Google Site. I haven’t tried that myself yet but certainly will. I love the “PB Magic” option in PBwiki that lets you embed just about anything. Surely Google has a way to embed like that?

]]> By: Lee-Anne Patterson http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/01/07/google-sites-is-a-great-wiki-and-website-builder/comment-page-1/#comment-63971 Lee-Anne Patterson Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:44:42 +0000 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/?p=3299#comment-63971 We have been using Google Sites with students to create websites about their CAS week in November. The kids all loved it's ease of use as you have noted -- however what we did discover is that they couldn't plug in other web2.0 html code for things like slide.com photo albums. Google likes using Google applications and YouTube things, but not any html code that has iframe or embedd in it. I'm not sure if this is because we are using the education version of Google Apps -- but is sure was a disappointment for the kids not to be able to embedd non-Google content. We have been using Google Sites with students to create websites about their CAS week in November. The kids all loved it’s ease of use as you have noted — however what we did discover is that they couldn’t plug in other web2.0 html code for things like slide.com photo albums. Google likes using Google applications and YouTube things, but not any html code that has iframe or embedd in it. I’m not sure if this is because we are using the education version of Google Apps — but is sure was a disappointment for the kids not to be able to embedd non-Google content.

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