Sharing Notes Made Easier: Embedding a Shared Folder

I like for my students have have access to everything we do in class.  From filled out notes to group videos we create in class, giving my students access to everything they need to be successful has gotten a lot easier with the ability to embed a Google shared folder on my web page.

Here is how I take advantage of this tool.

1)  Create a folder in your Google Drive that is available for all students.  Make this folder shared so "Anyone With a Link Can View."

2) On your Google Site, find a place to embed the folder.  To do this click the Edit (Pencil) button (top right corner,  if you do not see the pencil scroll to the bottom of the webpage and click "Sign In")

3)  Under "Insert" choose Google Drive and click Folder.

4)  Choose the folder that you created for your class.  I have so many folders in my Drive that it is easier for me to just grab the URL to the folder and paste it.  There many options such as the size of your folder and the way it is displayed.  The default settings should be fine.  Click Save.

Now anytime you add anything to that folder in your Drive the embedded folder on your website will also update too.

Google Drawings as Links On a Google Site

A coworker of mine showed me this tip.  Instead of creating a hyperlink to a piece of plain old text, create a Google Drawing and attach hyperlinks to images and text in it to improve the look of your website.

I created a table with my school schedule in Google Drawings and then hyperlinked the picture or wordart to a webpage.

Now just embed the Google Drawing into your Google Site and when they click on the linked image it will take them to the corresponding URL.  Just make sure the Google Drawing is public.  The Google Drawing will also automatically update on the Google Site if you make changes to the Google Drawing.  This has really cleaned up my homepage.