Instructions for using Google Sites

College Composition Student Instructions for Using Google Sites
All College Composition students will create an electronic portfolio using Google Sites. These
instructions will help you create yours.
Note: You must use the version of Google Sites available through your Kean email account.
Creating a Site
To create a site:
1. Log into your Kean email account.
2. Select “Sites” from the menu at the top of the screen. A new window or tab will appear.
3. Click “Create Site”
4. Type in a name for the site. You must use the following format: your Kean email login and the
word “portfolio.” John Southton, for example, would name his portfolio southtojportfolio.
5. Tab to “Site Categories.”
6. Type “College Composition Portfolio.”
7. Scroll to “Collaborate With.”
8. Click the radio button next to “Only people I specify can view this site”
9. Select the site’s theme by clicking on it. You professor may require a specific theme, or you
may be able to select their own. Ask your professor to be sure.
10. Click “Create Site.” The main page of your site, on which you will put your reflective
introduction, will appear.
Modifying the Site’s Appearance
You may want to change the site’s appearance after you’ve created it. To do so:
1. Click on “More Actions.” A menu will appear.
2. Select “Manage Site.”The screen will change to include a menu on the left-hand side.
3. Look for the section labeled “Site Appearance”
4. Select the section that will make the change you want:
● Selecting “Colors and Fonts” will allow you to change the colors on the page and the default
style of font.
● Selecting “Themes” will allow you to change the background.
Adding Material to Your Site
Once a site is created, you can start adding material to it. Each document in your portfolio should be
given its own page.
To create a new page:
1. Click the button labeled “Create page.”
2. Select “web page.” You must use this template.
3. Enter the page name in the box labeled “Name.” (Note: Ask your professor if they have a
system for naming pages they want you to use.)
4. Select the level on the website the page will occupy:
● “Put page at the top level” will make the page separate from other pages on the site.
● “Put page under. . .” will set up a sub-page that is linked to another page. You can use this point
to create pages that all deal with the same assignment. Each page would present a different
stage of your work on that assignment.
5. Click “Create Page.” The new page will appear.
Note: To change the format of a page after it is created, select “Page Settings.” This section allows
users to add or remove the page title and links to sub-pages, as well as allow or disallow attachments or
comments.
Adding material to a page
To add material to a page, click on the button labeled “Edit Page” on the top right. The screen will
change, with textboxes appearing over the page title and the body of the page.
You can type material directly into the textboxes, using the menu to select font styles, highlighting, and
other functions. You can also paste material from another program, such as Word.
Copying and pasting into a web page works just like it does in Microsoft Word. If you’re working in
the campus labs, you may need to use the following shortcut keys:
● CTRL+A: to highlight your entire document.
● CTRL+C: to copy
● CTRL+V: to paste
Sometimes the formatting will be changed when you enter the material from Word to Google Sites, and
you will need to correct it.To minimize the possibility of this happening:
● Single space the text, putting a double-space between paragraphs.
● Remove any paragraph indents or tabs.
After adding material to the page, click “Save.” The screen will show your work as part of a web page.
Creating Links Among Pages
Your portfolio is a website, with the individual pages linked together. The links could be embedded
into the text in multiple ways, ways that affect how readers experience your work.
You should create the individual pages first before adding the links.
To create links:
1. Highlight the text that will become a link.
2. Click the “Link” button. A window will appear.
3. Choose “Existing Page.” A list of pages on the site will appear.
4. Select the page to which you want to link. A check mark will appear next to it.
5. Click “OK.”
You can also create a link to a page outside of your portfolio, such as to a source you used for a
research project. To do this, choose “Web Address” instead of “Existing Page” in step 3. Then enter the
address in the box labeled “Link to this URL,” and click “OK.”
Moving Pages
You can change which pages are subordinate to others. These subordinate pages are called subpages.
For example, you can put your planning and rough draft work subordinate to the final draft of an essay.
To move pages:
1. Go to the page you want to move.
2. Click “More Actions.”
3. Select “Move Page.”A new window will appear, listing all of the pages on your site.
4. Click on the page name you want to use as a major page. A green check will appear next to it.
5. Click “Move.”
Deleting Pages
If you no longer want to include a page in your portfolio, you can delete it. Deleted pages CANNOT
be recovered.
To delete a page:
1. Go to the page you want to delete.
2. Click “More Actions.”
3. Click “Delete Page.” A warning window will appear.
4. Click “Delete.”