Creating Online Learning Adventures using Google Sites

                

So, we have Webquests, HyperDocs, Choice Boards, Playlists, Interactive Games in Google Slides all utilizing Google Docs, Forms, and Slides as a way to present information and encourage choice and voice for student learning. If you follow my blog, you know that my realm of education has expanded as I have been an art teacher, a computer teacher, an assistant principal, a technology integration specialist, and am now a staff development specialist. I spent the last few months (like many in my position) assisting teachers on how to teach and what tools to teach with during our stint with distant learning. During this time, I facilitated numerous online courses, workshops, webinars for teachers and admin on various technologies and instructional practices for distance learning that include, but not limited to, creating mutli-modal ways to deliver content in which students have choice. 

This brainchild of mine came to me during my online Google course, where I teach how to use Google Tools for higher-order thinking or student and/or teacher-driven artifacts. During my module on Google Slides, I taught educators how to make an interactive slide deck to create a choose-your-own-adventure story. Unlike the OG Microsoft PowerPoint, where you can set your presentations to "kiosk mode" - which prevents individuals from navigating through your presentation unless they click on a hyperlink - Google does not provide this option. Even if you apply this trick here, students can still navigate through. I had a lot of teachers say this is a really cool concept, but how can I prevent my students from navigating through the interactive presentation? Agreed. 

After having several requests come in asking that I magically add this "kiosk" mode to Google, I then reflected back to my days as a teacher, where I built a site using Weebly as a way to gamify my WebQuest on learning the history of Internet and how it works (snooze, right? That was until I gamified the learning experience.). 

Then it occurred to me... Google Sites. I can control the navigation by hiding the pages within the site. I can add hot spots. I can link it to Google Classroom for students to submit artifacts. Why didn't I do this before? More importantly.... why didn't I have my students create this?????

My world made sense once more. So, over the last few days I have been building my brainchild in Google Sites.... mainly because I said I would present on it. It gave me a goal and a reason to sit down and what's that word.... create? After presenting at a local Conference? Is it considered local if it is done online? Anyway, it finally led me to create this post explaining how I gamified a Google Site.

First..... here is what I presented to educators to wrap your head around my rambling....

Please, allow me to explain in this video series on how I created this example, my brainchild if you will. Still a work in progress (as of June 17, 2020).

Part 1: Hiding pages from the navigation

Part 2: Using Google Draw to create hot spots

Part 3: Linking directly to Google Classroom Assignments 

Part 4: Embedding Google Forms and other Websites

Tips!

• If you do not want this site to be published publicly, simply keep it so only students on your domain can access this.
• Add gaming elements to your online lesson (story line, XP (experience points, leaderboards, goals).
• Allow choice of mastery of learning- think. What are ways students can show alternative ways that they understand a particular topic.

My ask? Please have your students use these same concepts to build an interactive game? Choose Your Own Adventure story? Or allow them to create an artifact of his or her choice. My second ask? Can I see them when they are done? TY!