Today we learnt about connecting with and being visible to our learners and their whānau by having learning accessible and easy to navigate on a class google site.
First, as a group, we checked out and gave feedback on some class sites from teachers at other Manaiakalani schools. I know I will certainly go back and check these out again in the future for some ideas to incorporate into my sites. Doing this helped me feel more confident in how to best lay out my class site, sparked some ideas for engaging pages, and helped me to know what is important to users of my sites.
This year I did not have a learning site set up for my class and today I was able to spend some time getting this started. I have made a class site including tabs for each learning area. I also created sites for my reading groups which are linked straight into my main learning site.
Setting up my site means my learners and whanau will now be able to easily access their learning that is rewindable and easy to find once I link it into our school page.
Check out some screenshots of my cool new sites!
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Kia ora, Stephanie,
It is fantastic to see you designing a class Google Site with such a strong focus on making learning accessible, visible, and rewindable for your ākonga and their whānau. Reviewing other Manaiakalani class sites is such a smart way to gather inspiration, and it is clear that doing so gave you the confidence to build a beautifully organized hub with dedicated tabs and linked reading group sub-sites.
By structuring your pages this way, you are setting up a seamless workflow that allows students to independently navigate to their specific learning needs. To take this layout a step further, have you considered utilizing the “Custom Theme” builder to set specific brand colors and distinct fonts for each of your reading group sites? Giving each group its own unique visual identity within your theme is a brilliant way to help younger learners immediately recognize their own space while keeping the overall design clean and professional.
Ka pai on taking this massive step to strengthen your home-school connection, and enjoy watching your learners interact with your cool new sites!
Ngā mihi, Eugene
Thanks for the feedback and tip Eugene! I certainly will try setting up the custom theme to keep each page within each group its own identity.