The New Google Sites

At last, Google Sites has finally updated! In actuality, it is more accurate to say that Google has invented something completely different and has given it the same name. It isn't an update at all. It is something brand new. Old Google Sites and the new Google Sites are nothing alike. There are some things that I like about the old Google Sites that can't be duplicated on the new version. The was an "announcements" setting in the old Sites which let me use Sites as a blog. There were also some layout options that I miss.

In terms of ease of use, there is simply no comparison. The old Sites used code from 2006. It was cumbersome and not particularly intuitive to follow. The new Sites couldn't be easier to use.

In regards to appearance, the difference is just as stark. The new is infinitely better than the old. Here is a recent but "old" Site of mine I built to house resources for a presentation I gave at Core Connections to Instruction & Technology Conference.  Here is a "new" Site I am currently working on for a class I will teach in the Fall.

Right now, the new Sites is not totally ready for mass use. I'm accessing it through my school's GAFE account. I'm told that one might not actually see the new site if outside of my school's domain, so only my in-house readers will see if I understand this correctly.  Here's some new Google Sites propaganda.

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One question I haven't found an answer to is, will there be a way to migrate old sites into the new format? I've used Sites for student portfolios and would like for my students to eventually use this new and better tool without having to start from scratch. I'd like to think there might be a way.... because Google is amazing, but this is a totally different product.

And of course, when will this be workable on an iPad, the tool my school chose for our 1 to 1 program?