Earlier this week I wrote about how my students use Google Sites as digital portfolios. Immediately afterwards I published that Google message announced a few useful updates for Google Sites. Then another update was announced yesterday. The latest update is perhaps the best so far for those who use Google Sites in a collaborative environment.
Users of Google Sites will soon have the option to review all changes to a site before the changes are published. You can view the original view of the site and the updated view of the site side by side and then choose whether to publish the updated view. You can see who has updated the site, what has been added or removed, what has been moved and any layout changes before you publish the new look of your site.
This new Google Sites feature is now available to some users and will be widely available in January. Learn more about using the Google Sites review feature in this Help article.
Applications for education
The option to view changes before a new version of a Google site is published can be a great option to use when students work together to create a website. This can give you and / or your students the opportunity to review changes to ensure that nothing incorrect or inappropriate is published on a classroom website.
Another use of the option to make changes to Google Sites could be to apply it to an editing protocol in which a few students must review and approve changes before publishing an update for a jointly managed website.