Google Sites ePortfolio

Google Sites ePortfolio Pilot Support for Urban Planning Students

Your NYU Wagner ePortfolio consists of files stored in Google Drive, and a template designed for Google Sites. To access the ePortfolio site created for you, click under the “Sites” tab of your NYU Gmail account or visit sites.google.com/a/nyu.edu/wagner-portfolio-yournetid .

The e-portfolio folders should appear alphabetically under the "Shared with Me" or "Incoming" options in the left nav of your NYU Google Drive account, and will include the following: Capstone, Courses, Design Projects, Memos/Papers, Plans, Presentations, Reflection, and Resumes. 

The site and your folders are set to private by default, you may share files in Drive and pages on your site with specific individuals and groups without making your site public. Please do not make your site public on the web unless you are ready to make all of the pages on your site public.

The site created for you is based on a template. To customize this template, you will need to enter your name in the header, edit the copy on each tab, and revise social media links in the footer.

• Updating or Changing Your Name in the Header
• Editing the Navigation (Main Menu)
• Editing a Page
• Update Your Contact Information in the Footer
• Embed a Google Doc, PDF, Spreadsheet, or Presentation
• Linking to a PDF
• Embed an Image
• Embed a Video
• Adding a New Page
• Access, Permissions, and Sharing

Updating or Changing Your Name in the Header

Quick Tips

1. Click on the "Gear" icon and select "Manage Site"
2. In the first field labeled "Site name," enter the name you want to appear in the header.
3. Click the Orange "Save" button and then click on your name in the menu on the left to return to your ePortfolio

Editing the Navigation (Main Menu)

Quick Tips

1. On the Google Sites interface, click on the "Gear" icon, and select "edit site layout"
2. Click the area of the top navigation you want to edit, use the interface (pop-up) to edit your navigation, and click "Ok."
3. Hit the "Close" button in the top right corner to exit edit mode

Note: Deleting a tab from the navigation does not delete the page itself

Editing a Page

Quick Tips

1. Click on a tab such as "Home," and select the edit "Pencil" icon in the top right corner of the page to load the edit menu.
2. Insert cursor in text box, and begin your edits, utilizing the edit menu.
3. Click the "Save" button in the top right corner.

Note: In contrast to Google Drive, Google Sites does not save edits automatically, clicking the "Save" button is required.

Update Your Contact Information in the Footer

Quick Tips

1. Click on the "Gear" icon and select "Edit Site Layout"
2. Click on the Footer area of the site where your contact information appears.
3. Use the edit screen to update or remove contact information, and click "Ok."
4. Click the "Close" button in the top right corner.

Note: Please DO NOT DELETE the links to NYU, Wagner, or NYU's Copyright and Fair Use policy.

Embed a Google Doc, PDF, Spreadsheet, or Presentation

Embed a Google Doc, Spreadsheet, or Presentation

1. When uploading your file, please place it in the appropriate folder within [yournet] Wagner ePortfolio
2. Change the sharing settings of your file by clicking the "Share Icon" and edit the settings in "Advanced" to "On - Anyone with the link" in order for your file to be visible on your site
3. On your site edit the page and click the "Insert" menu at the top of the screen.
4. Select "Drive" (right column) and then select the kind of file that you want to embed (Document, Presentation, etc)
5. Click on the file you want to embed and then click on the blue "Select" button.
6. Select any formatting options and click the red "Save" button.
7. Click the blue "Save" button in the upper-right corner of the screen. You will now see your PDF embedded on the page.

Embed a PDF

1. Using a Gadget
   1. Edit the page and click the "Insert" menu at the top of the screen.
   2. Click on the "Insert" menu above the formatting bar.
   3. Select "More Gadgets" then select "Add Gadget by URL".
   4. In the text box that appears, copy/paste the following URL: http://bit.ly/nyu-pdf
   5. Open Google Drive, select the PDF and open the "Sharing settings" to find the url of your PDF and change the "Who has access" settings to "On - Anyone with the link"
   6. Paste the FULL URL of the PDF in the Gadget text box
   7. Select your formatting options and save the page.
2. Convert to Google Doc
   1. Go to your Google Drive and select your PDF.
   2. Right-click and under "Open with" select Google Docs.
   3. Your PDF is now also saved as a Google Doc in your Drive.
   4. Embed the Doc using the instructions above.
   5. Note: Depending on the complexity of your PDF, the formatting may not convert properly. This method is not suitable for Design Projects.
3. NOTE: Overly complex PDFs do not convert the formatting properly to a Google Doc. Overly large PDFs (typically larger than 10MB) do not display using the Gadget. To reduce the size or complexity (without losing content), decrease the size of your PDF. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat, and go to File | Save As | Reduced Size PDF. Save that file and use your new PDF in your site.

Linking to a PDF

Quick Tips

1. Edit the page and click the link button in the formatting toolbar (looks like a piece of chain link)
2. Click on "Web Address" in the left column of the popover
3. Enter the text and the URL of the PDF to which are linking and click "OK"
4. Click the blue "Save" button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Embed an Image

Quick Tips

1. Edit the page and click the "Insert" menu at the top of the screen.
2. Select "Image" (first option in the left column) and then click on the "Upload Images" button
3. Select the image you want to upload from your hard drive.
4. Make any formatting adjustments and then click the blue "Save" button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Embed a Video

Quick Tips

1. To embed a video from your Google Drive:
   1. Edit the page and click the "Insert" menu at the top of the screen.
   2. Select "Drive" (right column) and then select the kind of file that you want to embed (Document, Presentation, etc)
   3. Click on the file you want to embed and then click on the blue "Select" button
2. To embed a video from YouTube:
   1. Edit the page and click the "Insert" menu at the top of the screen.
   2. Select "YouTube" (right column) and then copy/paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to embed
3. Click on the blue "Save" button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Adding a New Page

Quick Tips

1. Click on the "New Page" button in the upper right corner of your ePortfolio (page with a plus symbol)
2. Enter the name of your page and click the orange "Create" button
3. Enter the content of your new page and click on the blue "Save" button in the upper-right corner of the screen.
4. Remember to add your new page to the navigation by following the instructions on the "Editing the Navigation" section of this page.

Access, Permissions, and Sharing

Quick Tips

1. Sharing and Permissions - Google Drive
   1. All files that are added to your Google Drive are, by default, set to private. You MUST make these files publicly viewable in order to embed them into your ePortfolio.
   2. Find the documents in your Google Drive and select the files you want to make public.
   3. Click on the "Sharing" button in the upper right corner of the screen (looks like a person with a plus symbol)
   4. Click on the "Change..." link under the list of "Who has Access"
   5. Select "Anyone with the Link" and then click the blue "Save" button
2. Sharing and Permissions - ePortfolio
   1. By default, your ePortfolio is set to private. You MUST make your ePortfolio publicly viewable before you share it with your peers or prospective employers.
   2. Click on the blue "Share" button in the upper right corner of your ePortfolio
   3. Click the "Change" link under the list of "Who has access"
   4. Click on "Anyone with the link" (or a different option if you prefer)
   5. Click the blue "Save" button

 

Tech Support

In addition to the videos on this page, you may log in to nyu.edu/lynda to view tutorials on Google Sites, and visit the Google Sites Help Center.

For general assistance with Google Sites, email askits@nyu.edu or call 212-998-3333. For specific questions related to the Wagner ePortfolio template, email nyu385@nyu.edu.

Special Note on Permissions

View the Access, Permissions, and Sharing video for guidance on the granular level of permissions available in Google Drive and Sites.

Key points:

If your site is public, you cannot restrict access to any of your pages.

If your site is private, you cannot set any of your tabs/pages to “public”, but you may share pages/tabs with individuals or groups.

Permissions for Google Sites and Drive are separate. When setting permissions, please remember that if you’ve made your site public, you must make any files linked to that page public as well.

Access Note:

An NYU Wagner administrative account, nyu385, does have access to your ePortfolio, but you have the ability to disable this access.