Examples of Google Sites usage

Google Sites is definitely more popular among the educational institutes than other type of organizations.

Here are key reasons why Google Sites is very popular tool:

1. No technical knowledge required like html, stylesheets or javascript
2. Faster way to develop sites
3. Can be developed in a collaborative way
4. Can access from anywhere to make changes (no software required)
   

Saline Area Schools (http://www.salineschools.com) is currently using Google Apps (mail, calendar, docs, sites, and videos) and have developed few good websites using Google sites. Here a few well done example sites made using Google Sites by Saline Schools:

Women’s Swim and Dive Team
Heritage PTO
Coach Glennie’s Website

Source: http://blogs.salineschools.com/lupok/

Google users can now

If you have a "Google Account" you now have an OpenID similar to a Yahoo account. For Gmail users your Gmail address is your OpenID.

Google has joined OpenID. By joining the OpenID movement, Google helps all of its Gmail users to the hundreds of websites that accepts OpenID, by providing them a way of accessing without creating an account with that website.

However Google has only become an issuer of OpenIDs and has not indicated that it will accept other OpenIDs for people who want to sign up for Google services. Google appears to be an OpenID "provider," not a "relying party." In other words, you cannot sign into Google with your Yahoo account.

But this still helps the OpenID movement as a whole because it gives smaller sites more incentive to join as "relying parties." Among the first sites to accept Gmail accounts for sign in are Zoho and Plaxo.

View Calendar and Docs in you Gmail

Some new features are released in Google Labs this week. These include Gadgets to see Google Docs and Google Calendar in Gmail interface.

With the Google Calendar Gadget you can see your Google Calendar agenda and get an alert when you have a meeting.

The Google Docs gadget shows a list of your recently accessed Google Docs and lets you search across all of your documents right from within Gmail.


Another Gadget lets you add any new Gadget by URL.

To enable these features in your gmail go to your tab of settings >> Labs and enable the desired option and save.

More: Send SMS from your chat. I have not seen this but was told that there is SMS feature which will be enabled (gMark) which will help in sending SMS to mobiles from Google Gmail (like in Yahoo Mail).
Together above gadgets will be killer Gadgets.

Boise State University has opted for Google Apps

OIT (Office of Information Technology) at Boise State University has been using Google Apps. More and more departments migrating to Google App and they are using Google Apps including Google Sites, and Calendar. Here is a post in blog sphere which also gives and example of Google Sites

http://itcboisestate.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/opting-in-to-google-apps-at-boise-state/

Readers of this blog can share their experiences on using Google Apps and their examples of Google Sites and by writing comments to this post.