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This is an extremely basic template of a PBL project using Google Sites. The person who created the template included sections for daily plans and parts of the project. The great thing about the template marketplace in Google Apps is that if I wanted to use this template myself and edit it, I could select the button at the top that says "use this template." In many ways, Google Apps offers chances for teachers to learn from each other and avoid reinventing the wheel unnecessarily.

This is an example of an ambitious geography project carried out by a team of 7th grade teachers. Students created a class globe/atlas with Google Maps and kept an explorer's blog about their "Amazing Race" circumnavigating the globe. This project integrates a lot of content while also being student-directed and offering some choices. 

Google-compiled listing of model Google Sites by educators. This is a great space to visit for inspiration and "new ways" of using the tool. Often times we use technology to replace a process or system without considering if that process or system is really the best way of doing things. Looking at models and searching for "out of the box" uses or hacks with tech tools can offer new insights into tech integration. I found the Reading Workshops to be an interesting use of Google Sites. Fifth grade students read a book and then created a Google Site to post their projects. Google Sites is collaborative and allows many teachers and students to contribute and edit the pages, much like a wiki.

Article discussing 10 reasons why it's beneficial to switch to Google Apps for you school.

The author here discusses some ways to use tools in Google Apps to standardize some of the project-based learning process. This post is one in a series about Google Apps and PBL and you can find others by selecting posts in the author's "Google Apps" categoy. I'm not a fan of standardization, but when it comes to managing the PBL process, some useful forms and templates are great to have. One she mentions is a "team task sheet" for planning each member's role in the project as well as observation, question, and research forms. This post deals with using Google Sites not just as a replacement for the usual "project poster," but as a more living space for the PBL group and its project.