Weekly Reflection Week 3

I am really excited to use the google sites feature. It is so easy to use and I think that students and parents will love it. Like I have mentioned before, when I was in elementary/junior/high school it would seem like every time I was supposed to give a paper to my parents my backpack would eat it and it would never get to them. With google site you can basically put everything you want on your site and don't have to worry about parents being misinformed or uninformed.

This website has a lot of features--like announcements, classroom calendar, and homework that will keep students on track and will reduce forgetfulness. I know from personal experience how busy high school students can be with extra-curricular activities and everything else that they have to do. I also understand that many people are not going to remember something that they heard at 8am when they get home from school. With the homework tab you can put what assignment they have to do for every day and it is great because you can go in and change it in case your plans change. One of my teachers used to give us a piece of paper with the homework assignments for the week, but the problem was that it would change all the time. If you missed class the day that the homework changed, you would have no idea and you would do the wrong homework.

The calendar feature is also great because you can put the calendar events that are important to your classroom and the calendar events that are going on in the school. Hopefully students will get involved in what is going on outside of class. When I played sports in high school and junior high it was always great when other students would come to the games and cheer the team on. It was also really cool when teachers would come too.

The educational technologies tab is really cool because of all of the gadgets. There are so many applications you can put on your site! There are lots to do with history--including a "Today In History" gadget. Even though it might not relate to class it is cool to see what happened that day in the past.

And the best part about google sites?! IT'S FREE!! Seriously, I am super excited to be able to use this when I am a teacher.