Google Sites

Google Sites



About.
Google Sites is a free online web page creation and hosting tool. It was launched as a free software by Google in 2008. It offers it’s users free email, host space and a domain. The web page creator is a very easy tool to use. And should you get stuck there are an assortment of help guiedes, youtube videos and so forth. But the software is pretty simple so there should’nt be any problems. It’s quite simple, and anyone should be able to set it up. Members can add or remove apps and/or features they find useful/unuseful. They can also design the homepage to look the way they want . A teacher that creates a homepage for her/his class, The owner or administrator of the web page can then decide who to invite. . That way the site can stay private if that’s the purpose. But the web page can also be open to anyone who comes across it. The administrator of the site can also decide which options are available to only the administrator and which are available to everybody. Such as design, color coding etc.

Tools.
Google Sites can be a very useful tool for a class since it comes with a assortment of applications and features. Pupils, teachers and parents can all share information, join discussions through the their own private class web page. Some features that are very useful for a class are, Announcements which can be used to share important information that all users see. For an example if the teacher is sick or other important imformation. Another great feature is Homework Assignments. Members can share homework assignments so that parents for instance know what needs to be done each week. This is also a great way for sick students to keep up with schoolwork. Calender is another great feature. Members can plan their work, and other appointments or exams directly on the site. Docs is used to upload and save files, schoolwork etc.
Those are just a few of the applications that Google Sites has to offer. There is an array of applications available so each group or class can design their homepage with what they need. The site can be modified so that each class can have the features they want and fit them. Students can also create study groups. This is a great tool when working in smaller groups. Within these groups students can chat, share files and so on.

Conclusion
Based on my personal experience with Google Sites i would use in the future without hesitaion. It is incredibly easy to create a own web page. It offers its users great tools that most times come bundled with expensive packages or are very complex to programme yourself. There is no need for previous knowledge of PHP, MySQL or HTML. It all comes bundled with Google Sites.


Matej Ladan