Growing Up Online

Did not surprise me:
- 90% of teenagers are online.
- There is no break in texting or social networking.
- Most of the older people are startled by the young people's ability with technology.
- Students prefer sparknotes than books.
- Technology leads to more content, leading to increased probability of plaigarism.
- People use social networking to accumulate friends.
- People only have hundreds of real friends, not thousands.

- Fighting was through MySpace.

- People can feel accepted online even if they don't feel accepted in real life.

- What you do on your social networks can affect your social life.

- Social Networking can become an addiction.

- You can be someone else online.

- Parent intervention often happens when a kid does unappropiate things.

- A mistake on the net is open to anyone.

- Often Parents worry too much about the net.

- Parents don't know much about the online life of their kids.

- Kids are secretive about their life online.

Did Surprise Me:
- The internet being a mean to complain about adults, because I only go on to have fun.
- No body is in charge = Thanks for no censorship.
- Teachers have to be entertainers as well. I hadn't realized the work teachers had to go to to get student's attention.
- Cheating is ok, because  teachers always polarize too much on what is cheating. Consider everything cheating.
- People have friends online that aren't their friends in real life. I don't add people I don't know.
-People uploading photos of them in minimal clothing. They don't know where the pictures will end up.
- A mistake on the net is open to anyone. One often does not realize the magnitude and openness of the net.
- Parents who want to have their kids password. There is a difference between safety and privacy.
- 1 in 7 teenagers have been "sexually solicitated". I thought it was a lot less common.
- There are forums for anorexia.
- There is a goddess "Ana" or anorexia. I didn't know there was a cult and a community.
- Some teachers publish podcasts. It is very unusual.
- Real life fights emerging from myspace.
- What is considered pornographic. I was surprised by the authority the principal had.
- The kid's suicide.

Things that have change.
- People use MySpace
- People use Flip Phones.
- There is more software against predators.
- Virtual Drives like iCloud.
- There is much more awareness about internet danger.
- There is much more software for parental control.
- Social Networking has become much more extense, more pages with more ways of socializing.
- More location services (iCloud).
- A lot more prevention about internet danger.
- A lot more security online.
- More ways to cheat, and more ways to stop cheating.
- More mobile technology.
- More ways to remain anonymous.
-Cyberbullying has become more popular, but more punishable.
- More social pressure to remain online.
-  A lot more online and web 2.0 tools.

Google Sites

Google Sites is Google's  platform for web design and creation.
It has a series of crucial advantages that makes it ideal for classroom use:
- It is free.
- You only have to be above 13 to use it.
- Requires no prior tech-skills.
- It has an easy to use, friendly interface.
- A page can de edited by multiple people.

The process for creating a google site is too easy.
1. Create a google account.
2. Click on more on the google bar, click google sites.
3. Click Create Page (choose Url and Title)
4. Choose a Template, and create.

The creation is simple because it is very simple to use. It has a toolbar on the top that is easy to use. The templates are easy to use and google offers a variety of options for your page as well as offering a customization option.

You can organize your webpage in different pages and subpages, or in different posts that appear on your homepage. This offers an easy way to navigate your webpage, as well as a good way to organize yourself.

The Template has a lot of different options and add a great variety to the kinds of templates you can create.

It has all the essentials a good web-building needs:
Hyperlinks
Embedding Youtube Videos (and uploading videos)
Embedding Photos.
Uploading Documents.
etc.

It offers a bunch of new gadgets that are also from google making them completely compatible:
- Google Calendar:
Lets you embed a calendar on your webpage in which you can set events. This is very useful for posting due dates. You can attach documents to the calendar. This tool is ideal to upload worksheets and their due-dates as well as give students reminders.

- Tables:
Custom tables in all the colours and formulas that are easy to create.

- Embedding and creating presentations that play on your page (using google drive.

-Inserting a map with a route r pinned locations.

- Embedding google search to search for things related to your webpage.

- Google framing tool which permits you to embed any webpage on your webpage. (WEBCEPTION)

- Google Sites Works well with twitter so you can embed a twitter feed or tweet from your webpage. You can follow from Google Sites.

- Offering the option to share on a whole bunch of social media.

- Paypal, Google Checkout, And the Google Donate gadget all help with the transfer of money for anything on your webpage.

- You can advertise on your webpage using adsense.

- Click and call gadget permits you to call from google.

- Embedding the latest news.

All of these tools are easy to find under insert, gadgets, etc. There is no limit for the things you can include.

Google sites offers a wide variety of tools that are all easy to embed and use. You can make your page completely interactive and add polls with polldaddy!!! It is easy to change design and organize so get started HERE.

In my opinion Google Sites is the ideal platform to create a class website because of its versatility. It would also be good to create a student blog and a digital notebook for the class. Although Blogger is a bit easier to use, Google Sites has a wider variety of tools.