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Kathy Schrock's Tech Quest | | |||
Step 3: Find a host  School and district Web servers Many larger
districts house their own Web servers and provide server space for
teachers to post classroom Web pages. Since there can be a lot of
technical support needed to create and maintain complex Web pages,
design your site so that you can make and update it yourself, rather
than depending on your school's technology coordinator. Several Web
sites provide instructions and templates for you to use. (See "Free
Web-page hosting sites" below.)Subscription Internet service providers Many Internet service providers, such as MSN and Earthlink, allot their subscribers Web server space to house a personal Web site. The amount of file space allocated is usually five or ten megabytes, which is sufficient for most classroom sites. Often, the provider offers telephone or Web-based technical support to help you move the Web pages from your local computer to a Web server so that they will be available on the Internet. (This moving process is called FTP or file transfer protocol.) However, they do not offer design ideas or help you with the creation of the Web page. Make sure to read the fine print carefully since some Internet service providers will charge you if the site is heavily visited. These extra charges could easily be incurred if you have 25 students visiting your site daily. Free Web-page hosting sites There are many free hosting sites on the Internet. Most include advertising in order to be able to offer the free service, so be aware of this when choosing one of them. If you are mostly interested in posting homework assignments, try YourHomework (http://yourhomework.com/). It also offers you an e-mail account, a calendar where you can post special events, and teacher-selected educational Web sites to help students with their assignments. If you want to create an online photographic portfolio of classroom events and student work, try an online "photo album" site, such as Ofoto (http://www.ofoto.com/). You can easily move photos from your computer to their site to create online "albums" that can only be viewed by people to whom you e-mail the link to the album. This could help quell some concerns about using student pictures on the Internet, but discuss this with your technology committee before you start. Several places on the Web host free personal Web sites, such as Geocities (http://www.geocities.com/). There are also sites designed specifically for schools. One of the easiest is the Learning Network's "My School Online" (http://myschoolonline.com/). Once registered, a teacher can choose from easy-to-use design templates, which include a welcome page, calendar, and student showcase. In addition, teachers can link to an online grade book and receive a free e-mail account. Also check out Bigchalk (http://schools.bigchalk.com/), McGraw-Hill Learning Network (http://www.mhln.com/), and Scholastic's "Class Homepage Builder" (http://homepage.scholastic.com/) for templates for building class Web sites. |
 Step 4: Design your
siteBefore you design your site, look at various class Web pages. Take note of the layout, graphics, colors, and ease of navigation to gather ideas for your own site. Be sure not to include too many graphics, colors, and fonts, as they will take longer to load and will distract your viewers. Some teachers add a new page for each topic so the site is a yearlong journal of classroom activities. Others remove previous information before adding new resources to keep the site size small. Once you have decided what to include, use a graphic organizer to help you design a site that's easy to navigate.  Step 5: Spread the wordAsk your school's Web coordinator to add a link to your class's site on the school's or district's site. Also, include the URL on your classroom newsletters and all correspondence with parents. You may also want to send e-mail reminders to parents each time you update your site. And, if your district allows it, make your site your classroom computer's homepage so that it will automatically appear on your screen when you sign onto the Internet.  Step 6: Keep it updated Web pages are great tools, but they need to be updated regularly. When you design your site, consider how often you will be able to update the material, and then create it accordingly. Try to work on the pages at least every other week to provide visitors with current information, replace dead links, and, more importantly, give a reason to re-visit your site. Rest assured, parents, students, and community members will appreciate your efforts! Resources http://www.oswego.org/staff/cchamber/webdesign/edwebdesign.htm Explore various types of educational Web sites you can create. www.smplanet.com/webpage/webpage.html Visit this site for a guide to creating your own Web page. www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/online/index.html Gather tips for developing school Web pages. http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech008.shtml Learn about how Web sites link home and school.
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