OCSD Technology

As teachers are encouraged to have their own “websites”, it brings up some questions that need to be thought about to make the site useful.

Why should teachers have a website?
• Because our world is going more digital everyday with everyone being “connected” 24/7.
• To communicate with parents, students, teachers and community.
• To provide resources for students and parents.
• To share student work, what you are doing in class and your ideas.

What should be on my website?
• Contact information, with email address so your audience can contact you.
• Current assignments and due dates.
• Links to websites you want to use with your students at school or home. This will alleviate them typing in a long URL that you write on the board and then take 15 minutes to troubleshoot everyone getting to it.
• Links to videos and other resources online that will give students another learning opportunity. Maybe they didn’t understand what you went over in class, but they could watch a video online and have a better understanding.
• Classroom news to keep parents up to date.
• Classroom wish lists for supplies.
• Student work. Pick a few to put online and share with other students, teachers, parents and the world. Studies show that student writing done online is improved because they have an audience of more than one.
• Your website should not be something you do once and let it be. It should be updated frequently with current resources and information for your students and parents. It should be an extension of your classroom.

View your website as a student, as a parent, as a community member. Do you find what you want? Is it easy to navigate? Think of how you use websites and what you expect to see.

Formats: You can use a standard web page, or you can use a blog or wiki. Determine what the purpose of your site is and then determine the best tool to accomplish that. You do not have to use iWeb or the school’s web server. We can link to any other source you decide to use. You might use a combination of several formats.

Design: Look at your page as a viewer, not a creator. Is it easy to read and find what you need? Is the background color too overpowering? Are there too many images that distract from your content? Remember that your web page doesn’t have to be flashy. It’s the content that is important.

Here are some more ideas for teachers on how to use their website and what to include on it:

The Classroom Web Page: A Must Have – http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-web-page#
Options for Building Your Teacher Website & Why You Should – video – http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=479

Look at other teacher websites and see what your peers are doing, inside and outside of your school.

Don’t forget to promote your website to your students and parents. Let them know it is online and what they can expect to find there.