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Author a Classroom Web

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June 2002 | Author a Classroom Web Site in Six Easy Steps

For many educators, June marks the end of one school year and the start of the next. Within weeks of grading year-end exams and packing up their classrooms, many teachers turn their attention to September.

Before you begin writing new lesson plans and dreaming up fresh activities for 2002-2003, ask yourself one question: "How could a classroom Web site help me teach and my students learn next year?"

With so many demands on your time, a simple, well-designed classroom Web site can help you connect your kids to excellent online content that complements your existing curriculum. Plus, the Internet's global reach provides students with an ever-growing audience for their multimedia projects, book reports, poems, stories, research papers and more.

Classroom Web sites also make it possible to publish:

• Rules and schedules
• Supply lists
• Class outlines and calendars
• Homework assignments
• Parent newsletters and volunteer opportunities
• Online projects to reach out to classrooms worldwide
• Your email address for easy communication
• Field trip information and permission slips
• Book lists and other supplementary learning ideas
• Digital photos, sounds and video clips
• ...and much more.

With a little planning and this month's issue of Tech Tips, you'll head back to school with a special Web site that will augment your teaching, enhance student learning and build a sense of community with parents.

	Special Adobe Offer The tools you need to create and digitally distribute your classroom content are now available for educators: Adobe Publishing Tools for Schools, a special software licensing suite that provides a digital workflow solution -- design with Adobe PageMaker 7.0, edit with Adobe Photoshop Elements, and distribute with Adobe Acrobat 5.0.
	Start Something is a program designed to help kids from 8-17 discover their dreams and interests, and take steps toward achieving them.

Before you begin brainstorming your perfect classroom site, check with your technology coordinator or library media specialist to inquire about available summer courses that focus on Web-page creation. A growing number of schools and districts have their own approved Web page designs and authoring tools, so you should seek out local advice about getting started before you invest time and energy in this endeavor.

Step One:
Don't Reinvent the Wheel

Since K-12 schools began connecting to the Internet nearly a decade ago, educators just like you have been creating Web sites. Take time to review at least a dozen of these existing destinations, seeking out classrooms that match your grade level or subject areas of interest.

You'll quickly pick up ideas about the types of information others are providing, as well as how they successfully (or unsuccessfully) designed their Web pages. The following directories contain links to some of the most active school and, by extension, classroom Web sites.

American School Directory (ASD)

Directory of Schools (Web 66)

Elementary Schools

High Schools

Kindergarten Classrooms

Middle Schools

Special K-12 Schools

As you review each site, open your word processor and take notes. Copy and paste the Web address (URL) for each site onto the page, then type out some brief answers to the following questions.

• What types of information are available?
• How is the information arranged?
• Is it easy to move around (navigate) the site?
• Do all of the links work?
• Do the pages appear quickly, or are there too many graphics and other elements that slow them down?
• Is the site rich enough to encourage a return visit?
• How could I improve this site?

Step Two:
Evaluate Your Audience

Connect to the site that impressed you the most. Chances are one reason it appealed to you was that it successfully addressed its core audience. If its target is students, its design and content no doubt are kid-friendly and written on their reading level. The same rule holds true for parent-focused pages.

As you begin to brainstorm your classroom site, keep in mind who will be using it. Break up your offerings into separate areas for different audiences -- for example, one for students, one for parents and one for fellow educators. Plus, keep in mind that short paragraphs, lists and pages are easier to read than long ones. Break down your content into easily scannable lists wherever possible.

Step Three:
Plan, Plan, Plan

Ever make a flow chart or storyboard? Here's a chance to put those skills to work!

Start by drawing a box representing your home page, the first Web page visitors will see when they connect to your site. Next, draw two pages underneath and connect them with lines. One of these sub-pages might be the place where you post homework assignments and highlight student work, while the other will contain parent-centric information like your email address, classroom rules, etc.

Keep drawing more boxes underneath and connecting them until all of your ideas are in play. On a separate sheet, jot down what each page will contain. Don't get too specific yet, just organize everything quickly with a few bullet points.

When you're finished, you'll have a clearer idea of where your site is going and how you'll build it. Sit down at your computer and begin to type out the copy for each page. The more work you do now, the easier things will go when you move on to the next step and begin authoring your pages online. In addition, gather any graphics or other files you're planning to include on your pages.

Step Four:
Start Building

Now it's time to translate your ideas, copy and other elements into functioning Web pages! In the past, this meant learning a special programming language called HTML, or HyperText MarkUp Language.

Today, you'll find several free online services that make it easy to create basic, content-rich classroom sites with a few clicks of your mouse, including:

SchoolNotes.com
Provides a simple tool for placing homework and other basic information on the Web. No HTML required, best for single-page starter sites.

Classroom Tripod
Great for beginners and intermediate page builders. Offers a class page (home page), communication and continuing education page tool for teacher pages, plus a junior and senior page builder perfect for posting student work online.

TeacherWeb
Offers a flexible set of Web-page templates that cater to educators that want to create a number of pages that are updated frequently. Easy to start small and build new pages as the need arises. Includes templates for a calendar, list of Web links, announcements and homework assignments.

Connect to each service to see how your ideas match with their publishing tools. Will you able to create as many pages as you want, or will you need to scale back your ideas?

The more pages your site will contain, the more likely it is that you'll want to consider learning HTML to author your pages from the ground up.

Here are several bigchalk resources that can help you learn about authoring Web pages and sites with HTML:

HTML for Beginners
New to the world of Web publishing? Learn the basics, from how to code a simple Web page in HTML to crafting a well-designed Web site.

Web Design & Style Guides
Learn how to design eye-catching Web sites, write clean copy and HTML code, use image-editing tools to create Web graphics and more.

Building Classroom Web Sites
Connect your kids to the latest information and publish homework assignments -- online! These additional links will help you plan, create and publish your site quickly and easily.

Step Five:
Add Easy Navigation Links

As you create each Web page, be sure to include links to your other pages. These navigation links should make it easy for visitors to find your home page and link to additional pages.

Many of the free online services listed in step four will add navigation links to your pages for you. However, if you're building pages with HTML, you'll need to code navigation links inside your pages. For more information about these links, connect to The Basics of Navigation by Sean Timberlake.

Step Six:
Think Ahead | Updates

As you create each page, think about which areas you'll want to update in the future. For instance, new homework assignments, calendar items, etc. Keep these items toward the top of your pages so they'll be one of the first things visitors see. Mark these sections with notes like "Updated October 1, 2002" so it's clear when the information was last refreshed.

Once your classroom Web site is online, surf through your pages with your students and parents in mind. Is it easy to find things? What could be improved? Come back to your pages later in the summer and make your revisions.

When September arrives, give your kids a handout with information about your site, including its Web address. Set aside one hour each week to update your pages, yourself or with the help of tech-savvy students.

Getting students involved in the ongoing maintenance and creation of new pages will help lighten your load and will teach your kids valuable skills.