I created my class website using Weebly.com during my first year teaching. Weebly was super easy to use and (so far) has had any tool I could imagine needing.
My website has already changed a lot over the last two years, and I'm sure will continue to do so as I learn better and better ways to incoporate technology into my room. Check it out at moreland4.weebly.com.
I primarily use my website as a way to make websites I want my students to use easily accessible for them. When we are working on a unit I am able to put links on my site that we will be referencing throughout the unit for easy finding. I also have a page of "fun" links my students can go to during any down time they have. At the end of each unit I also use the website for our performance events so that the students can easily navigate to the website they need. Though one is not up right now (as it is summer), I often use the blogging feature for my students to have book talks. Recently, I added a discussion board forum to my website making it more of a Ning. I am excited to use this with my students in the coming year!
On my website I do post some information for parents and I have a form that parents can use to contact me. I used to keep a personal blog on the site for our classroom that I used as an easily up-datable newsletter. However, I did not find that parents were reading the blog and I have never had anyone use the site to contact me (they all have my e-mail and school phone number and usually use those instead). So, using my website for contact with parents is definitely a "gap" I'd like to fill in with my website.
One thing on my website that does appeal to parents and other teachers is a book list. I have a list of books that we read (or that supplement) each unit that we do. I also have a link to my other website units4.weebly.com that serves as more of a "teacher page". On that site I have links to worksheets, activities, websites, tools, and books, we use for our units. This allows me and the teachers I work with (as well as potentially other teachers) to have easy access to some ideas we have found for our units.
I know there are a lot more ways ... and possibly more effective ways ... I could be using my website. What are some ideas you have?
I enjoy looking at other teacher's websites and I LOVE yours! 4th grade seems to do so well together. You all have wonderful, current ideas. Thanks for sharing :) I may "steal" some of your coolness on your site....
ReplyDeleteI enjoy looking at other teacher's websites and I LOVE yours! 4th grade seems to do so well together. You all have wonderful, current ideas. Thanks for sharing :) I may "steal" some of your coolness on your site....
ReplyDeleteGreat site! Using your site as a starting point for students is a good way to get them using it. I post an agenda for class every day on my site so that my students start there to find out what we'll be doing. It's also useful because parents can see those posts and have an idea of what their students are doing in class as well as absent work their student may have missed if they were gone on any given day. My class sites are through Canvas and I would like to find a way to incorporate more "fun" aspects, like you do for your students who have down time. I haven't thought a lot about this as of yet, but that is definitely something I want to include.
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