A classroom website can be one of the best
tools you can utilize to showcase the great things happening in your classroom.
Some teachers already have a great class
website or blog and today we are going to look at what you need to do to build
classroom website of your own.
So
what’s the difference between a classroom website and a classroom blog?
A blog is like an online diary of articles
and discussion topics that readers can subscribe and respond to. A traditional website is more so a repository of static content. Over the last few years these two areas have
blurred into each other. Any web
creation platform worth a pinch of salt will offer both of these options to you
but a blog is probably going to be of far more use than a static site.
What
is the purpose of a classroom Blog?
Always connected Learning: Your classroom website should allow students
to contribute from home to a topic that has been discussed in the classroom. Alternately, you can include follow up
content such as tutorial videos for students and parents who might need
assistance in a specific area.
Communication: In its simplest form a classroom website
should be a bulletin board of news and events that are relevant to your
class.
A sense of pride: Your classroom website should be a great
bragging point not only your students should feel proud of as it contains great
examples of their work, but it should also serve as an excellent portfolio of
your teaching craft should you apply for a promotion or another job.
What
should it contain?
“For instance
“Where have we seen natural disasters in the news this week?”
What
it should not contain?
Of course if you are intending to share
your classroom with the world you need to provide and adhere to some cyber
safety guidelines about not sharing personal information and always ensure you
have parental permission.
Never let your website become a platform
for cyber bullying or criticism.
Moderate it at least once a week.
What
is the best platform for success?
There are literally hundreds of options
here if you run a Google Search but here are my top three picks from personal
experience.
Weebly:
Probably the web’s easiest blogging and website creation tool for
beginners through to novices. It is free
to get started but you can buy a full featured premium package for a few
dollars per month. The great thing about
Weebly is that allows you to create simple password protected pages that your
students can feel a little safer on.
Blogger.
This is Google’s blogging platform tool and it is totally free. It will
create a great classroom blog and that is about it. If you already have a Gmail account you are
already registered. Simple drag and drop
interface and can be integrated easily into your existing school website.
Edublogs:
If you are a WordPress user this will seem like the easiest thing in the
world to you. If you are not I would not
recommend starting here. I really only
included because of the massive user base Wordpress has. If you get stuck on Blogger or Edublogs there
is no 24/7 support to help you out but there are millions of users on forums
who can help.