Classroom websites......I was so surprised to hear several parents at recent birthday party I attended discussing that this is how they decided what teachers to request for their children. They were specifically looking for organization, availability of resources 24/7, and up to date information that they could access. Wow! We have came along way with the use of technology. The building principal in my building is huge on class websites. It is expected that they remain up to date weekly with homework assignments (if given) and important dates.
My classroom website is ALWAYS a work in progress, there are always so many new ideas and resources to put on there. I have added so much since my first year of having the website, and I feel that it is a useful tool for the parents in my room to stay up to date. They can access reading & math books directly from my website, skill based games based on our reading or math unit, and extra copies of classroom newsletters, calendars, and forms sent home. I think one of the major gaps in websites is the lack of technology within districts to offer them to all teachers at the classroom level. I also do not think that all teachers are comfortable enough with their technology skills to create one when given the opportunity. I know with my website that it is really difficult to stay on top of keeping it current and constantly checking for broken links.
One of the complaints I have heard from teachers regarding websites is they either change hotsts too often or the features are difficult to work with. The sites provided by the district are often not user friendly and require knowledge of website design. Broken links are definitely a problem, even on the district website itself. I think a poorly maintained website has more of a negative effect than having no website at all. That is something to keep in mind before launching a classroom website. Do you have the time to maintain it? If not, then perhaps it might be better to wait or find an easier method to communicate. I am sure your parents appreciate your effort to keep your website up to date!
ReplyDeleteI would agree with those complaints Val. Luckily we have maintained the same hosts, but many things continually change and get updated even staying with the same hosts. I try to set aside one of my prep times each week to work on the website to keep it up to date. Not maintaining it is not really a choice in my building; our building principal reviews them regularly and they are part of our teacher evaluation at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing that parents were using website evaluation to request teachers for their students! Setting up a regular time to update your website seems like good practice and one that can easily become routine. I think it's awesome that it is an expectation for the staff in your building. Does your principal also maintain a site? There's nothing like modeling to get the negative people on board in a school initiative!
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