Classroom Website Choices

Key Considerations

• One-way or Two-way communication• Supported Features• Ease of Use• Student Access

Teacher Landing Pages

Every teacher will have a “landing page” which will be created for them in Sharepoint.

3 Choices• Only have a landing page• Develop out your landing page into a site to

hold all the resources that you want to share with students, parents and the public

• Create a separate classroom website and link to it on your Sharepoint landing page

Sharepoint

• One-way communication• Many features available (including video,

audio)• Ease of Use: Steep learning curve• No student login required

http://sharepoint-test.k12albemarle.org/school/CAES/Classrooms2/sampleteachersite/Pages/default.aspx

Creating a Non-Sharepoint Website

You have several choices• Google Sites• Weebly• Word Press• WikiSpaces• Edmodo (2-way)• Blackboard (2-way)

Google Sites

• One-way Communication (2-way if you incorporate other Google apps)

• Many features (including video, surveys)• Fairly easy to use• No log in required

Example Site: https://sites.google.com/a/k12albemarle.org/mrs-effland-s-class/

Click here for a Demo...

Weebly• One-way (unless you pay)• No audio or video upload on the free version (but you can link to

YouTube videos)• Very easy to use (clearly labeled drag-and-drop interface)• No student login on the free version

Sample Site: http://srmichelle.weebly.com/index.html Weebly for Education: http://education.weebly.com/ Pro Account ($40/year) features

Click here for a Demo...

Word Press

• Primarily used as a blogging tool, but you can change settings to make it act like a traditional webpage

• One-way communication (although it does give the ability to comment on posts)

• You can upload video, pics, audio and pdf files. You cannot upload Word or Powerpoint files.

• The file size max is 8 MB.• Word Press has a fairly easy to learn interface.

http://screencast.com/t/fDRQWHfIqRl

WikiSpaces

• LllExample site: http://crosbyclass.wikispaces.com/

Edmodo

Blackboard

• Two-way Communication• Many features including embedded YouTube

videos, tests, assignments, journals, discussion boards and more

• Fairly easy to use, although the number of choices may feel confusing at first

• Students must log in to access the course. They have one login for all their courses in Bb.

http://screencast.com/t/IDDbBzuSXb