Last week in class we took a look at a lot of websites that will be very beneficial when I start teaching. I was really intrigued with TeacherWeb and wanted to look more closely at it. I was really pleased with everything that it had to offer and felt that the $39 per year subscribtion is a very reasonable price. The website even has a school-wide option. There was no information about pricing for this option only an email address to send questions to.
The website has much to offer. One thing that I really liked was the class blog. We have dicussed several ways to use blogs within the classroom, and if you use this website for your class blog, the students wouldn't have to memorize another website, create an account for a blog site, etc. The teacher can also upload lesson plans for the students to view. This is very benifical if a student was absent one day. Another tool is the quiz and word search maker. A teacher can create those things and post it to the site. The quiz can even be taken online. This is all offered through the TeacherWeb website, and a teacher would no longer have go to another website to create these things.
The website is not only for student use, but parents can benefit from a class website as well. There is a calendar option in which a teacher can post upcoming events for parents to look at. The class page can also have a photo gallery for teachers to post pictures from class/field trips/special occasions, etc. I really like how this website offered a wish list function. Here a teacher can create a list of things that are needed for their classroom. This is so much easier than sending a note or email anytime you need something for your classroom. The teacher can also post his/her schedule to the website. I feel that this will help parents know when it's best to contact their child's teacher.
I could list so many more things that I liked about TeacherWeb, but I feel that I may write a novel. I'm sure it has it's downfalls, but without creating a website first hand it's hard to tell. I know some of you who read this blog are teachers and may possibly have a class website or know a teacher who has one. What website/s do you use or have you heard of other teachers using? I know there are probably other good websites out there, and I'm curious to know what those are.
I was glad to hear your thoughts on the web site we talked about last week. After reading all the features I may have to seriously look into purchasing it for my classroom, because my main goal for the second quarter is to become better at POSITIVE COMMUNICATION! So far I have had to give very little communication on problems, but I decided I needed to be better about giving the positive and not be waiting until it becomes negative. SO all the information you shared about the sight was very interesting for me to think about and look at it as an option for better communication between me/students, students/home, me/home, and home with me. Great summary and thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that a blog could be used for lesson plans so students can see what they missed if they were absent. I know especially in middle or high school, there is usually homework everyday for multiple subjects, so something like this would be very practical. Even if the student wasn't absent, they could look over the blog to review what they learned in class.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the idea of a calendar on a website for parents to view. There are changes that are made to schedules weekly and it would be much easier for the teacher to simply post it on the website calendar rather than printing off 25 copies to send home and hope the parents get it.
I know at my school, the families of my students cannot afford to have a computer, so I cannot do a class website. :(
Thank you for highlighting some extra features of TeacherWeb. It really does sound like a great site to use in the classroom, and $39 is not too bad at all.
ReplyDeleteI know if you want a more personalized website that you could always build your own, through for example Dreamweaver, but these are not as userfriendly (in the creating process), it takes plenty of time and you anyway need to pay subscription fees to a server to upload. I have not used Google sites before, but I have been told that it is pretty easy to use, with no subscription costs. But yes, why re-invent the wheel,if other already existing sites offer you the features that you require, why not just save time and use them? Great post!
Classroom websites are always a difficult decision -- keeping them up and current takes work! Also, you have to keep putting things up so people will return! But.. those are good reasons to do it!
ReplyDeleteOne of the nice things about TeacherWeb is that for $39 I get to have it hosted by someone and can make changes easily. That's the hardest thing for school districts is to host the site and then give the needed access to teachers to keep it current.
I think the easiest Web tools I have seen are iWeb (but you have to have a Mac) and GoogleSites. We are now using GoogleSite in 201 and it seems to be going pretty well.