For a long time I had been searching for a way for my students to go to one location to access all the information needed to work within our class. The search actually started when I was continuously hearing from students, “I lost it. Do you have another one?” It is not that I did not believe that they did not lose it, it was that they then were waiting until the next class, when the assignment was due, to ask me for the directions to the assignment. The students were expecting to hand in the assignment the following class because they did not know what to do. So, I wanted a location that students could go to and find the information for the assignments. This got me to thinking that I could also post the information for those students that were missing class, posting the PowerPoint or notes for the day for those students who maybe cannot write as fast, or need a visual to comprehend and/or may be having a bad day and can comprehend the information at a later time. I also wanted to create links to the other on-line programs we are using in the class so students only have one location to go to.
Creating a website seemed like the
right direction to go. I started working with Weebly.com, which basically is a
drag and drop web design platform. The set up and the ease of using it worked
great for my busy schedule. I had created websites in the past using Html
language, but I had forgotten all of it and I did not have time to go back and
relearn everything. And why should I have to when there are sites like Weebly.com
that will do it for you.
Weebly.com is free to sign up and
there is an upgrade package for a fee. The free version has a variety of
features to begin a website that will allow you to create an appealing site.
Both versions will allow you to load images, create a variety of pages, and
insert assignment pages, contact forms, slideshow, photo gallery and more. The
free version does not allow you to insert video and/or embed documents.
Weebly.com education
version provides the same features but also has a protected environment where
you can have your students create a website. As a teacher you are able to
manage and can password protect your entire student’s websites. You are allowed
up to 40 sites. For each additional 10 students there is a $10 charge. The
platform also provides a blogging feature which is great to post assignments,
class information, and/or news for students and parents. You are also able to
buy your domain name if it is available. The weebly.com extension will not be
on your URL address.
Creating websites for your class or
having your students create websites on a topic can be a powerful tool for
learning. Students are able to be creative with design as well as how they
present their information. Weebly.com allows students to work at an idividual level or they are able to collaborate with one other or several students. The wonderful part about using a web 2.0 tool is that students do not have to be in one location. They can be from other classes within the school, within the state, country and/or world.
For teachers you can create a site
for the course, on a topic, or for a specific assignment such as for a web quest.
Weebly.com can also be used to create a portfolio of your work or for your curriculum
vitae.
Here are some great examples of how
weebly.com web creator are being used –
http://33359123.nhd.weebly.com/ - this site was created by a 6th
grade student for a project
http://depaolawebquest.weebly.com/ - a webquest created for elementary school
but can be adapted for any grade level
http://www.merciermagic.com/ - an teacher
that is using it for her class where there are an abundant of information
located within this site. Notice how she had embedded the use of other
technology tools within her site.
http://jenniferfariello.weebly.com/index.html and http://www.michaellahammond.com/index.html both have created their educational
portfolios.
And here is the website ecbacon.weebly.com that I have
created and use in my class.
I have enjoyed using weebly.com for
a central location for my students to go to. They are able to go to our class
site find information about assignments, notes from class, Power Points, due
dates, contact information, as well as links to other tools we are using such
as kidblog.com , voki.com and to our class wiki page. The only negative I have
found was the formatting tools are temperamental at times. There are times when
I copy and paste and have to spend time adjusting the formatting. This is
typical with any web-based program, and it does depend on your computer and
internet speed, but I have found it to happen more often than not. That being
said, it is nothing that would deter me from continuing to use weebly.com.
And the other great thing about creating a website is that it continues to be a never ending work in progress.
