The websites have me a little worried about my technological ability, but also very excited about what I can do once I master the technology. I am really grateful we are learning how to create a website for our classroom.
While at BYU, I've learned how important it is to be able to communicate with teachers outside of the classroom. I've discovered how convenient it is to have access to my class assignments, readings and calendar outside of the school. As a teacher, I have been wondering how I would be able to provide a similar opportunity without Blackboard. Websites are the answer. If I constantly update my website calendar with due dates for projects, book readings, tests, etc. my students will have a reference after they leave school to turn to for questions. Also, I love how you can upload documents or explanations for homework assignments. I understand that after a long day of classes, its easy to forget specifics of homework assigments.
Furthermore, I enjoy the website because it gives students access to me without creating personal communication. The website is professional, and directly related to school. It is not my personal email or cell phone. Especially in my first years of teaching when I am only a few years older than my students, it helps keeps professional and personal separate while providing information during my personal hours.
Another aspect of the website I really enjoy is the opportunity to post extra information or assignments here as well. While they tend to be few, there are always students who wish to know more about a certain book they read in class or want more challenging assigmnents, books, research, etc. The website can provide the opportunity to upload documents or attach links to sites I trust and know are factual. I can link to pages for proper MLA format or upload example essays for a certain assignment. The possibilities are limitless. The more I work on my website, the more opportunities I see to create a class community online. Technology, when used properly, can greatly. benefit education.
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Dasily,
ReplyDeleteYour site looks great! I think you've taken advantage of some very useful features. Just one thing about when you embed objects. It looks like your slide show from slideshare is getting cut off. If you look at the code that you paste, it will have width='' and height=''. If you can find that then you can set the dimensions to exactly what they need to be so that you don't end up cutting stuff off.
Let me know if you have any questions.