Hey friends! I have a huge tech question to ask.
Do you guys have a class blog/site? If so, who do you use?
I used to have a class blog, but deleted it because it wasn't getting viewed by my parents and kids. This year, our admin has asked that each teacher have a classroom blog/site. It isn't required, but recommended.
Here's a shot of the Weebly site I've started:
I just started it about 20 minutes ago, so it's NOWHERE near finished!
Please help me out and give me some advice! I like that Weebly has security features, but wondered what everyone else was using?! Thanks in advance!
I'm probably not the best person to answer your question, but I use Shutterfly :) Works great and I have no problems with it!!
ReplyDeletePS-I wen to download your Fall Centers but I thought they were free :X Am I losing my mind? :) I'll save up! xoxo
Thanks for the advice, Laura. I'll check that out. And the fall centers being free were part of the August 11th Back to School Cyber Search. It ended early Saturday.
DeleteI have used teachersweb before. It has been a few years. I used it as my webpage and you could simply add a blog to it. You were able to have the comments to not be posted unless you approved them. This was a good thing, due to spam occassionaly.
ReplyDeleteDiane
Thanks, Diane! I'm Googling teachersweb as soon as I get finished typing this! :)
DeleteI use Teacher Web. It has great features and many choices for designs( graphics).
ReplyDeleteWe have a blog platform on our district website. I found it was very hard to maintain and my parents hardly ever checked it. :( My goal this year is to update just once a month. My advice would be keep it simple! I also had the kids "guest blog" on the site and that's when the most parents checked it and the kids LOVED it! :) Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the "Guest Blogger" idea!
DeleteShutterfly...it is VERY user friendly and FREE!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice, y'all! I stuck with Weebly for a little while and this is what I have so far....
ReplyDeletehttp://mrsrichliewsclasspage.weebly.com/
We'll see if I stick with it or switch to a different platform.
http://teacherweb.com/HI/PearlHarborElementary/MissMizufuka/apt1.aspx
ReplyDeleteThis is my site from last school year, also on Teacherweb. This site is very user friendly and has a ton of video tutorials to teach you how to use everything. The layout is fairly simple but it's still cute and fancy at the same time. I haven't updated it for this school year since I'm not sure yet if I will do a class webpage. So many other things going on.
I was also looking into weebly as well because I ilke that you can also have password protected pages. Will your school pay for subscriptions to these sites? If so, it would be worth it to use one of the easier user friendly sites...the whole design of my webpage is one of the defaults from the website. They have a ton of options...
Courtney
I'm using Blogger this year. I've had a website, but don't feel it was ever really utilized. I send out a weekly newsletter, but some people got it/some didn't, I forgot to attach it to the e-mail. Whatever. So I'm putting it all on Blogger b/c you can follow by e-mail. That way if parents want it, they can sign up for it. I was a little worried about putting kid pictures on it, but I found a way to password protect it, so I'm doing that on my class pictures page.
ReplyDeleteMegan
I Teach. What's Your Super Power?
I've been using a blogger site for several years and have had great feedback from parents and admin about it. I post our learning goals for the day and homework on a daily post and then have links to handouts and online games, etc using widgets along the side. I'd consider switching but I know how to use blogger and don't want to invest the time right now. I'll have to check out password protecting some areas....
ReplyDeleteCorrina
Mrs. Allen’s 5th Grade Files
I'm not teaching yet, but last semester, I took an Educational Technology site, and we had to create a Teacher Webpage using Google Sites. I really like the platform. Here is my sample webpage... https://sites.google.com/site/msdunnsclassroom4/ (Keep in mind all the information is fake, since it was just an assignment)
ReplyDeleteI have used Weebly for a couple of years now. I love it! I'm not real tech-savy, and this fits me. It is also very easy for my students/parents to navigate through. I had a non-custodial parent (out of state even) contact me to thank me for keeping it updated. He felt like he could talk to his child about what was going on in the classroom. I have begun to update it for this year, but I have left things up from last year's class so that my students/parents can get an idea about the things we will do.
ReplyDeleteYou can check it out at 4w.weebly.com
Hope this helps!
Bev
I've used Weebly before and loved it! I haven't used it in the classroom yet though....Hopefully next year! This year I'm going to attempt doing a class blog. But, with my use of Weebly for other things (my educational portfolio included) I loved the site.
ReplyDeleteYour weebly site looks really nice!
Elizabeth
http://firstyearinthe3rdgrade.blogspot.com/
The last 2 years I used Teacher Web. This year I was trying to avoid spending the money so my computer teacher created a Google website. I don't find it as easy to use or meeting my expectations. Today I started on Blogger. I am torn between website or blog as well. After looking at all the teachers' blogs out there, especially yours, I can't figure out why mine doesn't look at nice.
ReplyDeleteI use myteacherpages.com. My site is www.mrsjnewton.com. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI started a Weebly website/blog too! (www.mrsg3b.weebly.com) I've only added page titles and a header. I have a video tutorial on my blog folks can check out.
ReplyDeleteCut and paste this: http://teachonalimb.blogspot.com/2012/08/weeblya-classroom-website-video-tutorial.html
Jessica
Teach on a Limb
I think you might want to take a different approach and use Edmodo. I think it's way more interactive than a blog or website. Students and parents can ask questions. You can create different groups. You can even use it in class for discussion points/quizzes/assignments/and video. Plus it's a much more secure site. I hope this helps. I just started using it this year and I've had a tremendous amount of positive response.
ReplyDeleteI've used my teacher pages! Loved it! Now I use google because it's FREE.
ReplyDeleteI'm at teacherweb.com/ca/Penngrove/law and love it. It's $50/year, but so easy to use and it does what I need it to do.
ReplyDeleteHeather at TeachItToday!
I use Wix.com it is amazing and I've had so many compliments throughout the years! You can check my site out at http://msschaffer.wix.com/montessori ...It allows you to add music and tons of other fun things! Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteKatherine at Montessori Maddness!
I used Edublog last year and it was okay. I found a lot of my parents did access the site either, so I became unmotivated and stopped posting. This year I am going to try having our class blog on Kid Blog. Basically, I will have a class page and then all the kids will have their own blogs too. I'm hoping that they kids will be excited about their own blogs and I might get more parents to check it out. :)
ReplyDeleteAmanda
The Teaching Thief
Fiction Friday: A Celebration of Children’s Literature
This year I am using Kidblog for the students to use in class for writing and Daily 5. Our school has Edline for news and a class website but I am also trying our AmazingClassroom mainly because it has a super math facts test component that the kids use at their own pace. They also have great resources. It costs but not too much.Check it out.
ReplyDeleteDana,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I found this post. I want to start a class blog this year and I think I'm starting with weebly. Best of luck to you!
Dana-I have a Weebly site and attached the link to my blog on it! The blog is called kidblog.org
ReplyDeleteIt is VERY user friendly and the kids are able to access it at home through my class website which is attached to my school's website! They've loved it!