You Oughta Know About Classroom Websites

I'm linking up with Buzzing With Mrs. McClain for another You Oughta Know Blog hop!

This month, You Oughta Know about Classroom Websites!

I am so excited to tell you all about the classroom website I created. It was originally for a grad class assignment but I've kept it going and it's been a big hit with the parents & students this year!

First, sign up for a Weebly Education site. A normal free Weebly site will limit the number of "pages" your site can have, but free education sites are not limited.

Once you sign up, you'll have to pick a "theme" (there are LOADS to choose from!)

Then you should think about what you'd like to include on your site. These are the pages I have...

Some of the pages have "sub pages" that open a drop down menu...

Once you have an idea of what you'd like to have on your classroom website, you can start to create pages...

An important component on this page for me is if you click advanced... you then have the option to make the page "unsearchable" I select this for EVERY page of my classroom website. This makes it impossible for someone to search my name and find the site. It makes me and my students' parents a lot more comfortable about having their children's pictures online. You can also change the visibility (above) but that means you have to give your website a password.

After you have your page set up, and set to your preferred privacy, click save & edit (bottom right) and you'll be headed to this page...

From this page, you "drag and drop" components onto your page, whether it be text or a document or photos. Some of the features can only be used if you pay for your site, but this hasn't been an issue for me yet.

The only drag and drop that I wish I could use is the HD Video, however, you can upload to Youtube and set your video as "unlisted" and then it cannot be searched on Youtube.

Once you have your site set up, you can add sites for you students too. I haven't experimented with this yet, but I hope to (and will certainly post about it!). Right now, I have a few "blog" pages set up on the site and log in and let students post about our day or post their published writing. I've only had the site for a few months and have LOVED it as a connection between school & home. I don't print out newsletters anymore, I just post them on our website. I no longer email photos home, I post them on our website!

I would love to share the link to my website, I'm really proud of it, but I'm uncomfortable posting the site link for the whole world to access. If you'd like to see my class website, email me and I'd be happy to give you the link on  a more personal basis. Weebly is SUPER user friendly, and I think you'll find yourself able to catch on to the tools very quickly!

Be sure to check out other blog posts on today's Blog Hop...

An InLinkz Link-up