Since the middle of last school year I have maintained a webpage for the classes I teach. I have really enjoyed this process, and I see a lot of benefit in having it for my students to use. I post announcements, homework assignments, notes from class, worksheets to download, links, help videos, etc. for students and parents to have as a resource. I have had a lot of positive feedback from the parents and students who use it frequently, and I even have a couple of students who already have the worksheet I am handing out each day because they printed it out at home.
I made the commitment to my students and parents at the beginning of the year that the pages would be updated for the upcoming week by Sunday evening (or Monday morning) so they would know in advance what to expect each week, and I have kept this commitment (for the most part) throughout the school year. Recently I have really been noticing that the more involved I get with creating this online content the busier I feel over the weekends and throughout the week. I frequently block out time over the weekend to gather all of my materials and put them up online for the upcoming week, and I make sure that they are available on my page before the beginning of each week. This has been especially challenging on weekends when we are traveling or committed to other activities. My planning hour at school is often eaten up with uploading videos that students have recorded of homework problems being explained or uploading notes from class. If I change plans mid-week, I have to remember to change the assignment due dates both on the webpage and in our online gradebook. It seems sometimes like the more organized I am the more disorganized I feel.
As a disclaimer, I am not trying to dissuade anyone from creating a class webpage, but much to contrary. I have enjoyed it, and my students have benefitted from it. But, if you are considering it, start small and work up slowly from there. It's really easy to jump in with both feet, but be ready to be consumed at first.
I can relate! I'm pretty organized, yet it's remembering to keep it updated that's the hard part (especially when plans change!)
ReplyDeleteThe frustrating part to me is when I put all this work into it - then find out that the parents and students aren't utilizing it!!!
I would love to start a web-site for my classes. It does seem like a lot of work. I always try to plan my prep hour out, but it goes by to quick and I feel like I get nothing accomplished. Your post makes want to hold off on the web-site.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. I’m one of those people that jump in both feet first and then realize that I just should have stuck one foot in. I do believe you’re right though, start small, have a solid base, and then build from there.
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