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Weebly is a website creation platform that is very simple and easy to use. Teachers can create websites to share information, links, files and resources with students in an easy to access format. With an education account, teachers can set up student accounts so students can create their own websites for electronic portfolios or specific projects. If you invite a colleague you receive a discount on a pro-subscription.
Weebly has a regular "Pro" version and an education version for teachers. Both versions have a limited Free version (suitable or most educational use) and a paid version that gives access to more features. The education version allows access to a discounted rate if you decide to extend to a paid version later, and will allow you to set up student accounts if needed. |
Building a website for your Classroom
PD - 7/12/2016
Learning Intentions
We are learning to build websites to use in our teaching.
Success Criteria
- I can use the Weebly drag-and-drop editor to add titles, text, images and links to my own website.
- I can share ideas with others about how a website might be used to Augment, Modify or Redefine teaching/learning experiences.
- I can build a website that I could use in my own classroom.
- I can create my own images to use as buttons.
- I can embed videos and documents in a website.
- I can change the theme and fonts in a website.
Session Overview
Part 1 - Introduction - Why make a website to use with students?
Part 2 - Exploring some samples and sharing ideas (Use Lino board or AnswerGarden)
Part 3 - Having a go
Part 2 - Exploring some samples and sharing ideas (Use Lino board or AnswerGarden)
Part 3 - Having a go
- Option 1 - Guided session on beginning to use the drag and drop editor
- Option 2 - Self-paced session on beginning to use the drag and drop editor (with some help where needed)
- Option 3 - Build your own website to use next year
- Option 4 - Explore the "Taking it further" section below
Why make a website to use with students?
- A website gives you control over how things appear. You can include an image next to some text and embed a video for students to watch.
- You can build an activity page that includes instructions, images and links - useful for independent work for older students or for a longer project, or when you might be absent.
- Differentiate for students by allowing them to work through things at their own pace and to select appropriate resources for their needs. Some students might need to watch a video twice and pause it as they go to take notes. Some children might want to do further reading on a topic. You can make several links to different games for students at different levels.
- Make "big links" for little fingers on iPads.
- Guide student searching by providing links with explanation or instructions.
- Create your own website with relevant and suitable information for your students.
- Limit exposure to ads and distractions
- Share files with students
- Collate resources
- Store resources for a unit in a way that will be accessible to other teachers.
- Communicate with students and parents
- Provide a platform for students to share work beyond the classroom and a real-world audience
- Weebly can be used as a quasi-LMS
Websites to share topic information with students
Websites for Daily Organisation and Communication
Websites for Planning
Options for Getting Started
- Start small. You can always build on it or change it later.
- Take a unit idea or resource you have used successfully in the past, and create a webpage to share this information with students for next year.
- Try looking through the LMS for a great idea that you can make better, or use a PowerPoint or booklet as a starting point.
- Adapt the site structure and layout ideas from another website to meet your needs.
- Have a chat with me about what you would like on a website, and I can set up the basic structure for you, then add you as an editor so you can adjust it to meet your needs.
- Buddy up with someone who is more confident or who has made a website before.
Taking it further
- Have multiple editors - more than one member of your teaching team can share the task of creating a website
- Hide a page from view of students - you can set up the whole site for an inquiry but only make parts availble to students as the unit unfolds. (Under the Pages tab, look for "Hide in Navigation)
- Organise multiple pages under menus.
- Embed a video or interactive game.
- Add a blog page for student discussion about a task or topic.
- Create your own professional portfolio - an increasing number of Australian teachers are using a website to collate and share their professional portfolio and evidence of AITSL Professional Standards.
- Explore the student accounts. How is a student weebly account different from a regular weebly account?
Should I make a Website or a Blog?
A blog is a type of website. A simple "blog" can be added as a page to a Weebly website, but there are other platforms that are more effective for blogging. An example of an educational blogging platform is Edublogs. You can add web pages (with no comments) within a blog.
The key thing to consider is your purpose for creating the online resource. If you are primarily wanting to share information that you might not need to update often, a website is the best choice. If you are wanting to encourage communication and collaboration amongst your readers and organise the content chronologically, a blog will be more suitable.
A website creation platform (such as Weebly) gives the author a lot of control of the format and appearance of the information. An educational blogging platform will help you to manage comments and add multiple authors (if you want).
The key thing to consider is your purpose for creating the online resource. If you are primarily wanting to share information that you might not need to update often, a website is the best choice. If you are wanting to encourage communication and collaboration amongst your readers and organise the content chronologically, a blog will be more suitable.
A website creation platform (such as Weebly) gives the author a lot of control of the format and appearance of the information. An educational blogging platform will help you to manage comments and add multiple authors (if you want).