Year in Review: Teacher Web Pages

Tomorrow is our last full day of school and we have much to celebrate about the school year 2009-2010. From my perspective I am impressed by the progress we have made sharing student learning using teacher web pages. Whether the teacher is using a FirstClass web page, a Blogger blog, a WordPress blog, a Blogmeister blog or our new Yarmouth Google sites they have taken off and are helping each other place videos, student writing and digital photos online. The increase in videos is a result of student use of PhotoBooth and teacher use of our FlipCams. The resulting videos are being posted on SchoolTube or through connecting to our Yarmouth WebApps server.

We have reached the point where a teacher web page with updates displaying student learning is an expectation by parents, teachers and students. There have been many factors that contributed to this. One very important one has been time during faculty meetings and team meetings to learn some of the basics of setup and some options about what is available through a "speed-geeking" session in February. Each week when classes come to the computer lab I get an opportunity to check in with teachers about questions or support for adding media to the classroom web pages. This might be testing the new Flash uploader for sets of photos on a WordPress post, creating an iPhoto web page, a Photopeach slideshow, recording student voices on a Voicethread or finding classes to Skype with around the country.

As we start to think about next year my goals include having students use the cameras to record learning events and even help with the uploading for viewing via. a web link. I know for myself that it is a challenge to keep a blog or web page up-to-date. As we all develop and become comfortable with some simple procedures for posting it becomes easier to keep things current. A goal for myself is to continue to work on the YES Technology site and more frequent updates there about what we are learning each month.