Michigan Online Educator Certification System

Creating a Classroom Website

Creating a Classroom Website Course Details Learn how to create a classroom Web site in this fun, easy-to-understand course for teachers. In no time, you'll build a site with text, images, animations, tables, links, and more. Then you'll create a WebQuest and a blog to add to your site. You'll also learn how students can use site builders to create their own Web sites in minutes. As we move along, you'll be amazed by how simple creating a classroom Web site can be and all the ways in which having one can make you a more effective and dynamic teacher. By the end of this course, you'll have your own published classroom Web site, and you'll feel energized by your great new teaching tool! Top of Form Syllabus A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart. ll courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam. Week One Wednesday - Lesson 01 Teachers, don't let technology intimidate you! It's easier—and more fun—to create a classroom Web site than you might think. In this first lesson, we'll explore the ways that a Web site can help you organize information, instruct your students, and interact with others. Then you'll create a plan for your very own classroom Web site and learn how to keep your students safe when they surf the Internet. Friday - Lesson 02 Today, you'll put your plan into action and enter the exciting world of classroom Web sites as an author! You'll learn about text editors and HTML as you begin creating a Web site. By the end of Lesson 2, you'll have a title, description, heading, and text for your site. Week Two Wednesday - Lesson 03 In this lesson, you'll bring your site to life with formatting. You'll give your Web site visual appeal as you add color to the text and the background. You'll also learn to format and arrange text, giving your site a unique, professional look. Friday - Lesson 04 Would you like to add a picture of your school to your Web site? Do you want to showcase student work? Today, you'll learn how and why you should add graphics to your site and discover just how easy it is. Week Three Wednesday - Lesson 05 We'll take your Web site to the next level in this lesson. You'll find out how to select and format a background image and animated graphics for your home page. Then you'll top it all off with a custom-designed banner. These additions will liven up your Web pages and impress your students! Friday - Lesson 06 Today is all about links! You'll learn about the different kinds of links and how to create them. You'll see how to place them to make it easy for visitors to navigate your site. Week Four Wednesday - Lesson 07 It's time for table fun. Tables are a great way to organize information, such as student assignments. By the end of this lesson, you'll know how to create a table, format it, add color and graphics to it, and incorporate it as an important part of your classroom Web site. Friday - Lesson 08 Today, we'll focus on WebQuests: unique Internet learning adventures. You'll discover how to design a fun, successful WebQuest that will enrich and educate your students. After planning your WebQuest, you'll use your HTML knowledge to begin creating it. Week Five Wednesday - Lesson 09 It won't be long until your work is on the Web! Then you'll be part of that elite crowd with the skills to create and post WebQuests online to share with other teachers. In this lesson, you'll complete your WebQuest and link it to your Web site. We'll also explore the best ways to use this learning experience in the classroom. Friday - Lesson 10 Are you ready to implement a great communication tool in your classroom? Today, you'll develop your own blog that will enhance your teaching and create a learning environment that transcends your classroom's walls. By the end of this lesson, you'll have the knowledge you need to create a blog, teach your students about blogging, and use blogs effectively. Week Six Wednesday - Lesson 11 It's time to go public and post your site online! In this lesson, you'll find a host and a domain name for your site. We'll explore options to suit all budgets—including no budget. You'll also learn about File Transfer Protocol so that you can move your Web site files from one computer to another with ease. Friday - Lesson 12 Now that you're a Web expert, you can share your skills with your students! In this final lesson, you'll discover great ways to help your students create their own Web sites and post their projects online. You'll learn how to modify HTML to build a site in mere minutes, and you'll find out how Web authoring software programs and your Web host's site-building tools can make creating a site a snap. Instructor Biography Robin Sellers is a certified teacher with a Master of Arts degree with a concentration in Technical and Professional Communication. She has over 11 years of experience in the traditional classroom and has been an online instructor since 2000, training thousands of students. She has the ability to take difficult or technical concepts and make them easy for her students to understand. Her students claim that she has a gift for communicating online in a clear, concise, and personal way and that she is a "born" teacher who makes her courses interesting and enjoyable.