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Awards  |  FAQs  |  Visitors Comments

Awards

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How long did it take you to set up your website?
  2. What software do you use?
  3. Who visits your website?
  4. Who hosts your site?
  5. How did you get your website address (domain)?
  6. Where do you find the time to work on your website and technology projects?
    7.
  7. Do you have any advice for other teachers who want to start their own website?
  8. Where are some good teacher websites?
  9. What can I do to evolve my site once I have a basic website started?
  10. Can I use some of your ideas on my own site?

How long did it take you to set up your website?

I started out with an online web service for teachers in the late 90's, and have gradually worked on it since. I took a class on making websites in 2000, and that helped me get more of an idea about the direction I wanted to go.

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What software do you use?

I use Front Page 2003 by Microsoft for my websites. Other software I have purchased/downloaded and use often includes:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer for browsing the web
  • Microsoft Word for documents
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for presentations
  • Microsoft Excel for graphs
  • Corel Paint Shop Pro for graphics
  • Corel Photo Album for photos
  • Pictures to Execute for slideshows
  • Audacity for Podcasts
  • iTunes for Podcasts
  • Camtasia by Techsmith for software demos and some presentations
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Who visits your website?

Surprisingly, this website gets many visitors! This year alone it has had over 11,000 visits (over 154,000 hits). Although not everyone actually e-mails me, I do love hearing from those who do. I especially enjoy sharing teaching and website ideas with other teachers. Although my website has been visited from virtually all across the United States, I have actually heard from teachers in:

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • California
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kentucky
  • Michigan
    •
  • Missouri
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Oregon
  • Washington

There are also "visits" from many other countries,  including:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Czech Republic
  • Egypt
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico
  • Morocco
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Russian Federation
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Samoa
  • Seychelles
  • Singapore
  • Switzerland
  • India
  • Israel
  • Thailand
  • Tobago
  • Trinidad
  • Turkey
  • Tuvalu
  • United Kingdom
    •
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Who hosts your website?

For a couple of years, my district hosted my site, but I am now using a private Internet Hosting provider as my website host. This way I do not have to harass my technology coordinator every time I want to update my pages!
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How did you get your website address (domain)?

I was able to get my website address -- my domain -- through the service that my web host provides www.dexaweb.com . There are many other ways to register a domain, however. You can go through www.registerfly.com , a website that offers low-cost domain registration (this is not an endorsement -- there are other services out there that will help you secure a domain address). If you are a teacher, you should probably consult your technology coordinator to discover your options. 

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Where do you find the time to work on your website and technology projects?

It does take a lot of time, but it is something I love to do so it doesn't feel like work. This is my idea of a relaxing hobby (except when things are not working!).

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Do you have any advice for other teachers wanting to start their own website?

For what it's worth, here is what I would suggest.

  1. Take a lot of time exploring the web for some good teacher websites. There are lots of them! Try searching (Google, Yahoo, Lycos, etc.) for a classroom website in the area you teach.
  2. Consider your time, skills, resources, and goals for making your website.
  3. Realize you can't do it all at once. It is a living, evolving process.
  4. Read up on the legalities of copyright, privacy/protection of students and their work, and your district's policies and guidelines for building websites.
  5. If you don't want to have to worry about the more technical aspects of posting your pages (file transfer protocol), you will probably want to start out by using a teacher web-service provider or going through your technology coordinator. Here is a resource I consult often: http://www.trumbull.k12.oh.us/teachers/resources/webworkshop.htm
  6. Get started, and enjoy -- responsibly!
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What are some good teacher classroom websites?

Here are some of my favorite teacher/classroom sites.

Know a great teacher website? Suggest it here!

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What can I do to evolve my site once I have a basic website started?

Always check your links and make sure they are still connecting to sites that are being updated and are appropriate to your purpose. Consider getting more of your own content online so that other teachers benefit from your work. If you are looking for ways to make your site more attractive or exciting, check out the vast clip art offerings, html generators, dhtml, and java-script sites. There are so many artistic people in the web industry! While the look of my site is fairly simple, there are plenty of artistic examples out there.

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Can I use some of your ideas on my own website?

Where would teachers be without sharing ideas with each other? I don't mind sharing any of these ideas; certainly I, too, have gotten my best ideas from other teachers. We all need to share and evolve the art of teaching. Copying, on the other hand, is a different thing. If you use any of my ideas, please do not just copy and paste it as if it is your own by doing so. Make your own version by using my site as a reference for your own ideas only. Please come up with your own words, your own look, your own graphics, your own details -- personalize it. Make sure you give credit where credit is due. Also, if you get a new, improved, even better idea from one on my site, I hope you will consider sharing it back with me. Teachers need each other! 

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