If You Build It They Will Come How

If You Build It, They Will Come How to plan your Schoolwires web page Sarah Hustwit DHS/GHS Latin

Some basic principles of web design: Design for a purpose *just like lesson plans, you design with the end goal in mind *what do you want to accomplish?

1. Introduce yourself and classes 2. Assignments/Plans - students, parents, admin 3. Responsibility on Students 4. Make yourself accessible 5. Catch their attention

Colors *Limit your colors and be consistent *Contrast between font and background *Background patterns are a No-No *Colors compliment purpose

Font *Don’t make it too small or it’s hard to read *Don’t make it too big or you’re SHOUTING *Don’t choose a weird font or no one can read it

Content *Make it user friendly and intuitive [don’t make them think too hard] *Put important info on top *Limits graphics and images to those that compliment the purpose *Scrolling…there should be some, but not a lot [use bookmarks if you must have a lot of text]

*bulleted lists= good, paragraphs=bad *make important ideas POP *separate long lists into sections, maybe with titles and/or dividers

Top of Page *Pages should be clearly and succinctly titled As one site puts it, you should answer the questions “Where am I? ” and “What can I do here? ”

Homepage *briefly introduce you and your course *give contact info *keep it simple, no long verbose paragraphs

Homepage

Let’s Make A Plan!! Step 1: Your File Cabinet [i. e. the back end, hidden file structure] Step 2: Your Website [i. e. the website everyone sees]

Your Hidden File Structure Organize the Back End Make your life easier by coming up with a plan that suites your needs. Don’t let the computer do it for you. Options: *Create files for each of your classes/levels *Create files [or sub files] for each topic/chapter you teach *Create files for paperwork/forms, movies, projects, etc.

Your Hidden File Structure Log in to your webpage and go to Site Manager

Designing the Front End What the world sees Questions to ask yourself: 1. What organization does my set of classes lend itself to? 2. Do I want all of my lesson plans on my page? Just the assignments? Both? a. How much of my materials and plans are already digital? [Cam. Scanner App for smart phones] 3. What’s my level of technological patience and savvy?

What the World Sees Different Ideas for Inserting Assignments 1. Using a “Links Page” vs Flexpage 2. Using a “File Library” type page [and why I don’t] Crazy Animal Section of Flex page vs Crazy Animal File Library 3. Using an “Assignments” type page – Sra. Aaron’s page and Mrs. Howington’s page 4. Using a Separate Blank “Flex” Page for each class/level 4 A. Link to a PDF of your lesson plans Pros – easy if you already have your plans typed out, easier to control formatting, easy to see whole year at once, easy for kids to print Cons – harder create links to worksheets and handouts 4 B. Type/copy your plans on the page itself – Pros – easier to link to worksheets your kids can print Cons – extra step of copy-pasting from your plans into the webpage, takes up more space visually on the page Considerations – Do you want most recent assignments on top or on the bottom? Do you want them to have to scroll all the way down? 5. Using the Calendar Page for All Classes at Once – Hustwit’s page Pros- everything in one place, easy to link hndts, easy to link to Eduphoria for admin Cons – lots of typing or cut-n-paste for you, lots of steps

Now to Start Bulding

Choosing the right page type to suit your needs

Flex Page

Bonus: Linking in Eduphoria 1. Log in to Eduphoria eduphoria. dentonisd. org 2. Go to Forethought and then My. Planner 3. Go to Change. My. Settings in the bottom left corner…click on My. Schedules 4. Click Add. ASchedule and give it a name like “Check Schoolwires” 5. Then you must Add. An. Entry [like adding a class to the day’s schedule. ] Choose to add ASpecial. Entry, give it an Entry. Title [This is what will appear on your lesson plans page when your school administrator views it. ] Check the “No” box for comments. 6. I have chosen to have 2 “entries, ” one that says “see schoolwires” and another with the web address of my lesson plans page.