Technology Project Part #1

I want to create a website that will be both informative and interactive. I am envisioning a section of the website being an "about me" section where both parent and students can see who I am, where I have been, what I like, people I know, and get a feel for my teaching style. I would like to have a video of the month that will illustrate something unique or fun that happened to me in that month. Another section of my website I am planning to have a weekly current world problem that my students can blog or hold a forum on. I would also like to have links such as resources, calendar, upcoming activities, contact information, and important documents. These are all some ideas that I have been working through. I have a feeling when I start this project, my creative juices will start to flow and a lot of the other ideas will come to mind. I am hoping to use software such as free webs, flikr, delicious, freerecorder, and audacity. I would like to use the tools within my websites such as a wikis, podcasts, media libraries, and photo albums. I want this website to be used by students, parents, and other teachers. I want it to be information loaded, anything that I can put on there I will and should. This way it is a reliable information tool used by the parents and students that they can used to get updated on or just continually participate in. I also want this website to be a way of documentation of what I do as a teacher inside and outside the classroom. I want my students to be as involved as they can. This is just another way to document our progress and our year. Furthermore, it would probably be beneficial to have technology information and resources on the websites to help inform the parents of their students! They come from a different generation of technology so it would probably make them feel more involved when they actually know what their kids means when they tell them they recorded a podcast today. It would be great if I could set up a wiki for parents to get them involved in the classroom. Whether it be volunteering or parent teacher conferences, the wiki would be a helpful tool to use on my website. Like I said earlier I am just jotting down as many ideas that I can think of now. This will probably change some and I will most likely remove ideas and add ideas. Overall I want my website to be attractive to BOTH my students and parents. Colorful and creative with pictures and videos. The process of this creation will be interesting and fun. I am excited.

As of now I have mapped out what I would like my website to look like on paper and started to format it. I have realized through the creation process that I will not be able to include all the features I had mentioned in the above paragraph due to lack of time. Some features that are going to be included are an "introductory podcast" of who I am, an endorsement resources folder (history and social studies resources that my students can use), and lots of pictures! So far so good, I am seeking help from those that know what they are talking about.