Question about website hosting

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Blaine Transue on June 24, 2009 at 1:15pm

Shaunna, There are some great sources out there for schools. Of course, we can't help but think ours is the best. There's no risk in signing up, no commitment and it's free. Before you buy into anything, I hope that you will give our service a try.

Sign up here.
http://webschoolpro.com/signup.html
Once you receive your activation code, it takes less than 5 minutes to set up your site and you're off and running.

Unlimited pages and content, all editing is done in real-time from your browser, virtual classrooms for teachers, dynamic calendars, photo galleries, great resources and a whole lot more.

Get the full scoop at http://webschoolpro.com

Please, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
blaine@webschoolpro.com or call (707) 789-0769 or toll free (866) 827-4344

Blaine

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Permalink Reply by Miss A on June 24, 2009 at 7:38pm

i just wanted to be clear are you asking for a website builder or webspace/host?

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Permalink Reply by Shaunna Holcomb on June 24, 2009 at 7:46pm

I guess I am thinking of web space -- someplace that I could build a webpage (once I figure out how) that would be free.

I need to look more into the site Brian pitched above... I am concerned about advertisements, though. They annoy me, and I am sure they would annoy my students/parents of students.

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Permalink Reply by Blaine Transue on June 26, 2009 at 12:48am

The cool thing about our system Shuanna, is that there's no risk in trying it. Activate the site, explore the editing tools, show it to your colleagues and decide for yourself about the ads. I have been supporting education technology for 20 years, so I am very familiar with this discussion. Just know that we are extremely conscientious about what goes on the site, after all, if it doesn't work for the schools, it doesn't work for us. We've had a number of schools and districts that liked the system so much, they went to the board and changed their policies on advertising. Interestingly enough, most schools advertise on their sites now...just take a look around. Yahooligans, the Smithsonian, Nasa, Google search, District Admin magazine, EdWeek...they call them favorite links, or resources...but when it gets right down to it, they're ads, plain and simple. Just know that we go to great links to do this right. You'll never see ads for candy, or soda, or junk food, or video games...what you will see are ads for the things you're communities are looking for, i.e., computers, supplies, tutoring help, spirit wear etc.

Sign up and try it out, you have absolutely nothing to lose. We'll even supply you with references that you can contact if that helps, but really, just sign up, if you don't like it, don't use it, it's that simple, but you owe it to yourself to try it out. By the way, there is also a subscription based non-ad model. One flat fee for the year covers everything...the site, hosting, tech support, training, no hidden costs, no surprise fees and we have great support, online, via email or on the phone. Read the testimonials on our site if you have a minute, we don't make them up, and they come in almost everyday.

Best Regards,

Blaine

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Permalink Reply by Shaunna Holcomb on June 25, 2009 at 7:12am

Actually, maybe I am thinking of a website builder. I don't know! :) I will look at anything that is suggested, to see if it fits what I am thinking.

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Permalink Reply by Geoff St. Pierre on June 25, 2009 at 6:09pm

I am a teacher; I teach computer science. I am trying/thinking of building a web hosting business on the side. As a result I would be willing to host your site(s) free of charge with no ads.

my site is: http://jasperstreet.homeip.net/consulting/

ignore the pricing options as I am just playing with the whole business model. With my hosting you can build a completely custom site and/or plug in pre-built tools like a wiki, wordpress blog, moodle, etc.

Give it a look. As I am just testing the waters of the hosting field I would be willing to work with you in terms of free tech suupport in exchange for you beta testing my service. Let me know if you want to give it a try.

You would have to buy your own domain name. Unless you just want to test with a sub domain like: shaunna.jasperstreet.homeip.net

Geoff

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on June 25, 2009 at 6:38pm

Shaunna, Hopefully I'm not sounding too teacherly but here goes.

1. To design a complete website from scratch you need software to help you build it. You can buy software like Dreamweaver or use freeware like Wordpress or Drupel. There is a steep learning curve when starting from scratch--you have to know what you are doing. You can also use a site like SiteCube to design your site and then pay them to host it. (about 5.00 a month)

2. If you do your site from scratch you then need to buy a domain name.


3. Some one has to host it on a server. If your district doesn't serve the school websites (that would be very rare) then you have to pay someone to do it--all free hosting comes with ads and banners and YOU DO NOT WANT THAT.

Educate yourself by looking at hundreds of school and class websites and blogs, decide what you need. You can ask the author of a site you want to replicate you can ask them and they will tell you what software was used to make it. you can see all my websites here, let me know if you have any more questions. .

Blogs and wikis are used for something completely different.

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Permalink Reply by Shaunna Holcomb on June 25, 2009 at 8:08pm

Thanks, guys! I realized that I definitely do not want to go down the road of building my own from scratch. Wow! I can't handle that.

I looked at webschoolpro, Blaine, and thank you for recommending it!
And thank you, Geoff, for the offer of beta hosting!

I have decided, for now, to look more closely at www.classjump.com. It seems to have what I am thinking that I need, for now. I can always change in the future. It is simple enough for me to use for now, though! :)

Thank you again for your help!

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Permalink Reply by Gerry Wartenberg on June 26, 2009 at 9:05am

Shaunna, I have just decided to add a classroom site to help students and parents stay connected.. I looked at several options including classjump. I decided on edublogs. I wanted to be able to upload files and post videos. I just got started in June, but I have added some content. You might want to check it out at wartenberg.edublogs.org. I did pay $39.95 for more storage space.

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Permalink Reply by Aparna Vashisht on July 8, 2009 at 10:15am

Hi Gerry:

:) You can also try Parentella.com! It is free.

Here is a demo account for a teacher:

un: Mr. Pencil
Pw: demo

Feel free to add content such as homework etc. You can attach files to homework. It is private so only parents who are invited to the class can see the information. It is a great way to keep parents connected and involved.

You can see how a parent would see the information by logging in as a parent

un: Judy Jetson
pw: demo

You can set up your class and invite parents to it as well so that they can participate as well. You can post homework, share links, class events, etc. Maybe worth a look!

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Permalink Reply by Aparna Vashisht on July 8, 2009 at 10:05am

Dear Shaunna:

Parentella is very similar to classjump. Here is a demo account for a teacher:

un: Mr. Pencil
Pw: demo

You can set up your class and invite parents to it as well so that they can participate as well. You can post homework, share links, class events, etc. Maybe worth a look!

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Permalink Reply by Aparna Vashisht on July 8, 2009 at 10:06am

I forgot to mention that it is free.

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