creating a web page

Help! I am so tech frustrated!
I have been playing on google to create a webpage and I either don't get it or it is very limited. I have not been able to do a lot of things, such as get more than 5 font choices, link a plugin like voki and clustermap, and create borders. I am very frustrated, so I went to another source as is recommended on the top 10 blue host, but it asks for a domain name and I don't know what to use as my domain. Can I use .edu or do I have to use the .edu home page to do this? What is the best domain for educational purposes? Can I get away from Google, but still use some Google resources?

Tags: domain, google, page, web

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Permalink Reply by Dorethia(Dotty) Myers on July 23, 2009 at 2:27pm

I use schoolnotes.com. (http://new.schoolnotes.com/xpages/view/1982 I keep it simple and add links for classes i support as well as other interesting sites. I have been using schoolnotes for over 10 years now and it is simple and easy to use. i link it from my school's main website. i also have accounts with bloust, scholastic and my district uses expression engine. Kinda gets overwhelming with so much to choose from-sorta like going to a smorgasbord. You have to sample and see what works best.

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Permalink Reply by Valerie Burton on July 25, 2009 at 3:35pm

PBWorks rocks. They just finished their summer camp and it is because of that camp that I opened myself up to Social Networking and started a Professional Learning Network. It is user friendly and they have tons of videos and links to help you if needed. They are changing and upgrading to help address our needs. I am forever sold on wikis. I have 12 wikis thanks to PBWorks. It is under construction (I get sidetracked with adding cutesy things to it) Here take a look
http://msburtonisonline.pbworks.com/

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Permalink Reply by Dorethia(Dotty) Myers on July 25, 2009 at 4:36pm

http://www.bloust.com/
this is another good website.
I f you want access to HTML codes:http://www.quackit.com/html/codes/
I have used this.
You can also click on page source and it will give you HTML codes.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Allen on July 25, 2009 at 4:45pm

I use shutterfly.com for my class web page. It's a great FREE service and very easy to use.
You can view my website at http://mrallen1.shutterfly.com

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Louise on July 25, 2009 at 6:18pm

Your site looks great and it's an easy read. I've bookmarked it so I can follow your progress!
What will you be including in the portfolios? Will you be managing them or the kids? and the student blogs,what about the kids who can't yet read or write much (let alone use a keyboard)? Can you tell me how you address issues for kids who can't access a computer from home either because there isn't one or they're refused permission? What prior IT knowledge/training do your incoming students have?
I teach Kindergarten and I started a grade blog a few months ago but find it hard to reach all families. My kids complain about broken computers, download speed or it's for dad's/mum's work. The most successful participants are the most literate kids and /or those with older brothers and sisters and well trained or tech savvy parents. The usual story -the haves and the have nots!
I'm off to check out Shutterfly!

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Permalink Reply by Linnell Gribble on August 3, 2009 at 5:23pm

Wow, great questions! Wish my students did this! I am at 7th grade, so in a way things are easier to address. At this point, with 26% low and reduced income (I know this isn't very high compared to some of you), and not much in high tech in our school (though the district is working on it and I sit on that board!), I don't mandate anything technology unless we have whole class access to a tech room. I have taught technology for 2 years and I have never taken a tech class. The majority of the students have "MySpace" experience and don't get that texting is a language, not written English. The keyboarding skills are scary, but we just do it. I do a lot of peer work, students teaching, and "OK, figure this one out you guys." (they always like that). I find the remedial performing kids often surpass that regular work when given an opportunity to work on the computer. Also, in response to your question about kids without home access I make sure I am available about 2-3 days a week for after school help or access and that parents know. Broken computers on school site is my biggest complaint. I will manage the home page on the wiki.They will get their own and be able to comment. I will create the webpage and teach a small group to create their own. I will amnage the blog, but would like to purschase access for my studnets to do this by 2nd semester.

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Permalink Reply by Meg H on July 26, 2009 at 12:38am

What do you want to create the web page for - personal or professional (e.g. class site)? If it's a class site I'd say just use wikispaces or PBworks, and I would also recommend Wordpress blogs for class sites, you can really extend Wordpress into a full-blown site: for all of these sites no knowledge of coding is needed, just a little patience in the initial setup. Now for personal sites, I think the last one I just mentioned, Wordpress, is excellent, but you may also want to look at these two options, Zimplit and Edicy, two tools atht allow you to create your own website with absolutely no knowledge of code, and provides a step-by-step how-to for real beginners.

As regards the domain, if it's a classroom site you should speak to your IT folks to see if you can piggy-back on your school's .edu domain, but if you want to get your own domain juts visit EasyDNS or GoDaddy, and for $10 dollars you've got your own domain. And my recommendation would be to go with an .info domain.

Meg - Meg's Notebook

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Permalink Reply by David Andrade on August 3, 2009 at 11:33am

I use Google Sites and find it very easy to use. The pages are not cluttered and the students have no problems accessing my site.

Here is my site for reference: www.physicsmedic.org (I registered the domain name with GoDaddy to have an easier site name for students to remember).

I also use Google's Blogger for each individual class as a more fluid tool to use. Check them out at http://mrandradesclasses.blogspot.com/. This blog is the start page for all of the class blogs. Just look to the menu on the right.

Dave
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/

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Permalink Reply by Jack Hutchinson on August 5, 2009 at 4:58am

I use webs.com with my K-8 kids and they love it. It's free, it's pretty safe, and they love adding youtube links, games, etc while building sites about social studies, or IT, or Jewish studies (Jewish day school) It was called freewebs.com until about a year ago. Tons of fun things and easy to learn. I have 1st graders using it to show off their sports trophies and pets.

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Permalink Reply by tarak brahmi on August 5, 2009 at 10:39am

Hi Linnell. I don't want to add further confusion but I agree with Kim Trefz that blogger is a good place to start. But, this doesn't mean the other suggestions are less important. We usually make a choice and stick with it, trying to get used to it gradually. One important thing to take into consideration is the ability to add more widgets later because you will need some as your blog grows. Blogger offers you that. I wrote a few posts about how to "tweek" one's blog for a better look and layout: they include links to nice websites that offer help, free templates, widgets, etc..
As for the "coding" part, knowing some basic html and Css is not as difficult as it might sound: I added links to a few places that have great simple tutorials to follow. In fact, html and css will give you a lot of control over your page and will prove very useful in the long run. So, knowing them is really worth it. This is the link to the posts I mentioned on my blog.
If you need any help, please feel free to tell me.