On the Trails

My brother lives in Amarillo, Texas and if he wants to know what is going on in Buffalo, New York, he does not wait for the Buffalo News to get delivered to his doorstep – too slow man! Instead he uses the web and visits Buffalo News online. He can now read how Orchard Park got almost 3′ of snow yesterday. Because of the Internet, he has access to news from around the world.How nice it would be if I could access news to my son’s classroom the same way that I have access to news in London – currently my son’s teacher does not have a classroom web site. Many teachers are afraid to start a classroom web site because they do not know what to put on it. So, I say start by using the web site as a communication tool. Use your site to:

1. Post important dates – such as: birthdays, field trips, testing dates, school assemblies, special classroom projects
2. Describe your classroom rules
3. Describe your educational philosophy regarding homework, grading, or instructional strategies
4. Post homework assignments or due dates
5. Post important contact information such as: school phone numbers (nurse, main office, your extension)
6. If you are an elementary school teacher, post your class schedule (e.g. LUNCH, Monday Art – Tuesday P.E. etc.). If you teach HS, post your teaching schedule (e.g. Monday 7:30 – 8:23 Global 10 etc.)

Once you have posted it once, students and parents know that they can access this information whenever they wish. They have the luxury of printing it out if they want. Nothing can get lost in Tommy’s backpack!