A Guide for Technologically Impaired Teachers to Create a Website to Accompany Their Classes

A course website is an indispensable tool for the modern teacher. It allows for constant contact with parents. It quickly and efficiently distributes information, like class notes, to students. Most important of all, it brings the act of learning in to the students' technological world.

Making a course website is easy, it's free, and it's an incredibly effective way to improve your class. With this guide you can have a simple but effective course website up and running in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Defining Our Goals


First, what is our course website going to do?

It will provide a forum for parents to check up on their child's learning. You'll want to post daily recaps, so parents know what is going on. You'll want to make your e-mail address available so that you can be contacted. You might want to post some student work, too, just to show off a bit.

It will also provide a repository of class notes and information for students. You'll want to keep daily recaps of class notes for them, as well as past homework assignments and test reviews.

You'll also want to add some extra special details, like links to useful resources, news feeds, or interesting polls that your students can answer online and you can discuss in class.

The simplest way to achieve these goals is to start a free blog. There are several places online where you can do this, but this guide will walk you through the process of creating a blog at Blogger.com.

Signing Up For a Free Site

First, you'll need to go to http://www.blogger.com and sign up for an account. If you already have a Google account (i.e. you use Gmail), you can use that. Otherwise, click on the big button that says "Create your blog now." Fill in the fields they ask for, and you should have an account set up within a minute or two.

Next, you'll be taken to the screen where you create your website. Choose a name for your site. It could be something boring, like "Mrs. Jones' Math Class," but something catch is probably better. When you choose a URL (the second field) choose something that your students can easily remember.