PES Classroom Website Updates

Our classroom websites are a great way to:

• Communicate with parents and the greater community
• Model the safe and collaborative use of technology
• Showcase our students' work and provide a platform for authentic writing
• Provide resource links for our students and parents

 What are some of the critical components of a classroom website? 

In reviewing your sites, I found some common themes and I'm hoping these links will be helpful to you in bringing your sites up to date or making them even more dynamic:

Removing outdated information:

If you don't update your blog regularly, it might make sense to remove posts from the past.  To do so:

• Go to the dashboard of Blogger and click on "posts"
• Check the box next to the one(s) you want to delete and click "delete." 

Here's a quick video tutorial:

Adding a new post:

• Go to the dashboard of Blogger and click on "posts"
• Click on "new post"
• Type your post and click "publish"

Here's a quick video tutorial:

Creating or deleting a new page:

If you've found that you initially created some pages that you haven't used, it's probably time to delete them.  Or, perhaps you realize that you need a new page.  To add or remove pages:

• Go to the dashboard of Blogger and click on "pages"
• To delete a page, simply hover over the page title and click "delete."
• To create a new page, click on "new page" and choose whether you want to create the page or whether you want to link to a web page that already exists (like the First in Math page)

Here's a quick video tutorial:

Adding a photo album from Picasa:

• Go to Picasa Web Albums (log in using your RSU1 Gmail account)
• Click on Upload to add new photos; once they are uploaded, give your new album a name
• Choose the album that you would like to embed by clicking on the title of the album from your Picasa home page
• On the right-hand side, click on the "edit" button next to where it says "Only you" and change it to "public on the web"  
• Once you've made your album public, click on "Link to this Album" and then "Embed Slideshow"
• Choose the album size that you'd like and also whether you'd like it to autoplay and then copy the HTML code that appears in the box
• Open a new tab in Firefox (go to File -> new tab) and go to Blogger
• Click on New Post (or page, depending on where you want your slideshow to be) and then click on the "HTML" tab.  Paste your slideshow embed code 
• Publish!  

Here's a quick video tutorial:

Follow by Email Gadget:

Inviting your students' parents to follow your blog by email is a great way to ensure that they read your posts (and upcoming conferences provide a perfect opportunity to give them the link to your site).  To add the "follow by email" gadget:

• Go to the dashboard of Blogger and click on "layout"
• Click on "add a gadget"
• Click on "Follow by email"
• Click "save"

Here's a quick video tutorial:

Changing the Title of your Blog:

If you're teaching a different grade level this year and want to change the title of your blog to reflect your current class:

• Go to the dashboard of Blogger and click on "Settings"
• Next to the title, click "edit"
• Type in the new title
• Click "save changes"

Have fun and as always, please don't hesitate to let me know if you get stuck!
And, if you would be so kind as to fill out my EXIT SLIP I'd be grateful.  Thank you!