Personalized Websites: Task 2!

For this weeks assignment, I decided to explore personalized websites. I went to the website Pageflakes that was suggested, and absolutely loved it! I immediately began to add new tools and resources, and organized the whole page! I found a lot of cool tools like a calender, to-do list, sticky note, class schedule, discussion board, etc. These and so many more are wonderful resources for students and parents to have available.

As far as strengths go, I feel like this website has a lot! For one, it can keep students on track. If a student misses a day of class they are able to go online too see what we did that day. They can look at the class schedule and see what all they missed out on. It also keeps kids on track with the to-do list (my favorite part!). The list contains all upcoming assignments due and tests. The list says the assignment or test then gives how many more days you have to complete it. The student can also click on the assignment, where their is a brief description of what the details are. When the student completes the assignment, they can click the "done" box where it puts a line through the assignment. The website can also be a basis for communication. There is a discussion board where students, parents, or the teacher can post questions or answers. For example, I posted a math question, where if it is clicked on I ask if there are any misconceptions from that days lesson. The website also allows a small twitter box, so if that were a basis of communication in the classroom, the students could access it from the class website. One other key strength is that the website can display that individual students grade and the class average. This way, a student can keep track of their grades so they know where to put more focus on. They can also see how the class is doing, so that if they are doing poorly in the subject, they may see that they are the only one. Not only is this website a strength for students, but also for parents. I know of a lot of students who get newsletters to take home, but they never end up giving them to their parents. Now, parents can log on at any time and keep track of their students progress. This saves them time and me time as a teacher, because some questions they may have may be answered on the website. Overall, the website is a key organizational tool. It allows all of the classroom information to be displayed so students can stay on track and stay organized. It would make life easier for the teacher, students, and parents, since the website displays all the information and allows easy access for questions and answers.

Along with strengths, there are always weaknesses. The biggest constraint would be that technology is not always reliable. This website can not be solely relied on. Teachers would need to make sure to have paper copies of the most important aspects of the website. For example the to do list and calender. Obviously, there couldn't be a paper copy of the discussion form, so if the website had difficulties this would hinder communication. Making paper copies would be a pain since the teacher would feel that the website is sufficient, but like all technology, it can stop working in an instant. Another constraint is that it may confuse children. There can be a lot of stuff going on on one page which may make the students confused on where to look. Depending on the age group, the teacher may have to keep to a minimum of tools so the students feel lost. Although, the teacher could walk through the process of the website with the class so they feel comfortable on what they are doing. One last weakness is that it would be a lot to keep up with. The teacher would have to get on daily solely to update it. The teacher would have to change the to-do list and class schedule everyday, which may be time consuming. The teacher would also have to get on a couple times a day to keep up with the discussion board. If they fail to look, a questioned may go unanswered for a while, hindering the progress of the student. Although there seem to be quite a few constraints, I think they can all be fixed. With a little time, energy, clear directions, and a back up plan, I think the strengths far outweigh the constraints allowing it to be a beneficial resource.

As far as a specific purpose or content area for this resource, I think there are endless possibilities. The purpose could obviously be organization as I discussed earlier. The website could be a basis for schedules and communication. It could provide as a resource to keep the students on track and up to date. As far as content area, I think it would be harder to use this website for a sole subject such as English. It seems that there wouldn't be enough items to put on there to make the website beneficial. Whereas in an elementary classroom, there may be 6 or 7 different subjects to keep track of. This is where this website would be the most beneficial. It allows for organization of all content areas, so the students can keep track. It can be hard to remember what's due for different subjects, so this website would be real helpful. Whereas in one content area there may be only one or two things due a week, so it seems the website would just be too much.

Overall, I love the use of these personalized websites. I am the type of person who likes to stay organized and write down everything I need to do, so this website seems perfect for me. For my own use, it allows me to stay organized on what I am doing, and what more I need to do. This is something I would love to do for my future students. I know some student's wouldn't keep up with it which is fine since it is not something required. But there will always be a couple of students, and a lot of parents who find something like this beneficial. I am really excited to explore this website and find ways to use it in my future classroom!