Maximizing your Teacher Website

Transcription

1 Maximizing your Teacher Website 1

2 Table of Contents 1. Suggested Items for Your Teacher WebPage. Pg 3 2. SchoolWires- Do s and Don ts for Teacher Sections... Pg 4 a. Top Elements for a Teacher Site b. Overall Recommendations/Best Practices i. For Site ii. Scrolling iii. Fonts iv. Text Color v. Files vi. Copying & Pasting Content vii. Links Spell Check 3. Do s and Don ts for Teacher Sections... Pg 5 a. Overall Recommendations/Best Practices i. Blogs ii. File Sizes iii. Tables iv. Photos of Students v. Photo Galleries vi. Images vii. Copyright viii. Plagiarism ix. Apps and Page Layout 4. SchoolWires Editor Help Card... Pg 6 i. Cut, Copy and Paste Text ii. Insert a Link iii. Link to a Specific Page iv. Insert an Image v. Insert a File 5. SchoolWires Editor Help Card... Pg 7 i. Inserting Active Blocks ii. Embed Content from other Websites iii. Roundtrip Editing iv. Special Use Icons v. E-Alerts vi. Insert a Table vii. Adding a Border to a Table 6. Schoolwires Centricity How Do I Tab Pg 8 7. SchoolWires Webpage Editing Beginning Level a. Part 1: Accessing your Page.. Pg 10 i. Register (if needed) ii. Sign In Pg 11 b. Part 2: Your Site Manager... Pg 12 c. Part 3: Adding Pages to your Section of the Site...Pg 13 d. Part4: Editing your Welcome Page...Pg 14 i. Inserting Pictures... Pg 6 ii. Inserting Files.Pg 6 iii. Inserting Links Pg 6 8. Common Board Configuration. Pg Ticket Out. Pg 16 2

3 The purpose of a Teacher web page is to enhance parent, student and community awareness of your class or classes and learning environment. The information you place on these pages should relate directly to your classes and your duties. Suggested Items for Your Teacher Web Page: Your name and the classes you teach Your contact information Your Picture (optional) Education / Teaching background (optional) A brief statement of your teaching philosophy (optional) Class Description / Course Syllabus Class Materials Important due dates Supplemental resources (websites, suggested reading list, etc) Student names and or pictures: Some students may have Opted Out for the Media Release, Be Sure that you know if you have any students that Opted Out. Never use a student s full name First name only is suggested Do not identify the student with a particular block or class period When in doubt check with your Administrator or ILS Contact 3

4 Do s and Don ts for Teacher Sections Top Elements of a Teacher Site 1. Contact Information 2. Welcome Message that states your purpose 3. Teacher Professional Bio/Photograph 4. Classroom Rules and Policies 5. Homework Assignments 6. Course Syllabus/Description/Objectives 7. Calendar of Events with Test Schedule included 8. Handouts/Study Guides 9. Book Lists with suggested reading 10. Supply Lists 11. Links to Online Resources 12. Parental Resources/Where to turn for help 13. Items that showcase your classroom Class news and announcements 14. Activities that Supplement Classroom Learning Online quizzes using Forms & Surveys Blogs Student-edited pages 15. Accomplishments/Awards & Recognitions Student achievements Parents that lend a helping hand Overall Recommendations / Best Practices Just because you can, does not mean you should. Dave Long For Site / Subsite Directors: Maintain consistent editor layouts between teacher sections, especially on the section homepage. Scrolling: When designing your pages, minimal scrolling is recommended. Whenever possible, break long pages into separate pages. Fonts: Choose a font that is easy to read and will display consistently across all browsers. Traditional web fonts that we recommend are: Sans-serif Tahoma, Arial, Verdana Serif Times New Roman, Georgia Use consistent size and color when adding different text elements (e.g., Title, Subtitle, and Body content) and fonts throughout your section. Text Color: Black is the preferred text color. Avoid Red, Green, and Yellow as color blind people will have difficulty seeing/reading the text. Sizing: We recommend using one of the following font sizes: 10 point (Schoolwires Editor size 2) or 12 point (Schoolwires Editor size 3). Avoid using flashing/scrolling text as this can be distracting to your viewers and they may not read all the content on your page. 1 4 Files: Consider using PDF format when posting files. This will make it less likely that the content of your documents will be altered. If you have a document that you wish to remain editable, save it as an.rtf file. This will give all users access to the same content and formatting. Copying and Pasting Content: When copying text from Microsoft Word, consider removing all formatting by using Paste Text Only and reformatting in the Editor; or use the Paste from Word option. Links: Verify that links to outside web pages are functioning, current and appropriate in nature. Links to outside web pages and files should open in a new window, and be for informational or instructional purposes. Links should be descriptive (so that readers can pick up all the information) and put into context. EXAMPLES Spell Check: DO: Click here for more information about Online Resources DON T: Click here for more information about Online Resources ALWAYS remember to use this feature.

5 Do s and Don ts for Teacher Sections Overall Recommendations / Best Practices (cont.) Just because you can, does not mean you should. Dave Long Blogs: If you host a blog, you are responsible for maintaining the content. Blog postings should contain material that is relevant to curriculum or class discussion. Visitor Comments should require approval before being posted. File Sizes: Think about the size of the file (images, documents, podcasts, etc.) that you are uploading. Large files take a long time to load; your viewers may get frustrated and navigate away before being able to view your content. Tables: Consider a table Width property setting of 90-95% to avoid content spilling off the page. Be aware of adding large images which could force a horizontal scroll bar to display. If possible, edit your Image Properties to wrap text around photos rather than using tables to improve viewing on multiple browsers. Photos of Students: Be sure to check your district policies on posting student photos on the web. Photo Galleries: The recommended setting for the Gallery Width is 500 pixels. Use JPG or PNG images. Images: Do not copy and paste photos make sure you use the Insert Image icon. When inserting images, add meaningful Alt. Text. This text is viewable when a person hovers over the image and will be used by screen reader applications. Recommended image sizes (100 pixels = 1 inch): Keep images narrower than 500 pixels wide Accent Images: Keep image width and height between pixels. Avoid animated images as they can be a distraction from the content on the page. 2 5 JPG, PNG and GIF are preferred (BMP images are not always recognized). When resizing images, it is always best to go from a larger image to a smaller image. Making a small image larger can result in a grainy or pixelated image. Avoid background colors and images on pages. If background colors are used, maintain high contrast between background colors and font for improved readability. Copyright: Be sure to give proper credit for content that is posted from other sites. Check with your district policies on posting content/ copyright rules. Copyright infringement occurs when an individual inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by a copyright. You should make a standard practice of requesting permission from the holder of the work if your use of the material has the potential of being considered an infringement Teachers should instruct students to respect copyright and to request permission when appropriate. Plagiarism: Users should not plagiarize works that they find on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were original to the user. District policies on plagiarism should govern use of material accessed through the District Network. Teachers should instruct students in the appropriate research and citation practices. Below are rules to follow regarding copyright guidelines: Photography, illustrations and artwork are considered intellectual property. Links to legitimate resources can be posted. Apps and Page Layout Make sure you have enough space in the Page Layout to display your App content properly.

6 Centricity2 Schoolwires Editor Help Card The majority of your website s content (text, images, and other items) will be created using the Schoolwires Editor, which is displayed to the right. When working in the Editor, you ll see icons similar to those in most word processing programs. To add text, just click into the Content Area and begin typing. The Schoolwires Editor Cut, Copy, and Paste Text You can cut, copy, and paste text from documents, websites, and other sources by using the icons in the Editor. Use Paste from Word when copying and pasting text from Microsoft Word documents. This strips out non-web-friendly Word code. Use Paste Text to paste text you copied without formatting. Use Paste when you want to retain the original formatting. However, we do not recommend using this method since may cause problems when you edit the text. Editor Icons Content Area Insert a Link Insert an Image Insert a File You can turn text or images into links to another page on your site, another website, an address or a bookmark. 1. Highlight the text or image and click the Insert Link icon. 2. From the Insert Link Wizard, select the type of link you would like to create. 3. Enter or select the desired link information. 4. If linking to another website, choose Open in New Window from the Target drop-down list. 5. Click Insert Link. Link to a Specific Page Location (Bookmark) You can use a bookmark to link to a specific location in the Editor. 1. Highlight the text or image you would like to make into a bookmark. 2. Click on the Insert Bookmark icon. 3. Enter the name of the bookmark and click Insert. 4. Insert a link as noted above and select Bookmark. 5. Enter the bookmark name and click Insert Link. 16 Use the Insert Image icon to insert images into the Editor. 1. Place your cursor in the Content Area where you would like to insert the image. 2. Click the Insert Image icon. 3. Choose an image source. 4. Follow the wizard prompts to bring the image into the wizard and view the Image Attributes. 5. Enter a description of the image into the Alt. Text field. 6. Adjust Height or Width values, if desired. 7. You may also adjust Alignment and Border options. You can also do this later. 8. Click Insert Image. You can insert files of many types into the Editor using the Insert File icon. 1. Place your cursor in the Content Area where you would like to insert the file. 2. Click the Insert File Link icon. 3. Select a file source. 4. Follow the wizard prompts to select a file, then click Continue. 5. Enter the text you would like to display as the file link in the Link Text field. 6. From the Target dropdown, select Open in a New Window. 7. Click Insert File. This will create a text link to the file.

7 Centricity2 Schoolwires Editor Help Card Inserting ActiveBlocks ActiveBlocks TM allow you to add dynamic content to your website. They will display in the Schoolwires Editor as code that looks something like [$LongDate$]. On the end-user website, that particular ActiveBlock would display the current date in Day, Month Date, Year format. ActiveBlocks can display user/time/date information, randomize content, and more. To insert an ActiveBlock into your Schoolwires Editor 1. Place your cursor where you d like your content to display. 2. Click the Open Toolbox icon. 3. Select an ActiveBlock from the dropdown. 3. Click Save. Embed Content from other Websites You can also use ActiveBlocks to embed content from another location on your website or another website in the Editor. This can be helpful if you want to display content from one section of your website in another section (e.g., embedding a Current Events page in several different sections). Any edits to the original content displays everywhere it is embedded. 1. Click the Open Toolbox icon. 2. Scroll down and select Embed Simple Content. 3. Enter the URL of the website you wish to display (e.g., 4. Click Insert. 5. Click Save. If you want to embed a web page that requires user interaction (e.g., search engines like Google.com) choose Embed Complex Content. This displays the target URL in an frame that allows the user to interact with its content. Use this option to display PDF files that you ve uploaded to Files and Folders. Roundtrip Editing If you have another HTML editor installed on the computer, you may be able to edit the content in the Editor using Roundtrip Editing. To use Roundtrip Editing, just select the program you wish to edit your content with from the Editor icons and follow the directions. You can use Roundtrip Editing with Dreamweaver, FrontPage or Expression. Apple users will only have access to Dreamweaver Special Use Icons The Special Characters icon allows you to enter symbols, special characters and more. Position by Pixel lets you position images exactly where you want them. Format Eraser allows you remove formatting from highlighted text and objects. Full Screen expands your Content area to a full screen view. Formatting allows you to apply text formatting, borders, backgrounds and more. E-Alerts Content E-Alerts allow you to easily communicate with students, parents and other community members who have subscribed to your area of the website. Click Create E-Alert to send an to your subscribers. You may edit the sender name and address as well as subject and body. The E-Alert body contains a link to the page you created it on; do not edit this. 7 Insert a Table 1. Place your cursor in the Content Area where you want to insert the table. 2. Click on the Insert Table icon. 3. From the drop-down list, select the number of rows and columns you want in the table or select Table Wizard to build a custom table. 4. Once you insert the table, clicking on the Table Options icon lets you: Insert or delete rows, columns, or cells. Merge cells or split merged cells. Edit the properties (e.g., borders or background images) of a cell or row. 5. To edit the Table Properties, click the table tag and select Table Properties from the pop-up menu. Adding a Border to a Table 1. Insert a table. 2. Edit the Table Properties. 3. Click the Table Options tab. 4. Enter a value in the Border field and select px from the drop-down list. 5. Click the Border Color field and select a color. 6. Select an option from the Rules drop-down list. Not Set No border Outer Outside border All All cell borders Rows Outer row borders Columns Outer column borders 7. Click OK.

8 Self-Service Resources / Centricity2 Materials Page 1 of 2 Schoolwires Community & Support Network Share Support Creative Webinar Library Schedule Services Training SHARE RESOURCE CENTER SELF-SERVICE RESOURCES FREE ON-LINE SUPPORT MATERIALS CENTRICITY2 MATERIALS Within Centricity2 Site Manager, you have 24/7 access to the How Do I...? tab. Use it to find articles, video tutorials, help cards, guides, workbooks and sample files that help you learn how to use Centricity2. FAQS FOR THE HOW DO I...? TAB Here are some common questions asked about using the How Do I...? tab. 1. Who can access the How Do I...? tab? Any registered user who has access to Site Manager can access the How Do I...? tab. 2. What resources are found on the How do I...? tab? You can access help articles, interactive tutorials and other resources such as user guides and help cards when you click the How Do I...? tab. 3. What are help articles? Help articles are quick read documents that provide step-by-step instructions for completing an individual task such as adding a page to a section, enabling Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds for an app and adding pictures to a Photo Gallery app. Some articles provide overview information and answer frequently asked questions about a topic. 4. What are interactive video tutorials? Interactive video tutorials are three-to-five minute presentations that you watch to learn how to complete tasks such as adding a calendar event, moving a page and creating a user account. As the tutorials are interactive, watch for and complete the action prompts you see. 5. What are additional resources? Additional resources include guides, help cards, sample CSV files and workbooks /3/2014

9 Self-Service Resources / Centricity2 Materials Page 2 of 2 Guides help you understand the components of Centricity2. Guides cover multiple tasks about a topic. There are guides for such topics as Site Administrator, Forms & Surveys and posting events to other calendars. Help cards provide a quick reference for a topic. We have help cards for such topics as best practices for teacher sections, content moderation and calendar. Sample CSV files provide a template to follow when you create import files for such tasks as importing users or importing family relationships. Workbooks provide instruction and exercises for a topic. 6. Can I download content found on the How Do I...? tab? You cannot download help articles or interactive tutorials. You can download any additional resource by displaying the resource and then saving it to a location on your workstation. Keep in mind that resources are updated on a regular basis and that the copy you downloaded may no longer be current. 7. Can I print content found on the How Do I...? tab? You can print help articles and any additional resource. For a help article, open the Print View and click Print Article. For an additional resource, display the resource and use the Print option. 8. Is content that is displayed on the How do I...? tab context specific? Yes, content that shows on the tab is dependent upon the workspace in which you are working when you click the How Do I? tab. For example, if you are in the Users Workspace and click the How do I...? tab, topics related to user accounts display. If you are in a channel workspace, topics related to the channel workspace display. 9. Can I search for specific topics on the tab? Yes, you can search for specific topics. To find information for a particular topic, enter text into the search field. 10. When should I click the Suggest a Resource button? Use Suggest a Resource to let us know of a topic you could not find on the How Do I...? tab. 11. Should I use Suggest a Resource to submit support questions or feature requests to Schoolwires? DO NOT use Suggest a Resource to submit support questions or feature requests Client Support will never see the request. If you have a support question, contact your local help desk. If you are a designated contact for your organization, you can enter a support case or review your support history on our Support Portal. Just click Submit a Support Case. Privacy Policy (Updated) Terms of Use Questions or Feedback? Copyright Schoolwires, Inc. All Rights Reserved /3/2014

10 School Wires Beginning Level Part 1: Accessing your Page Step 1: Sign Up if Necessary Go to your school s web page Click Register in the top Right Corner Enter your birth date and hit Submit Fill in your information. Only information that is starred is required. Use your school address. The password is any password of your choice. Hit Submit when done. Notify your school s Web Master that you have registered for the site so that they can give you access to your page. Modified December 1, 2010 Page 3 of 11 10

11 School Wires Beginning Level Step 2: Sign In and Access the Site Manager Go to your school s website Click Sign-In in the top right corner Enter your sign-in information. Once you click sign-in you will be redirected to the Lake County Schools Home Page. If you forget your sign-in information you can click the Forgot Sign-In Information button to have it ed to you. Return to your school s website Navigate to your page on the website (typically found by selecting Teachers, and then Your Name) Once you are on your page select Site Manager in the top right corner A new window will open displaying your Site Manager, this where you will be able to control the content of your webpage. Modified December 1, 2010 Page 4 of 11 11

12 School Wires Beginning Level Part 2: Your Site Manager Modified December 1, 2010 Page 5 of 11 12

13 School Wires Beginning Level Part 3: Adding Pages to your Section of the Site Click New Page Click which type of page you would like to add. Follow the wizard to create your custom page! Modified December 1, 2010 Page 6 of 11 13

14 School Wires Beginning Level Part 4: Editing your Welcome Page From your Site Manager select the Page Name WELCOME. The Welcome page is the first page visitors to your part of the site will be directed to when they click on your name. Ideally this page will contain generic information about your class. Type in and format your text. The formatting bars are shown at the top of the editing screen; the top two bars contain editing options typical to most word processing programs such as font, size, color, etc. The bottom bar contains options used to enhance your web page such as inserting pictures, links, files etc. Modified December 1, 2010 Page 7 of 11 14

15 School Wires Beginning Level Once you have finished editing the content of your welcome screen hit SAVE. After hitting save a window will open verifying that you have saved. At this point you can continue working or click HOME at the top to go back to your Site Manager main screen. Anytime you leave a page you have been working on a window will open double checking that you have saved. Modified December 1, 2010 Page 8 of 11 15

16 NOTES PAGE Address line 01 Address line 02 Phone: Fax:

17 Essential Question How can a Teacher Webpage be utilized to increase Parent and Student communication? Learning Goal Teachers will be able to use the SchoolWires Formatting tools to update their Teacher webpage Benchmarks Common Core Element #6 Integrated Technology Domain 1- Classroom Strategies & Behaviors DQ 2- Helping Students Interact with New Knowledge- Elements 10, 11 & 12 DQ 3- Helping Students Practice & Deepen New Knowledge- Element19 Domain 2 Planning & Preparing Element #46 Core and Supplemental Instruction Element #5 Updating your Teacher Webpage Agenda Welcome Instructor Introduction Bellwork Session Overview Discussion What information should be displayed on a Teacher webpage SchoolWires Formatting Bars Overview Adding text Formatting Text Adding an Image Adding a Document Adding a web link Accessing your Site Manager Login to your school s site Locate your Teacher Page Site manager Ticket Out Turn page over and complete Bellwork What can I do to enhance my learning today? On the index card provided, Write down 5 items that you feel are important to be on a Teacher s webpage. 17 Learners will: Objective(s) 1. Determine the information they want displayed on their Teacher webpage 2. Access the Site Manager for their Teacher webpage 3. Use the Formatting Bars to update their Teacher webpage Vocabulary SchoolWires Web Tab Site Manager Welcome Page Formatting Bar(s) Flex Page Suggested Homework Create an additional page that contains Learning Resources for your students Ticket Out Here s What So What Now What

18 18 Learning Scale Continuum TRAINING: SchoolWires Updating your Teacher Webpage Date: ILS: Objective: I d feel more confident if (please explain) 1. Determine the information you want displayed on your Teacher webpage Circle in the boxes below to indicate your Ending comfort levels for each objective 1 I need help 5 I could teach it I want to learn more about it (please explain) 2. Accessing the Site Manager for your Teacher webpage Using the Formatting Bars to update your Teacher webpage Here s What Most Important Thing You Learned Today So What What does this mean for my class? Now What How can I begin to use this?