20. The Story of Why Class Websites Are So Great ~Google Sites~
I am a mid-career elementary school teacher.
As a mid-career teacher, I am quite busy with work.
However, I have to leave school shortly after 5:00 PM to take care of my daughter's Kumon, housework, Jujutsu Kaisen, running, checking international soccer results, and having a drink. I-it's so busy!
For someone like me,
what I have found to be incredibly good since last year is
the act of creating a class website (homepage).
Why don't you try making one with me?
This is how I make my class website.
To get right to it, I create my website using a free tool called Google Sites.
It is not difficult at all.
Any adult who can use a PC can make one. Heck, even the kids in my class could probably make one.
I just created a new fictional class website to include in this note,
and it took me 15 minutes to make.
↓
The goal is just to see if they can find tomorrow's announcements, so this is more than enough, right?
I have embedded a Google Slide.
I have set it up so that you can see tomorrow's announcements by sliding through it.
With this, I can convey tomorrow's announcements to students who are absent or left early.
(I can almost hear people saying, "You can do that with Google Classroom!" In my opinion, Google Classroom is a hassle to open.)
(A website is easy to view on a smartphone or similar device. It's just too convenient.)
If you have the energy, why not create content like this too?
It is enough if they know the information for tomorrow.
However, since it is a website after all, it would be good to enrich it with other content as well.
For example...
◯ Recommended self-study videos
It might be good to post videos like those from NHK for School about once every two weeks.
◯ Homeroom teacher blog
It is quite well-received by enthusiastic parents.
If the content is like the above, honestly, you can reuse it every year.
Can you lock a Google Site?
At the beginning, I also thought, 'If I could lock it, I could post photos and such...' After trial and error, I found that it is difficult to add a lock at this stage.
Also, regarding photos and the like, I personally think it is doing too much.
(You can also create a website with Canva. It seems you can add a lock there. However, in terms of the effort to create it, I recommend Google Sites. It is easy. Really easy.)
Benefits of a class website
There are many benefits to a website. Briefly...
1. It is too easy to provide information for tomorrow to absent students.
It is only human to be absent for a day or two due to errands or feeling unwell.
However, I have always had reservations about having children bring handouts to them.
I am too afraid of accidents happening during that time. I am anxious about whether it will definitely reach them.
(In the first place, if I were a child, I would hate it...)
Also, I have felt deep down that calling parents is not the right way either.
It is only possible when there are a few absences, but for example, if 7 or 8 students are absent, can all teachers contact them every day?
Can they do homework when they are feeling unwell?
In the first place, I am a huge advocate of leaving school supplies at school these days, so is there even anything to prepare for the next day?
Conclusion.
I want everyone to come and get information from the class website.
2. Updates can take as little as one minute.
I write the schedule for the next day and briefly note the day's learning (e.g., 'We got up to page 33 in math,' 'We had a science test,' 'We measured 50m') every single day.
This way, I can finish it quickly at my desk during lunch break.
Not having to print anything is just too easy.
3. You can also gather feedback from parents.
By embedding something like a Google Form on the website, it's possible to conduct surveys with parents.
By asking for their thoughts after school events or asking 'What would you like to hear about?' before a class parent-teacher meeting, it seems likely that class management will improve.
4. It's friendly to students with long-term absences.
This year is different, but I often teach 6th grade.
During the middle school entrance exam period, there are always a few children who are absent from school for a long time. I can convey what's happening at school to those children as well.
A child I taught last year told me that they would check the website every day during their study breaks, thinking things like, 'Oh, endurance running has started. I want to run again too.'
Of course, it's also good for children who have a tendency toward school non-attendance.
Mom, lend me your smartphone, I'm going to check the 4-3 website!
I'm sure there are people like that too... lol
I hope I've conveyed that there are many benefits to creating a class website!
However, there is one major problem.
[How to spread it to parents].
It's getting long, so
I'll cover it next time.
Next time,I will share the method I use to spread the class website to parents (though I'm still struggling with it myself).I'll share that.
If you'd like, I'm waiting for your likes and comments ♫
↓ A video that is incredibly helpful for making a homepage. It's amazing.