It has been a while since I have been in grade school. During my internship I have discovered all the technology that teachers now have in their classrooms, including Smartboards (wish we had one :(,) IPads, Computers, Different Apps and Programs for Math, Literacy and other subjects, and teacher webpages. Since teachers are not born web-designers I thought I would share a few tidbits with you. I never was one for web-design, I don't like the small screen restraints, print is more of my area. However, I know what makes a webpage work and here is some of my input on putting together a great webpage for your class in 3 simple steps.
1. Create a Great Logo
Now logo design is usually a symbol that represents a product or brand, in the classroom it's going to be slightly different. With the teachers logo's I have designed, two examples above, one for my own mother who teacher elementary music and band and one for another teacher at the school I am doing my internship at. With both logo's I selected imagery that reflected their individual styles. My mother plays the trumpet and that reflects who she is. I made the logo in the school colors and selected a font that was fun by most importantly readable. With Mrs Basurto, she pointed out the owl picture she loved, then I made the banner into a fun chalkboard with a font that reflected a chalkboard. Image credit is owed to mycutegraphics.com. Make sure whatever clipart you use you have permission to use it, and if you need to credit the source. Clip art takes sometimes hours to make.
Image will need to be in .jpg, .gif, or .png format to upload.
DPI (DOTS PER INCH) is also important. Most photographs you print have a dpi of 300 or higher. With an image for a webpage it needs to be much smaller around 72-100 dpi is appropriate. The reason is it needs to load, the larger the file the longer it takes to load if it loads at all. A standard banner size could be 150x800. You can goggle sizes and see what works best for you.
2. Organize your webpage
When creating a webpage for your parents and students you need to organize it so they can quickly navigate where they can to go. Ask your self this question before you begin, What is the most important thing I need to get across? What do I need to highlight? Think about how someone else would navigate your page.
When I organized Mrs.Demoss's page we took these questions in mind.
3. Provide useful resources
What information are your parents and students going to want to know? The school webpage, the lunch menu, resources for literacy and math are just some examples of what you could include. The website can be a great tool that can help you communicate, but only if done efficiently.
I hope these are helpful, if anyone ever has a question feel free to ask and I will try to get back to you
Mrs. Whelchel
1. Create a Great Logo
Now logo design is usually a symbol that represents a product or brand, in the classroom it's going to be slightly different. With the teachers logo's I have designed, two examples above, one for my own mother who teacher elementary music and band and one for another teacher at the school I am doing my internship at. With both logo's I selected imagery that reflected their individual styles. My mother plays the trumpet and that reflects who she is. I made the logo in the school colors and selected a font that was fun by most importantly readable. With Mrs Basurto, she pointed out the owl picture she loved, then I made the banner into a fun chalkboard with a font that reflected a chalkboard. Image credit is owed to mycutegraphics.com. Make sure whatever clipart you use you have permission to use it, and if you need to credit the source. Clip art takes sometimes hours to make.
Image will need to be in .jpg, .gif, or .png format to upload.
DPI (DOTS PER INCH) is also important. Most photographs you print have a dpi of 300 or higher. With an image for a webpage it needs to be much smaller around 72-100 dpi is appropriate. The reason is it needs to load, the larger the file the longer it takes to load if it loads at all. A standard banner size could be 150x800. You can goggle sizes and see what works best for you.
2. Organize your webpage
When creating a webpage for your parents and students you need to organize it so they can quickly navigate where they can to go. Ask your self this question before you begin, What is the most important thing I need to get across? What do I need to highlight? Think about how someone else would navigate your page.
When I organized Mrs.Demoss's page we took these questions in mind.
3. Provide useful resources
What information are your parents and students going to want to know? The school webpage, the lunch menu, resources for literacy and math are just some examples of what you could include. The website can be a great tool that can help you communicate, but only if done efficiently.
I hope these are helpful, if anyone ever has a question feel free to ask and I will try to get back to you
Mrs. Whelchel