It's All Coming Down

That's right, it's all coming down. My webpage, that is. Yesterday, at the I3U Conference in Howard County, I had at least three people tell me how wonderful my website was. My answer? It's all coming down. After this week's readings on web authoring, I could not stand to have my technology webpage up a moment longer. There were so many things wrong with it.

But, people loved my web site. Why? They loved that each grade had their own page. They loved that each page showcased the work of kids in that grade during that quarter. Kids loved it because I would show them something cool and school related during class and then I would say look at it tonight-I'll put up a link. And they would. Kids from other grades would come in and say I showed my brother this link and he showed me one on his page. It promoted dialogue. It had about 500 hits. Podcasts, original drawings, imovies of digital photos taken on walking field trips, and help for parents who need some guidance about technology.

So why is it down now? Well, there is always a sense of cleaning the plate for a new school year. I couldn't possibly keep up an archive of fifth grade podcasts when those kids were off to middle school. My site was messy, not uniform, lots below the fold. Not age appropriate type for each of the different pages. No standardized boxes. I use iweb, and am now searching for a better template. One that is fun, but quieter. One that has boxes, but not too many. One that will allow my classes opportunities to grow as we showcase their work.

I learned a lot from that first web site. I captured all of the pages as PDF files and stored it away in my archives for ideas for the future. I am looking forward to creating my new website, still all about the kids and celebrating our school community's connection to technology. For now, the Gone Fishing Sign is up while I ponder usability issues. Hey-I many even make my own Fireworks banner. My daughter is learning Flash (through the free download), and maybe I'll try to put some of that in as well. Wish me well in this new adventure.
LJ