1. Extreme
Makeover:
Classroom
Website Edition
CUE Conference 2011
Brent Coley
Tovashal Elementary School | Murrieta Valley USD
www.mrcoley.com (Classroom Website)
www.brentcoley (Blog)
brent@mrcoley.com

2. It’s been said that
everyone has a twin…

4. Pull out your
cell phones…

5. Text Coley
to 50500 and
a link to online
resources from
my session will
be sent to your
cell phone.

6. www.mrcoley.com/cue
Text Coley
to 50500

7. contxts.com

8. Without why,
how is irrelevant.

9. What we’ll cover today:
• Website creation options
• General tips and suggestions
for your website
• 10 ideas for taking your
classroom website to the
next level
• One bonus idea…

10. Website Creation Options:
• Weebly
– Free
• TeacherWeb
– $39/year (free one-month trial)
• Google Sites
– Free
• Posterous
– Free
• Wix
– Free

11. General Tips & Suggestions
• Rome wasn’t built in a day, and
neither are good websites.

12. General Tips & Suggestions
• Search the Web for quality
examples of classroom websites.

13. General Tips & Suggestions
• Know your limits.

14. General Tips & Suggestions
• Keep it current.
Arrggh! This
information is
three months old!

15. General Tips & Suggestions
• Give credit where credit is due.
Stealing

23. General Tips & Suggestions
• Don’t put too much on a single
page.

24. General Tips & Suggestions
• Be cautious of flashy effects (e.g.
background music, cursor trails)
“World’s Worst Website”

25. General Tips & Suggestions
• Brand your site by purchasing a
domain name.
www.websitename.com
www.mrsraines.com
www.rainesmath.com

26. 10 Ideas for Taking your
Classroom Website to the
Next Level

27. Good classroom websites
do two things:
1. Provide visitors with
valuable information/
resources
2. Give visitors a reason to
come back

28. The Big Question:
“How can I give my visitors
a reason to come back?”
• New/changing content
• Interactivity
• Student content

29. Idea #1
Student Clubs/Contests
• Mastery Club
• Cranium Commanders
• Club Ed
• Weekly Homophone
Challenge

30. Idea #2 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Audio
• Website greeting
• Project instructions
• Podcasts

31. Bonus Idea Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Audio Sub Plans 2. Audio
Example

32. Idea #3 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Video/Animation 2. Audio
• Classroom preview
• Site guided-tour
• Tutorial Videos – (Ex. 1 / Ex. 2)
• TeacherTube
• Animoto – (Ex. 1 / Ex. 2)
• Voki (Ex. 1 / Ex. 2)
• Slideshows
• Flippable PDFs

34. My inspiration…

35. Idea #3 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Video/Animation 2. Audio
• Classroom preview
• Site guided-tour
• Tutorial Videos – (Ex. 1 / Ex. 2)
• TeacherTube
• Animoto – (Ex. 1 / Ex. 2)
• Voki (Ex. 1 / Ex. 2)
• Slideshows
• Flippable PDFs

36. Idea #3 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Video/Animation 2. Audio

37. Idea #4 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Web Polls 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
• mrcoley.com
• mrgann.com
• TeachingVision.org

38. Idea #5 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Widgets 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
• BrainPop Featured Movie
• Word of the Day
• Surf the Net for Kids
• Shelfari
• Weather

39. Idea #6 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Blogs 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
5. Widgets
• The Daily Blog
• The Room 34 Book Blog
• Room 4 Blog Spot
• Mr. Boyer’s Classroom Blog

40. Idea #7 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Student Work 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
5. Widgets
6. Blogs
• Mrs. Smith’s Student
Showcase
• mrcoley.com
SimpleViewer

41. Idea #8 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Wordle 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
5. Widgets
6. Blogs
7. Student Work
• Student names
• Content vocabulary
• Student of the Week
• Text from famous speeches
• mrcoley.com
• Room 4

42. Dr. Martin Luther King’s
“I Have a Dream” Speech

43. Patrick Henry’s
“Liberty or Death” Speech

44. Idea #8 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Alternatives to Wordle 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
5. Widgets
• ABCya! 6. Blogs
7. Student Work
• Tagul
• WordItOut
• TagCrowd
• ImageChef

45. Idea #9 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Site Statistics 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
5. Widgets
6. Blogs
• Speaking of History 7. Student Work
8. Wordle
• mrcoley.com
• Ms. Jasztal

46. Idea #10 Ideas:
1. Student Clubs/
Contests
Twitter 2. Audio
3. Video/Animation
4. Web Polls
5. Widgets
6. Blogs
Publicize your site by 7. Student Work
8. Wordle
tweeting. 9. Site Statistics

47. Online Resources
• Web Links www.mrcoley.com/cue
• Examples of
Classroom
Websites
• Printer-friendly
Handout
• Online Session
Evaluation Don’t forget to
complete an
evaluation!

48. Session Evaluation
Scan this code with
your smartphone
and complete the
evaluation now!

49. Contact Information
Brent Coley
Website: www.mrcoley.com
Blog: www.brentcoley.com
Email: brent@mrcoley.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/brentcoley