LIS 450 ltl
Final Report
 

Mike Sennert
November 28, 2000
 

Introduction & Problem

I proposed for my major project to create a resource web site for my school district.  Having taught for seven years now I realize how hard it is for the classroom teacher to find time to sit down at the computer and search for lesson plans on the internet, work on a class web page, or even find the time to learn to use the internet as a useful classroom tool.  A teacher's schedule is jammed full of grading papers, recess and cafeteria duties, staff meetings, parent meetings, special ed. staffings, photocopying, disciplinarian, sounding board, counselor, friend, surrogate parent, and what time is left instructing students.  For me as the computer teacher and technology coordinator for the school I get very excited about the use of technology in the classroom and want so much for the teachers to integrate technology into their curriculum or at the least use the internet to find resources to improve or supplement their own teaching.
So my idea developed of a resource web site to make it as easy and convenient for teachers to find lesson plans, software tutorials, clipart, web page instruction, etc...

Approach

I first sent out a questionnaire to the teachers asking which areas of technology they would like to have additional resources on.  The majority of those responding listed:  software tutorials, web page creation help, lesson plan sites, webquest sites, and easy to use clipart sites.
Next I started researching different technology education magazines and other educational publications.  Also, I did searches with several different search engines on the topics the teachers were interested in.  Once I had sites selected I then reviewed them using a web page rubric (there are many different rubrics available on the internet, you need to pick one you feel covers the areas you feel are important).
After I selected and tested the sites for the different categories I then had to decide on a design layout that would be easy to move around in and pleasing to look at.  I have found that many people will not use a web site if it is cluttered and hard to easily find what they need.
I decided to use a frame layout with the categories on the left and the main window on the right to display the web pages once clicked on.  I kept the backgrounds very simple using the words of the category in a light color, I felt this would help them to remember what area they are in.  Each link was then placed inside of a table cell, with a white background for easy organization and ease in reading.  I included a short description about each web site, under the title link.  This way teachers can easily tell what a web site is going to contain and if it is what they are looking for.

Results

I feel the resulting product is a comprehensive web site that the teachers in my school are going to be able to use as a resource and a help guide when I am not available.
I hope that this web site will be helpful and get a lot of use by the faculty at my school district.  To make the teachers aware of the site I plan to introduce it to them at the next faculty meeting and then hold an after school session on using the site.
This site will continue to grow over time with the introduction of new sites on the internet, new technologies being introduced, and as teachers familiarity with using technology increases.
From this project I have gained a greater knowledge of searching on the internet, finding resources, and understanding how others view web pages and their usefulness.