Class Website
Purpose: Necessity and Invention
By the time I had started my practicum, I had already spent more than a few years in different universities and in different programs. For many of the courses I took during my undergrad, many of the professors had some sort of website in place where we could go and access a number of resources that would help us throughout the course, such as the course syllabus, assignment descriptions and due dates, required readings, and additional materials worth looking at if we wanted a deeper understanding of what we were learning.
For the one Shakespeare course I took for my English degree, the professor had a class Moodle site that she used for this purpose with an interesting twist. One of the assignments she gave us in the course was to submit responses to "Moodle posts" that she would post each week. Over the course of the term, we were expected to respond to five of her posts and five responses to our classmates responses. Two examples of the prompts that she gave us are:
I found these kinds of writing prompts to be interesting, engaging, and made me think about the plays in question in a different way.
I initially wanted to create a similar learning experience for my students during my practicum; however, after consulting with my sponsor teachers, it was decided that I would be creating too much work for myself as a student teacher. I still wanted to find a way to play around with online media, but I needed to do something different that would be a little simpler and less time-consuming.
So I decided to create a website. I had seen Weebly sites made by my colleagues at UBC and I liked the way that they looked so that is the platform I chose to use. On the website, I posted course outlines, class notes, and assignment descriptions. The idea was that students wouldn't have a reason to come to me if they missed class or they lost their homework, because it would all be right there in an easily accessible site. I would also pass the site onto the parents of my students so that they would be able to check in to see what we were doing in class.
Successes
They Were Into It!
I was very surprised by how quickly students started using the site. Right away, I noticed that as soon as I asked students to take notes during class, the first question would be: "Will this be on the site?" After I said that it would be, I found that students were less inclined to take notes. I decided that I had to think about note-taking a little differently and make sure that any time I had students writing things down, it was for a good reason and that they would actually be learning something by writing it down. For everything else, if I was going to post it on the site and the students decided that they didn't want to write it down and would rather refer to the site later, that was a choice that they could make and a valuable learning experience on self-regulation.
As a student, I would have loved it if my teachers had this kind of resource. I find that when I am taking notes, I'm not listening. I'm not even really paying attention to what I am writing down because I am focusing on getting it into my notes before the teacher erases the board or flips to the next slide. At the beginning of my practicum, it didn't take me long to realize another problem with using this in my teaching practice is that it took up so much time. I soon found myself asking myself, "How much are my students actually learning from taking 15 min of notes?" and "Is there something more meaningful I could be doing with this time?"
The above reasons are why I feel that a class website was a beneficial resource to add to my teaching practice.
Fairness, Equity, and Personal Accountability
I found that the class website created more opportunities to engage with students with special needs or were otherwise at risk of not succeeding in the classroom. This was certainly the case where students found themselves in situations where it would be a struggle for them to come to school everyday; this could include students who suffer from anxiety disorders, have a heavy extra-curricular schedule (working, babysitting, band/sports trips, etc.), or students with problems with taking a large amount of notes (either specifically diagnosed with some form of dysgraphia, struggle with writing quickly, or struggle with listening and writing at the same time).
The class website also proved to be a useful tool in promoting personal accountability in my students. If they knew they were going to be absent, they knew where to go to find out what they missed. This also saved up a lot of my time that I would have otherwise spent on preparing "homework packages" for students who were going to be absent.
Parental Involvement
Many parents were quite happy that the website was available and that it was something that they would have access to. It allowed them to check in to see what was going on in my classroom and see what homework they should be working on that night.
Things to Be Aware Of
Always Make Sure It Is Updated!!
Once students start using the site and realize what useful resource it is, they will expect for it to be updated every day. This can be a bit of a commitment and can make an already full plate even fuller. At the beginning, I found that staying on top of the site was a bit of a chore and I did have to make it a mindful part of my daily routine.
Don't Post Things Too Soon!!
Most teachers will tell you that it is inadvisable to plan things too far in advance; sometimes students will need a little more or less time with an assignment or concept and there is just no way of knowing where some things will fall on your calendar, especially if you are trying a new lesson/unit/assessment for the first time.
The first time I used this site, I made a rookie mistake of posting the due dates of "big assignments" at the beginning of the unit. As a university student, I liked knowing when major papers or assignments were due and then I could plan accordingly; I wanted to create a similar opportunity for my students.
I was not prepared for the "keeners" in my classes to hand in assignments days (sometimes a week in advance) because the rest of the class was not quite where they were. This specifically applied to a brilliant student who had a history of absences and used the website as his only source of information to see where the rest of the class was. This was another lesson in making sure that the site is updated on a regular basis while also making sure that I don't reveal too much, too soon.
In Conclusion
I will definitely keep this as a tool for my teaching practice. However, I will take my hard-learned lessons to heart.
By the time I had started my practicum, I had already spent more than a few years in different universities and in different programs. For many of the courses I took during my undergrad, many of the professors had some sort of website in place where we could go and access a number of resources that would help us throughout the course, such as the course syllabus, assignment descriptions and due dates, required readings, and additional materials worth looking at if we wanted a deeper understanding of what we were learning.
For the one Shakespeare course I took for my English degree, the professor had a class Moodle site that she used for this purpose with an interesting twist. One of the assignments she gave us in the course was to submit responses to "Moodle posts" that she would post each week. Over the course of the term, we were expected to respond to five of her posts and five responses to our classmates responses. Two examples of the prompts that she gave us are:
- Using any actor, living or dead, create your ideal cast for Hamlet and explain your casting choices.
- Looking at two film clips of the "Saint Crispin's Day Speech" from Henry V, what similarities and differences do you notice regarding how the speech was delivered and how it impacts your understanding of Henry V's character.
I found these kinds of writing prompts to be interesting, engaging, and made me think about the plays in question in a different way.
I initially wanted to create a similar learning experience for my students during my practicum; however, after consulting with my sponsor teachers, it was decided that I would be creating too much work for myself as a student teacher. I still wanted to find a way to play around with online media, but I needed to do something different that would be a little simpler and less time-consuming.
So I decided to create a website. I had seen Weebly sites made by my colleagues at UBC and I liked the way that they looked so that is the platform I chose to use. On the website, I posted course outlines, class notes, and assignment descriptions. The idea was that students wouldn't have a reason to come to me if they missed class or they lost their homework, because it would all be right there in an easily accessible site. I would also pass the site onto the parents of my students so that they would be able to check in to see what we were doing in class.
Successes
They Were Into It!
I was very surprised by how quickly students started using the site. Right away, I noticed that as soon as I asked students to take notes during class, the first question would be: "Will this be on the site?" After I said that it would be, I found that students were less inclined to take notes. I decided that I had to think about note-taking a little differently and make sure that any time I had students writing things down, it was for a good reason and that they would actually be learning something by writing it down. For everything else, if I was going to post it on the site and the students decided that they didn't want to write it down and would rather refer to the site later, that was a choice that they could make and a valuable learning experience on self-regulation.
As a student, I would have loved it if my teachers had this kind of resource. I find that when I am taking notes, I'm not listening. I'm not even really paying attention to what I am writing down because I am focusing on getting it into my notes before the teacher erases the board or flips to the next slide. At the beginning of my practicum, it didn't take me long to realize another problem with using this in my teaching practice is that it took up so much time. I soon found myself asking myself, "How much are my students actually learning from taking 15 min of notes?" and "Is there something more meaningful I could be doing with this time?"
The above reasons are why I feel that a class website was a beneficial resource to add to my teaching practice.
Fairness, Equity, and Personal Accountability
I found that the class website created more opportunities to engage with students with special needs or were otherwise at risk of not succeeding in the classroom. This was certainly the case where students found themselves in situations where it would be a struggle for them to come to school everyday; this could include students who suffer from anxiety disorders, have a heavy extra-curricular schedule (working, babysitting, band/sports trips, etc.), or students with problems with taking a large amount of notes (either specifically diagnosed with some form of dysgraphia, struggle with writing quickly, or struggle with listening and writing at the same time).
The class website also proved to be a useful tool in promoting personal accountability in my students. If they knew they were going to be absent, they knew where to go to find out what they missed. This also saved up a lot of my time that I would have otherwise spent on preparing "homework packages" for students who were going to be absent.
Parental Involvement
Many parents were quite happy that the website was available and that it was something that they would have access to. It allowed them to check in to see what was going on in my classroom and see what homework they should be working on that night.
Things to Be Aware Of
Always Make Sure It Is Updated!!
Once students start using the site and realize what useful resource it is, they will expect for it to be updated every day. This can be a bit of a commitment and can make an already full plate even fuller. At the beginning, I found that staying on top of the site was a bit of a chore and I did have to make it a mindful part of my daily routine.
Don't Post Things Too Soon!!
Most teachers will tell you that it is inadvisable to plan things too far in advance; sometimes students will need a little more or less time with an assignment or concept and there is just no way of knowing where some things will fall on your calendar, especially if you are trying a new lesson/unit/assessment for the first time.
The first time I used this site, I made a rookie mistake of posting the due dates of "big assignments" at the beginning of the unit. As a university student, I liked knowing when major papers or assignments were due and then I could plan accordingly; I wanted to create a similar opportunity for my students.
I was not prepared for the "keeners" in my classes to hand in assignments days (sometimes a week in advance) because the rest of the class was not quite where they were. This specifically applied to a brilliant student who had a history of absences and used the website as his only source of information to see where the rest of the class was. This was another lesson in making sure that the site is updated on a regular basis while also making sure that I don't reveal too much, too soon.
In Conclusion
I will definitely keep this as a tool for my teaching practice. However, I will take my hard-learned lessons to heart.