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WebBlender Complements your Content Management System As a teacher and technology trainer, I frequently heard from other teachers complaining about the lack of creativity and options in the content management systems (CMS) their schools use to develop and host their teacher web sites. As I worked in these systems to help teachers create classroom sites, I found that the CMS rarely includes resources for teachers to use to create superb sites, such as pictures, buttons, and graphics. Even if a teacher had quality content, many of the programs were hard to use, causing some teachers to give up after their initial training. Many teachers are now learning to use other software tools to develop exciting and creative web pages to add to their CMS web-hosting service. Many CMS programs will accept HTML pages, so teachers can use almost any web-authoring tool to develop their pages offline and then upload them at their convenience. This allows teachers to express themselves effectively, while district IT departments continue to reap the management benefits of using a CMS. MacFarlane Park Elementary School in Tampa, Florida showcases how teachers can successfully use a standalone authoring tool to create content they can add to their CMS. The teachers at MacFarlane Park use WebBlender to create their sites and then upload them to a RapidWeb® CMS built into their email application. “Before WebBlender, less than half of our teachers had a web presence, and they were frustrated by trying to create web sites in the CMS system we were using. Now 90% of the faculty has a web site, and they rave about how easy WebBlender is to use,” shares Principal Denyse Riveiro. MacFarlane also uses WebBlender for their school web site, which the secretary updates weekly. “I constantly get calls and emails from other principals asking what we use to create our great-looking web site!” enthuses principal Riveiro. Macfarlane Park: macfarlanepark.mysdhc.org |
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Jeremy Jackson has taught seventh grade for five years, eventually developing a “paperless classroom” featured in several education periodicals. He worked for three years as a site-based technology specialist and spent four years as a technology trainer for Hillsborough County, before becoming the Southeast Regional Manager for Tech4Learning. |
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| Using WebBlender for authoring content has allowed Macfarlane Park to reduce their web site training time requirement from six hours to just two. The teachers at Macfarlane are now fearless, thanks in part to WebBlender’s easy-to-use interface. The number of teachers at Macfarlane who are actively strengthening the home-to-school connection using a web presence has more than doubled. Using WebBlender to create content has actually strengthened their investment in the CMS by dramatically boosting the number of teachers fully utilizing the system. The ability to add content created in WebBlender to a CMS for classroom web pages also extends to showcasing student work. Natalie Muthersbaugh, Technology Specialist for Savannah-Chatham Public Schools, regularly uploads student WebBlender projects into their eChalk® CMS. “With a few simple clicks, I am able to showcase students’ WebBlender projects to their school, their community, and the world.” |
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| At Coastal Academy, which fosters a learning environment for students with autism, Natalie showed students how to use WebBlender. One student was able to share his dreams and aspirations using WebBlender. His site was posted to the district’s CMS, allowing him to share his dreams with family members in a way that was never before possible. Though CMS’s are sweeping though many school districts from Oregon to Florida, all is not lost for the creative educator. By combining WebBlender with their CMS, teachers can easily create top-notch classroom web sites. Using programs like WebBlender allows them to add innovation, imagination, and individuality to their web presence, all while modeling effective communication techniques for their students. |
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