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Marcia/CA - Hi welcome to the chat - 101 web page building
Marcia/CA - What kinds of questions do you all have about creating sites?
Kathleen - Marcia, how does one take the first step?
Marcia/CA - I published several sites to help you all out. http://members.aol.com/MrsGoudie/creatingteachingsites.html is the starting point
Robyn - I need to find a "place" to have a page that my system doesn't block. Any ideas? That is school system....they block geocities, homestead, xoom, etc...
Lisa/2nd - Robyn -- have you tried The Express Page - http://Expage.com/ ?
Kathleen - Marcia and participants, let's start with: How to get started on a web page
Marcia/CA - If you have aol and several other servers, they have free sites for you. Some other web sites like tripod, expage and homestead have simple web builders for free
Marcia/CA - One great way to get started is to design your site on paper
Katharine/CA/1 - There are places that take you through step by step. You can see mine at http://www.expage.com/page/Oroom22
Katharine/CA/1 - On expage, there are things you can't do (like load your own photos) but it's a great starter place.
Mel - I started mine on netscape composer but when I upload it to geocities I have errors in the html
Mel - Marcia is there somehting I can do so I can still use netscape composer and upload to geocities?
Marcia/CA - You can use your document program to write what you think you want the page to say.
Marcia/CA - I am not sure how netscape works with geocities. I believe that Tripod allows you to prewrite in html and transfer to their pages.
Lisa/2nd - I've been working on my website -- http://www.expage.com/page/woodshop
Marcia/CA - Some of the builders like homestead and expage are limited to make them simple. It probably will frustrate the teacher in us, because you can't get it to do what you see in your mind.
CCNJ/1 - I have a site on geocities, but someone else did the beginning for me
TammyWW - those of you who have pages, do you find parents go to them?
Crickmist - Our school website is hit on by parents regularly.
Mel - Victoria when you transfer the page over do you have errors?
CCNJ/1 - I think the biggest problem is that I don't want to read it all I want to be shown how to do it
Crickmist - Does anyone know of a tutorial online to help?
Marcia/CA - Lets start with html!
Shelly - I am clueless...does it cost anything to have a website?
Kathleen - Shelly, there are places where you can have a free website
Lisa/2nd - Shelly -- there are lots of free websites available -- you just have to put up with all of their ads
Mel - marcia the problem is I dont know html and I have to correct the errors I just wondering if there is something easier that I can continue with?
Marcia/CA - Look on my page. I left several beginners links for html http://members.aol.com/MrsGoudie/creatingteachingsites.html
Marcia/CA - Start at the top of the document and work your way down. Start with <body>
TammyWW - Marcia, does your website give step by step instructions to begin
Marcia/CA - Yes
Marcia/CA - <H1> Makes a big headline or title</H1> make sure you have a beginning and ending for every tag.
Marcia/CA - http://members.aol.com/MrsGoudie/tips.html has a very simple form for web pages.
Crickmist - I teach third grade. What legalities do I need to worry about with a class web page?
hashbrown - Crick I think that if you avoid names but keep it general such as "two students of Mrs. K's class won ribbons at the 4th annual TriCounty Science Fair" you should be ok
Robyn - Crickmist~I know in my district..no names and no photos of kids...even with a release....limits things doens't it?
Marcia/CA - I am not familiar, Crickmist with legalities. I do know that it is important to give credit to the originator of any site when you borrow any graphics. You need to watch for copyrighted material and be respectful
Gumbo/K/La - marcia------what about using things like netscape gold,etc to build pages? is that easier than html?
Victoria - Netscape Gold is the old Navigator publishing tool ... it's been replaced by Composer, which is part of the Communicator suite -- very simple, Gumbo
Kathleen - After this session, take a look at the sites recommended, then post your questions at our chatboard http://teachers.net/mentors/comptech
Marcia/CA - I am not familiar with netscape gold. but many of these types of programs are designed for the beginner.
Lin - I checked out some of the sites on Marca's page. Can that be done by following your steps.
Mel - Marcia can I keep what I have already done and then just continue with your webbuilder?
Marcia/CA - Tripod, expage, homestead and others have simple cut and paste programs to get the beginner going
meeha/ece/tx - Marcia ... how does one cite originators of graphics and such? is there a formal format for this?
hashbrown - This may have been asked before, but if I start a department page using one system like html, then my school finally decides they want a page, but use another system, will it be difficult to have my page link to the school site? How do the links work anyway? Am I getting ahead?
Marcia/CA - Some builders allow you to use raw html and others not. You have to look carefully at what you are using. Html is the same anywhere
Robyn - homestead is very easy to do! almost too easy! :o) It is worth checking out! Just jump in! read and do what it says!
Gumbo/K/La - is it easy to upload pages done in those kinds of programs?
Marcia/CA - Links are all just a code. They all work in the html theory. The simple builders add the codes for you.
Marcia/CA - yes, it is simple. Lisa and Katharine have had good success with expage.
Victoria - Gumbo, yes it's very easy ... use an FTP upload client program or the website's upload interface/file loader
Gumbo/K/La - html is not that hard, ya'll......trust me, if I can do it..... LOL
Crickmist - I just purchased Print Shop and it has a web page maker. Has anyone used it before?
Marcia/CA - I haven't but I like the easy use of other print shop software
Katharine/CA/1 - Before you start building, check out pages built by various builders. I had a hard time getting some to come up on my browser, so didn't want to build there.
CCNJ - Why is that telling me to download Boost 98???? Express Page that is?
Marcia/CA - I have several links to easy to understand html tutors on my page.
Lisa/2nd - that's a great suggestion, Katharine -- before you start working on a page -- look at other sites to see what you like
ShelleyWI - Netscape Composer is really easy to use too
Katharine/CA/1 - Marcia, can you tell us more about html? how does it work? (25 words or less, ha ha)
Marcia/CA - Another nice trick is to save any special graphics or background pattern you find. As long as you are not going to use if for profit , it is considered ok
Lin - How long does it take to do a school website?
Marcia/CA - Depending on how complicated a site is, it can be done in one afternoon.
Victoria - Lin, that would depend on what you want to put on it :o)
Marcia/CA - I find some of the greatest graphics on other sites. I save them for use in the future
TammyWW - how do you save background graphics?
Marcia/CA - on a pc, right click on the graphic and "save as"
Shelly - You mean you can use the graphics from other people's pages without asking them? Just copy and paste?
Marcia/CA - as long as it is not for profit, Shelley
ShelleyWI - There are sites that provide free graphics...others you need to pay for.
Katharine/CA/1 - Shelly, copy & paste but give them credit.
ShelleyWI - And always provide a link and follow directions provided by the graphic site
Robyn - a tutorial that helped me a bunch can be found at http://junior.apk.net/~jbarta/tutor/makapage/index.html
CC/Not Happy:-( - http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Balcony/6476 That is my page LOL but it only has Winnie the Pooh on it
hashbrown - I teach band and choir and will want to include concert excerpts. Is audio hard to do?
Ga Dawg - Are you supposed to notify everyone that you link to their site?
Marcia/CA - Some people request that you leave their link on your page. It is all to be polite.
Suzanne/TX/3 - this is my site http://move.to/Suzanne I use Fortune City, but not recommending it for beginners right now due to site design change.
Marcia/CA - I compiled some school sites. http://members.aol.com/MrsGoudie/pagegraphics.html
hashbrown - Are those free sites included in your links, marcia? Remember, being music, I have no budget
Marcia/CA - There are great music sites. But I didn't add any to my newest site...Thanks for mentioning it...I will do it soon
Victoria - my site is http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hollow/1213 -- in the teachers.net ring :)
Crickmist - How easy is it to link?
Suzanne/TX/3 - http://www.webdiner.com Has a great beginning html tutorial.
Marcia/CA - I will add some links on the mentor page in the next day or two for you all to check out.
Lisa/2nd - In Expage -- it is very easy to link -- you just need to know the URL
Marcia/CA - here is the code for a link <a href="http://members.aol.com/MGoudie/index.html" Marcia's Lesson Links</a> remember to end the tag.
Kathy - My school disrict will only allow us to use MicrosoftPublisher. Is that harder to use than the sites some of you use?
Robyn - The school pages that I do can be found at http://leehall.nn.k12.va.us
Robyn - I'm very limited by both my district and my principal!
Gumbo/K/La - I have a page I did.....not thru my school, but for my class and their parents.....and pretty anonymous by design to avoid any problems ... The Lions'Roar http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/5994/index.html
meeha/ece/tx - For those of you who have used web pages in the past ... how often do you update your page? Weekly? with thematic changes? per grading period?
Marcia/CA - It is hard when you use school sites for class web pages. so many rules. Another way to do it is to make your own page off site.
TammyWW - Gumbo, do the parents like it, and do they use it often?
Victoria - meeha, i work on mine daily in the summer, sporadically during the school year
Marcia/CA - As often as I can find the TIME
Victoria - but my page is for teachers, not parents ... my students can't afford computers
meeha/ece/tx - Marcia ... how much do the rules change when one does a site off of the school's site?
Marcia/CA - It is hard to judge if parents visit your site. Many teachers teach in districts where there is great poverty.
Gumbo/K/La - meeha----depends on the purpose of your page.....if it's a teaching resource, then you're always adding.....I have to update school and class calendars,add new sites, etc.....
Shelly - This may have been answered, but when you put in a link on your site do you need permission of that person/company?
Marcia/CA - no, you don't need permission , but it sure is nice to email them and tell them how wonderful their site is and that you connected it to yours.
katharine - LOL, Victoria. I made my website thinking of the children and their parents. But they'll never see it -- they have no access to it.
Victoria - thematic units, links, a huge back to school section, info on literacy, and a ton of other stuff
Lisa/2nd - Your website needs to reflect what you believe to be important -- what you want to share with others
CCNJ - Is there one site you recommend to get started on? I found geocities hard so I gave up
Victoria - thanks, marcia, it's designed for K-1-2
Kathleen - So, there are two ways to build a web page: use a template or do it yourself with html, right?
Margaret - Question. There are so many places to get a site. How do you know what is a good one or does it matter?
Marcia/CA - right. and there is some great software on the market if you don't like what is out there for free
Kathy - Does anyone know where I can get help with Microsft Publisher for my web page thru my school dstrict?
Marcia/CA - One way to find out what sites are working the best is to cruise other teachers pages and see where they are located. If the web builder or site has allot of problems, not too many teachers will stay there.
Gumbo/K/La - You have to decide the purpose or focus of your page before you start,and then things will fall into place easeier....I wrote my purpose out (with a pen!!!! LOL) and it just fell into place.....
CCNJ - Me too Victoria it is great How long did it take you to figure it out, and what did you use?
Victoria - I use Netscape Composer and add any extra code I need (very little, actually) I can do a basic page in half an hour, if it's just typing
Marcia/CA - Yes, one good way to create a site is to draw it on paper. mapping out where the graphics should go. Be careful. Too many graphics makes sites hard to load. No one wants to wait forever.
Sue/okie/3 - That's right. Look at others to see what they included. I went to the Teachers.net web pages .
Victoria - that's a great point, Marcia ... and you can also see which sites take forever to load because they're on a slow or crowded server
Victoria - I don't have a problem with waiting on graphics if there's something to read at the top of the page while the rest of it loads
hashbrown - If I wanted to include music on my site, are there website building programs that I should avoid?
Gumbo/K/La - and------you can view the html used on a page if there's a table,etc you're having problems with.....click view--->page source and you can see the html used on that page.....
Suzanne/TX/3 - if you see an effect you really like on a page, click on view and then source on your web browser and it will show you the html coding for the page and you can see how they did it
Victoria - hash, it's a personal peeve, but i never hang around waiting for midi files to load, they take way too long -- and people with minimal amounts of ram can't open them
Sue/okie/3 - With Homestead you can import anything.
Lin - I'm taking a computer class and discovered this site (Teachers.net!) while browsing. It's great. I'd like to use it as a link on my web page that I must do for class. Can't wait to tell everyone!
Marcia/Ca - Viewing the source is a great way to see how other people created their page. It is also a way I use to help figure how the exact code for the html when I get stuck
Gumbo/K/La - I always ask before I link 'private' webpages to mine......basic netiquette......
Victoria - my longer thematic pages take a couple days (10 to 20 hours) because of the research, links, graphics, etc
Kathleen - There is a Teachers.Net web ring of teachers' sites. Just go to the homepage and look near the bottom or use http://teachers.net/webring
Martina/AK - I have had a class on web page design, and know how to use a basic program to create the page, but was wondering if any of you have ideas on the pre-writing stage, so to speak. I hate to just jump in and start creating the site wityhout some kind of idea as to how it will all connect. Does that make sense?
Victoria - and don't forget to join the teachers.net webring :o)
Martina/AK - I have been collecting a long list of school sites to visit and take notes on. What exactly is a webring, and how does it work?
Kathleen - If you have a non-commercial website, please consider adding your url to the Teachers.Net webring
Marcia/Ca - Martina, create you site in a documet format. You can see how the different parts blend in. A lot of document programs will "save as" in html. I know WORD does, and CLARIS
Gumbo/K/La - martina-----decide your purpose/focus, and you'll find things fall into place......do you want it to be for kids, parents, or teachers or all of the above????
Lisa/2nd - Kathleen -- how does one add their website to the T-net webring?
Kathleen - Lisa, there are directions on the webring page: http://teachers.net/webring
Marcia/Ca - There are some great webrings (especially teachers,net), They are a place for teachers to combine with other teachers to share their site.
Martina/AK - Kathleen: I think paper would be good for me, because it really helps me to see things first.
Shelly - Marcia-Do you mean you could design a basic page in Word and it will "translate" it to html?
Marcia/Ca - Go to any site that is part of the web ring. There are instructions there to get you started. I think teachers.net web ring is up to about 350 sites.
Martina/AK - I am supposed to get my school's site up and running this year...One idea I am toying with is to work with a group of kids as an after school activity, and ultimately have our sixth graders who want to be a part of it be the school's webmasters...
Lin - Martina, that's sounds like a great idea.
Marcia/Ca - The older students often know more than we give them credit for . 6th graders would be a big help.
Lin - I am sooo glad I found this site. Have a great weekend, everyone. Happy Webbing!
Marcia/Ca - Thank you everyone for joining my first chat.--that is the first one I have lead.
