R. A. Hernandez

Posted on 9/20/09

On 9/18/09, MathDude wrote:
> I am currently in the process of bilding a site for my
> classes. My school currently uses eChalk, but I find that
> it has too many limitations (on storage, flexibility,
> etc.) I already have a domain & host with a VERY
> rudimentary site thus far.
> I am looking for any easy to use, free site builder and
> stumbled across Joomla. Does anyone have opinions on
> Joomla? Can someone suggest an alternative? All input is
> appreciated.
>
> MD

I'd have no reservations on using Joomla
(http://www.joomla.org), when I served as school webmaster at
my prior junior high school I actually incorporated it into my
then school's website and used it a subdomain website with its
purpose being to house the classroom websites and for
interpersonal communication between facaulty/staff to
faculty/staff and administration to faculty/staff.

Let me explain, rather than code over 30 separate K-8
individual classroom website pages I utilized Joomla to offer
the homeroom teachers a method to house classroom websites
granted they wouldn't have their own background on each page
(as it'd be the Joomla template background you set as admin)
but the teachers are able to post classroom happenings, photos,
videos, homework (no kid can ever state afterward they weren't
able to do their homework due to being sick and out) Any
non-homeroom teacher (i.e. phys. ed) could have a page designed
for them too.

As for interpersonal communication between faculty/staff to
faculty/staff and administration to faculty/staff the great
thing of Joomla is that it offers one the ability to create
accounts so the faculty/staff and administration can access
additional portions of Joomla while excluding the students,
parents/guardians and more so the general public. As such any
memo not needed to be seen by the latter doesn't unless you
give any of them (i.e. the PTA/PA Pres.) an account access.

The downside of Joomla is that is you're not a webmaster by
nature it can be complicated to set up the internal back-end
portions of the website but if you set forth to learn it and
come out with a website with a realistic goal like 1-2 months
you'd nail it and the end result would be immense. No one told
me to take Joomla which is hardly ever used as a school based
content management system and convert it for that use but my
end result was greeted wonderfully by the faculty/staff/admin.
and to this date I still e-mail other school webmasters and
academic teacher who ask for help on using it within their schools.

There is a Learning [Content] Management System which was
designed for use within a school: Moodle (http://moodle.org)
but I find it's limited in what Joomla can do plus Joomla has
way more extensions you can add into it to further make your
website look appealing.

All my best to you, if anything reply back or e-mail me above.

~Mr. Hernandez
Former School Webmaster
@ a NYC Dept. of Ed. Public School
Bronx (NYC), NY

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