TeacherWeb Reflections

1. Describe how you see the use of a class web site could support your future teaching. Describe at least 3 ways how you see the use of a class web site could be used to support your future teaching. Provide specific details for each example.
   
   While exploring the use of TeacherWeb, I think this particular site is great for use in a classroom! One of the ways it could be used is to keep constant communication with parents through the internet. There is a feature that can be used that allows you to get a phone or email contact with all the parents. This will allow you to send quick messages as updates to all the parents at once! Another way these can be used is to save on paper in the classroom. Many of the handouts and announcements normally made by teachers are printed out information for the parents. This would be an easy way to get information to parents in a way that would be cost effective as a teacher. Finally, a very useful tool on the TeacherWeb is the gradebook function. If for some reason the school you teach at did not have a system for gradebooks, it would be a great way to communicate the grades of the students to parents on a weeky basis. They could see their students progress on an ongoing basis, rather than the progress reports and report cards that are not given out but a few times a year.

1. Identify what you see as the top 2 ways students could use a class web site to enhance their learning and provide some justifications for your selections.
   
   The top two ways students can use a class web site to enhance their learning would be to have access to extra work that can increase their skills in their struggling areas and be able to gain quick access to what was missed in class from the website. Both of these can be things that are posted on the handouts section of the web site. These allow students to stay connected to the class while away and also can help a struggling student. If a particular student is having trouble with certain rules of phonics or a particular cursive letter (or anything really) a handout on that particular subject or topic can be posted so that student can refer to it and practice it at home whenever it is convenient. Also, with the website, it allows students and parents to stay connected to the teacher and classroom even during hours not in the classroom.

3. Think about the page types and features of the Teacher Web system. What do you feel where the 2 strongest features or page types within the Teacher Web system? Why do you see these as the strongest?

I think the two strongest features of the Teacher Web system are the feature to create a call/email list as well as the document section. These two are the strongest because they allow for the most communication with the parents. Children can always find fun games on the internet, but communication with the teacher is something that can be done quickly and easily without making phone calls. It can allow the teacher to post things that need to be taken home in case children forget to bring an important document home.