Schoolwires Teacher Web Pages Quick Tutorial

You already know how to teach You already know how to teach. The ability to create your own web pages is just another tool in your tool kit. Hopefully you will find it to be a very useful tool. It can help cut down on paperwork. Think about all the times you give out handout sheets only to have students tell you that they lost them. Now you will be able to post the information so that it can’t get lost! It can help you help your students to stay organized. You can post due date calendars. Links to key information can be posted and accessed from one location. Let’s get started.

Open your browser. Go to www. middletownk12. org Open your browser. Go to www.middletownk12.org . At the top of the window toward the right you will see a box that says “Select a school.” Click on the box and scroll down to “High School North.”

Click on “Our School” on the orange navigation bar

Scroll down and select “Faculty Directory.”

When you click on your name you should see the pre-formatted teacher web pages that have been set up for you using the district template.

In order to place information (text, images, etc.) onto your pages you will need to sign in.

Use the log-in name and password that you use for your school email account.

New boxes will appear at the top of your screen: Site Manager, My Account and My PassKeys. Click on Site Manager. (You will use the “My Account” button later when you want to sign out of schoolwires.) (You will probably not need the “My Passkeys” button.)

A new window will open. This is your personal site editor. The template is pre-set with six pages. You can add or delete pages. You can make the pages “inactive” while you are working on them by clicking the green active / inactive toggle button next to the page name. The “Actions” allow you to work on your pages in different ways. The easiest way to begin is to click directly on the name of a page.

A GREAT tool in Schoolwires is the “How do I ?” tab. Click on it to find help with any questions you may have as you are working on your pages.

When you click on the name of any page, the edit page opens When you click on the name of any page, the edit page opens. This page may look intimidating at first, but it works much like typical word processing programs. Hover your mouse over an icon button to reveal the options. To add text, simply click in the white content area space and begin typing.

Insert an Image… Place your cursor in the Content Area where you would like the image to be inserted. Click the Insert Image icon. Locate where the image is stored on your computer or choose a different image source. Follow the wizard prompts to bring the image into the wizard and view the Image Attributes. Enter a description of the image into the Alt. Text field. If desired, adjust the values for “height” or “width.” You may also choose to adjust “alignment” and “border” options. (This can also be done later.) Click on the Insert Image button.

Another very useful tool is the “insert file” tool. The icon for this tool looks like a paper clip.

The screen opens on the default setting – upload a file The screen opens on the default setting – upload a file. When you click on the “Browse” button you can scroll through the files on your computer to find the file you would like to upload to you website.

When you have selected a file its name will appear in the box When you have selected a file its name will appear in the box. Click the green “Continue” button.

In the “Link Text” box type the name of the link as you would like it to appear on your web page. Use the arrow on the right side of the “Target” box to scroll down to “Open link in a new window.”

Click the green “Insert File. Button. Schoolwires will automatically upload your document to the correct folder and create a link on your web page. (You may have to format the text to make it stay blue.)

To insert a link to a web page… You can create a link to another page on your site, another website, an email address, or a bookmark using either text that you type onto your page or an image that you place on your page. Insert the image or type the text onto your web page. Hold your mouse button down and drag over to highlight the text or image. Click the Insert Link icon (the one that looks like a chain link / infinity / sideways eight). When the “Insert Link” Wizard opens, select the type of link you would like to create. Enter or select the desired link information. If you are creating a link to another website, choose “Open in New Window.” from the “Target” dropdown box choices. Click Insert Link.

There are many things you can do with your teacher web pages. You can use them for flipped instruction. You can use the calendar to set up assignment due dates or as a syllabus to inform students and parents about things you will be covering in class on specific dates. You can set up a library of information and/or resource links (links to documents you have uploaded and/or links to other web sites). You can set up teacher monitored (safe) blog pages. You can post photo galleries highlighting class activities. (and much more!!!)

In addition to the basic pages that have already been set up for you, You have the ability to add other types of pages. Click on the green “New Page” tab in your work space to see some options. (Remember, you can make the pages “inactive” while you are working on them by clicking the green active / inactive toggle button next to the page name. ) One popular choice for facilitating on-line class discussions is a Blog page. Once you have created the page and opened it, click on “new posting.” You will need to adjust some settings.

One popular choice for facilitating on-line class discussions is a Blog page. Once you have created the page and opened it, click on the black options banner. Next, click on “social settings.” Click on “commenting.” If you click on “Require approval” you will be able to review / approve comments before they actually appear on your web site. You will also need to click on the options button and then go to social settings to … Next, click on the “Commenting Rights” tab to choose who has permission to post comments on your page. If you choose “Assign Group” you will be given the option to choose the whole school district, all of the elementary schools, all of the middle schools or all of the high schools. You can choose multiple groups; for example, you could choose “all students” and “all teachers.” If you type “North” in the blank box and click “search” you can assign just the HS North community.

To Post a Blog... Begin by clicking on the green “New Posting” box. Under “General,” fill in the post title and the post date. Click on the “Posting” tab and you will open an editable space that is similar to other flex page work spaces where you can add text, images, etc. For more about blog pages, click on the “How do I?” tab in your teacher work space.

You have a responsibility to obey copyright laws. With all these powerful and helpful tools please remember these two very important things: You have a responsibility to obey copyright laws. The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use - A five-part series http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers http://www.halldavidson.net/chartshort.html You have a responsibility to obey laws that protect student privacy. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

Less critical but also useful to know – some of your students and/or parents may access your web pages on hand-held devices. It would be a good thing to check and see how your pages are displayed on such devices.

For more help… On the school website home page – under “Quick Links” select Schoolwires help. contact me – email: vegar@middletownk12.org