Margaret Bussan, Classroom Websites
Margaret Bussan, 1994 Golden Apple Scholar
This month’s best practice is for any and all Pre K – 12 teachers who want to share what is happening in their classroom. The below steps can be used by all teachers, even those that might be afraid of technology and the burden of adding one more thing to the abundant and ever growing “to-do” list of an educator.
Margaret says:
I think of my website as a web log. It’s an ongoing journal to share our classroom story. It enables parents to see what is going on in our classroom. It also enables students to have access to our classroom from whatever device they have. So many of my students go home in the evening and will check out what pictures I posted from the day, to see if they made the website for the day.
Too often we finish the day, and we don’t take time to reflect on what happened. My website allows me to reflect and share with others at the same time. Students today are always connected to the web, whether it is through their android phones, Ipods, or laptops. Being one of the websites that my students want to check makes their attention during the day that much more focused on learning tasks.
I started my classroom blog in the fall of 2010. I got to the end of October, and I wasn’t sure if anyone was really reading it. Nobody was leaving comments, and I just wasn’t sure if there was a point to it. I quit posting. At fall conferences a mom came in and sat down. The first thing she said was, “I miss seeing your classroom blog posts.” Can you imagine how surprised I was? I went back to posting, and I will be much more consistent with posts this year, since I know people are checking it. For anyone that starts a blog, commit to it for one year. After that first year, re-evaluate to see if it’s working, but please stick with it for one year before you decide anything!
The following two websites are ones that I use in my classroom:
My Blog Address: www.classroomattheend.blogspot.com
My Wiki Address: http://classroomattheend.wikispaces.com
Ready to start your own web blog?
Download Steps To Starting Your Classroom Website >
Margaret Bussan is a 1994 Golden Apple Scholar. She has been teaching at River Ridge School in Hanover, IL, since 1998. She began her career as the district K-5 computer teacher and technology coordinator, highly experienced in the use of the Internet and educational software, before moving into a self-contained 5th grade classroom, where she has taught for the last 12 years. Margaret also served as a member of her school’s Standard Aligned Classroom Team. Margaret integrates technology into all aspects of her teaching.
She graduated from Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL, has endorsements in both Middle School Math and Language Arts, and she received her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from National-Louis University.