Least Tern  > But not Least...

  e-Paper or Plastic?

A Review of Tools for Teacher-Created Web Pages

Tools Overview | Basic Features Charted | Interactive Features Charted

Summary and Recommendation | Feedback

Additional Free Web Page Tools | Enterprise Web Solutions | Specialized Web Tools for Teachers (additional choices)

The move from backpacked paper to e-Paper communication and digital assignment books is perhaps the most evolutionary step yet for schools entering the 21st Century. Schools beginning this move, or dissatisfied with patch-work solutions, are faced with a myriad of choices. With the hope of assisting in the decision making, we have undertaken a review of the free and low cost e-Paper tools currently available to schools for assignment and announcement distribution. Additional choices are presented by digital notebook solutions, those offering schools lesson plan and minimal content/resource delivery, with the option of student-created input. The best free and low-cost solutions fill both needs. We have also included a listing of the Enterprise Solutions, those that, for a significant fee, move a school beyond e-Paper and into a fully digital and interactive information, content and (often) assessment community.

We do not include in this evaluation tools to create school websites that are primarily for public relations and the distribution of general school information (although most of our choices can be used for these purposes), nor do we include tools whose primary purpose is e-Learning course delivery (we provide a listing of Course Delivery Systems at A Pool of Tools). We also do not include free "public" web content creators, such as AngleFire, Geocities, and AOL's MyPage, for we feel that these tools, although certainly free and convenient (and used by many teachers) invite students to join in a community that has little educational value overall. We have sought to include a wide range of tools that provide today's teachers with a means to post current assignments and lessons, to communicate essential information to parents and students, and (a very important feature to us) to learn by doing that the use of technology by the teacher is POSSIBLE and even ENJOYABLE.

Tools Overview

The most important features of a web-based tool are also the most practical: pricing, ease of use, look, features and security.  Cost varies greatly, even in the pool of free and inexpensive tools; with the exception of Think.com (which offers a great deal free), it is true that "you gets what you pays for." "Look" we have found to be a subjective assessment. Many tools we found to be "cluttered" or "cute;" others dovetailed nicely with our own aesthetic. Rather than provide this assessment in our evaluation, we have left it up to the individual teacher or school (with a few Comments, again for exceptional tools) and we encourage potential users to follow the links we have provided. We note and comment upon the "features" that, as teachers and teacher trainers, we find most important; we invite feedback as to what more, or less, should be included. This evaluation will be periodically updated.

When you have read the content below, click on the link to Table 1.

We will begin with the bottom line, Cost, and then look at Ease of Use. The second column is Cost. The tools are available on a variety of Cost scales: free, $/teacher/year, $/teacher (membership is active until it is no longer used), $/school or site.  We have provided minimal information and recommend that interested teachers and administrators contact the provider directly if there is a question (or to negotiate).

We rate Ease of Use with a 1 -3 rating and note details in our Comments. Our ratings are from three points of view:

• How easy is this tool for the novice teacher to use? Is it at all intimidating?
• How easy is this tool to use by a novice webmaster or Administrator (for a school or district solution)? What is the scale of setup required?
• How easy it is for students and parents to access the information?  We urge potential users to pay attention also to the "student access URL" listed under the site homepage link in the left column.

We subdivide Security into three features:

• Advertisements - Ads enable kids to "click out" of a web page, often into questionable material or form-based pages. Additionally, the educational mission of "free" services is drawn into question by advertisements. Some companies advertise their own services (available for an extra fee) only, which is something that we look upon as questionable practice (but probably good business). We note in our chart the sites that include their own "logo" on teacher-created pages.
• Login - All sites require teacher registration and a password protected login for editing purposes. Except as noted, none requires student or parent registration (please refer to COPPA if you are not up to date on Children's Online Privacy regulations).
• Privacy - Web-based school pages are either "public" (accessible to anyone via a common or accessible URL, a listing or a locator such as zip code & city) or "private" (accessible only to those with a password, distributed URL (the least private), or unique ID). The degree of privacy has implications for content and interactivity. The most secure and private sites and pages are those managed in-house (on the school's own web server).

Table 1: (link opens in pop-up window - click HERE if pop-ups are disabled)

Basic Content for Teacher Use

In the Table 2 below, we list content elements in order of importance, left to right

. Tools are almost identical in offering the first three items, but after that they varied widely in features. We did not evaluate the "look" of the sites, a feature that is subjectively evaluated at best. Only the "on-site" solutions, those requiring an active administrator, can be fully customized to match the look and feel of other publications in the school.

• Templates - Personalization of appearance is important; most services allow for templates to be at least minimally customized. In all cases, templates were "fill-in the blank," making HTML unnecessary. Few sites, however, facilitated "previewing" the page - some, like Scholastic, handled this task poorly. In the overall "ease of use" evaluation, navigation through template menus is a concern.
• Assignments - The primary purpose of these pages is to make daily and long-range assignments available to students and parent 24/7. All tools have this capability.
• Links - If an e-Paper tool is to promote and support the integration of Internet resources (including digital uploads) into the curriculum, it must be possible to link to the pages or files. All tools facilitate this, many providing a separate "link" page. Those tools that support HTML make hyperlinking possible from any text or image field.
• HTML - None of the tools required the teacher/user to hard code HTML. Several, however, made coding optional, allowing teachers to control layout, format text, and insert images and other media stored on website (their own or another). Very few sites included copyright notices; this must be part of training.
• Images - With one exception, sites made it possible for teachers to include images, always through upload from the client computer (not drag and drop). Several provided limited image libraries. Those sites with optional HTML coding allowed for web-based images to be inserted using the <image src ="  "> code. Several sites (Scholastic, SchoolCenter for example) provided the option of an "alt" tag for uploaded files (an accessibility requirement), which could also be used for image citation.
• Documents - The ability to upload digital documents (and media files) is one feature that differentiated the tools. Few supported media files.
• +Pages, +Courses - The ability to create multiple pages and multiple assignment sheets on separate pages is essential for most teachers. Only the minimal services restricted teachers to one page. It should be noted, however, that a few providers require each Class or Course to have its own registration or account. Self-contained classrooms should consider the option of Class rather than Teacher registrations.
• Calendaring - A calendar feature is not essential, but it is a useful communication tool and helpful for parents. Only NiceNet provides and interactive calendar (SchoolCenter promises this).
• Reporting - Only a few services allowed for grade reporting, either for individual projects (although this could always be done on an assignment page) or for home-school assessments. If this feature is important, it is better to invest in an Enterprise Solution, a Student Information System, or a Course Delivery System.
• Extras varied - in general, the more expensive services had more, and better, extras. It is useful to be able to create quizzes and activities from within a web page service, but this is offered by very few of the tools.
• Archive - Archiving refers to a method for maintaining a digital file of teacher and student created materials. Most sites provided for archiving through the creation of MORE content or of file management pages (scrapbook, centralized digital locker or library), but some maintained only a single version of any teacher page or activity. It is, of course, always possible to print web pages and maintain a hard copy file.
• Support - The level of tech support varied. All services provided tutorial instruction and on-site Help menus. A few responded directly to email, but only one provided phone support; few had a 24/7 email link to a support or help desk. The larger-scale solutions provided user manuals and optional training.

Table 2: (link opens in pop-up window - click HERE if pop-ups are disabled)

Interactive Content for Student Use

This is the site element that really sets the free and inexpensive sites apart from the Enterprise Solutions. Few services offered any interactivity, collaboration (synchronous or asynchronous), or opportunities for student input. It should be remembered, however, that student work can be uploaded in most of these tools as images or documents, placing the burden of collection and distribution on the teacher.

• Board - A true Bulletin Board provides threaded discussion of topics (teacher or student generated). In the cases where this is provided, it is a separate web page.
• Chat can be a scary thing for schools, but it also can be a powerful tool for collaboration and for "off hours" Help. The few tools that support chat claim to do so securely and all provide for teacher monitoring.
• Student input - Many tools make it possible for students to interact with the teacher; a few facilitated student-to-student communication. Many tools include a quiz or poll activity; some facilitate student essay posting.
• A Comments feature allows for teachers to "mark" documents and for students to provide each other with feedback. A bulletin board is the closest most of these tools comes to collaboration. This is the major reason for our inclusion of three "bloggers" in this listing below of Additional Tools.

Table 3: (link opens in pop-up window - click HERE if pop-ups are disabled)

Summary and Recommendations

Cutting right to the chase, Least Tern finds that six tools rise to the top in terms of: pricing, ease of use, look, features and security. None of these is perfect. It is important, therefore, that the individual teacher or school/district research each carefully with needs, immediate use, and future needs and use in mind. All but one of these tools are hosted externally, which may be a concern for some users: security, long-range operability and support certainly should be part of a school's decision-making. The option of hiring appropriate tech support and purchasing a powerful server need to be seen as a trade-off.   Our recommendations are:

School/District Solution:

• Think.com - The widest range of features for the least fee (free). The target audience is not High School, however, so those users might be better off with NiceNet or one of the choices that follows this. Schools selecting Think.com are committing to collaboration and technology integration in every classroom and to the movement toward student-centered learning. They are also committing to a full-time site Administrator.
• ClassWebs - This is an inexpensive tool for school or district easy web site creation (can also be used by individual teachers). It earned our highest ease of use rating. Although teacher sites are public, the controlled content mitigates this - sharing is more important than privacy with this tool. We anticipate that it will grow in features.
• SchoolCenter - The one-time setup fee may seem daunting, but the supported services make this tools attractive to a school seeking an easily set-up and future thinking solution. Teachers can use the tools at the lowest level or take advantage of the project-building, blogging, and communication tools. The in-house hosting is an attractive option.
• TeacherWeb - This is an inexpensive tool for school web site activity, communication, and content (can also be used by individual teachers). We have reservations about this product, but their ongoing email support has been impressive. It may meet the needs of Elementary and Middle Schools more than High Schools. It certainly is a reasonable tool for the small school not wishing to host a school website. One caution - it will require in-house support and training - but given the content provided, that should be fun!

  Individual Teacher:

• ClassWebs - We like this tool for the individual teacher as well - it is suitable for the beginner.
• NiceNet - This is a tool for High School and adult learners - it is for serious instruction, where student feedback and response are important and "frills" are not necessary - and it is not suitable for a school or district-wide solution.
• YourHomework - Despite the advertisements for fee-based student services, we find this a quick and easy (and free) way for individual teachers to enter the e-Paper experience. The basic tools are sound and without frills. Some control is provided by the approval process (we, for example, did not get approval for Least Tern Training School).

Additional Recommendations:

Notes: We highly recommend that:

• schools purchase a license to Quia,
• schools invest in professional development centered upon the Collaboration Tools listed below (or other tools),
• schools invest in professional development centered upon the integration of technology across the curriculum, so that assignment sheets, activities, quests and quizzes do not drive the use of technology,
• schools undertake a school-wide evaluation of the Software Toolkit and not assume that teacher-created web pages will spear-head technology integration.

Final Notes:

• Were we located in the UK, or was the exchange rate in our favor, we would recommend Schoolmaster.net Digital Classrooms. This is a powerful tool - one to keep in mind, if only because it (like Think.com) is a tool with a global community of users.
• Blogs - This is one website/page format that schools are just beginning to explore. We believe it is a web form for the future and recommend that schools support and encourage the exploration of curricular blogging
• open source solutions provide Enterprise CMS and CDS solutions controlled in-house. Moodle, Digital Scribe, Manila, Moveable Type, and Manhattan Virtual Classroom, for example, will require a server and an administrator but also provide a school with: full control of security, content and look, a chance to involve students in the design and administration process.

Other Tools:

Additional Web Page Pools - Free and inexpensive

bloggers - some .html ability is needed if you want to improve the appearance or add images or a mailto: function - there are links to nice examples, though - best with a high bandwidth connection - your homework can be your daily entry - free hosting, many templates - you have to live with an ad on the top, but you get a chat room, calendar, commenting, multiple blogs, help, more - your homework can be your daily entry - blogs can be private or public - for more information, go to Blogs (and RSS just above it).

• Blogdrive
• Blogger.com
• MoveableType - a weblog website tool free to educators - requires a web server and in-house administration/support - see at MoveableType school site: Buckman Arts Magnet Elementary School.

  teacher web pages

• HomeworkStation - from WaveSide -  free - This solution was available for only 1 of 4 visits to the site; although it is a possibility, it was not reliable enough to be included on this listing.
• .Mac - This is Apple's Macintosh user space, which used to be free but now costs $99/year. Registration and payment allows Macintosh users to take advantage of web page uploading (including templates), file and image sharing (now iDisk has a Windows XP utility), address and bookmark sharing, and a calendar. Quite an attractive package for a Grade Level Team or a OS X using teacher who wishes to post pages independently.
• Schoolzone (UK only) - This is a powerful free tool available to UK teachers only.
• Teachers.Net Homepage Maker - Generates complete .html for a 1-page web page, that would need to be hosted on a web server - teacher-to-teacher chat and discussion boards are available on the site.
• open source solutions are now readily available - once installed correctly administered, they can make teacher-created web pages a snap

  Enterprise solutions (a large-scale solution for schools and districts)

• Contribute ( $72.95 single, $999-$1499 site) - This is a software solution - students, teachers and administrators install client software on local & home machines - requires a web administrator to set passwords, permissions, create folders, etc. - best use requires templates provided by administrator/webmaster who can contain all of the above and more. Teacher/student interface, following easy access via web, is to web sites or site templates. This is definitely a solution for schools that can afford both the application and time for the training and additional in-house staff.
• eChalk (call for pricing) - The company works with the school to create a large-scale web presence for communication and instruction - special features in include virus protection, message filtering, back-up of site, digital lockers for students
• First Class - support media files, collaboration with other FC using schools, training is available - this is one feature of an enterprise e-male and file management system - special features include chat, audio recording, and managed private and public conferences
• SchoolNet (call for pricing) -  This is a large-scale solution for districts. It integrates with existing solutions, both in house and online, for reporting and grading features - promotes administrative access to teacher lesson plans for assessment purposes - provides lesson and resources banks for teachers
• Schoolworksite.com- ($1,200-$9,900/site) - reviewed: http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=17602663&pgno=3
• Windows SharePoint - Self-Service Site Creation - an in-house option for schools that wish to beef up web tools for collaboration as well as content distribution - read an article about its use at Oregon Episcopal School.

  Specialized Tools - Select list of the best free specialized tools for teachers to use for communication and instruction

  polls, surveys

• Center for History & New Media - free registration gives you access to a poll tool and a survey tool (hosted online)
• Freebok - free hosting of guest books, polls, forums, discussion groups - very small advertisements
• Poll Builder - creates code for a poll - you add it to your web page

  discussion boards

• Quick Topic - we like this one - free
• ezboard - also free

  calendars

• Assign-a-Day - free assignment calendar for posting assignments and announcements
• Yahoo Groups - registering provides you with a calendar, chat, discussion board, polls, file uploading, photo album, e-mail and mailing list - it will also provide you with a lot of spam and your students with access to some highly inappropriate lists
• MyCalendars.net - free calendar, others can be invited to input, edit, view

  Collaboration Tools - Here is a short list of the best free web-based tools for general k-12 collaboration and inquiry-based activities. We provide a longer listing of tools at Who's On First: Collaboration.

• Intel Education: Interactive Thinking Tools - visual tools for students and teachers, with registration: idea ranking and digital mapping tools (relating ideas) - quite a bit of support for the teacher - examples and tutorials
• Filamentality - remains the best tool for creating web quests, hunts and other activities - hosts for free for at least a year
• NoteStar - free tool that enables teachers to track PLB activities - part of the TrackStar suite of tools - assists with student note-taking and group communication
• Ribit - from TIELabs, a tool for creating inquiry-based activities (that should be primary source based) - search the archive of created projects or make your own
• TrackStar - organize web links into lessons with this FREE tool - you can also search the large archive of completed lessons

 

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E. Sky-McIlvain 3/19/04