Time to check in again.....official posting #2

"IT TAKES A COMMUNITY TO RAISE A CHILD....EVEN AN ONLINE ONE"

Ok, so my classroom website is pretty much setup the way I want it to be. There are just a few more things that I would like to add, but I think these changes can wait until the Christmas Holidays when I'll have more time on my hands.

So what have I done so far and what is the purpose of all the stuff on my site?

Page 1 - The welcome page: why talk about this page, right? Well I thought it would be important to mention that if you want people to really check out your site, put very little info on the initial page. I treat this page as my title page with an abstract for an essay. I recommend that you give just enough info to tease the mind of the user. The page has a welcome message, the school address and my contact info, and a picture of the school. I am thinking about adding music to it....perhaps an instrumental version of "Crank that" by Soulja Boy....I'm sure that will attract the kids' attention 'cause it's the 'IT' song of the year. What has stopped me from adding music to my site is that I personally hate going to sites that have music....especially ones where you cannot shut the thing off. I think that if I add music, I will have to add a feature that allows the user to turn the music off.

Page 2 - LFI & Curriculum page: Here I wanted to make sure that parents had access to info about the program and what is being taught. One major problem in French Immersion is that parents don't know what to expect from the program as far as the process that a student goes through in a second language acquisition environment. On this page I have copied and pasted (and cited of course) information from Canadian Parents for French. The document that is posted talks about the Late French Immersion program (what it is, how the child will progress, etc...). While the CPF is a National organization with Provincial affiliates, it seems that very few parents are aware this little gem of an organization exists. The CPF is a support unit that has tons of good info about the French Immersion program.

The other piece of info listed on that page are the IRPs for the Late Immersion Program. I don't know how useful this document will be as it is only available in French. I put it there anyway because I wanted to show that LFI teachers do have a curriculum to follow. I am thinking about changing the title of this page to "Late French Immersion", as I also want to add research articles about the program.

page 3: About me: I really don't have issues with people knowing who I am which is why I have added this page. I am aware this is a hot topic, but my view is that people feel a connection when they see you as a human being. When I see students outside school hours in a mall or some other public location, I want them to feel comfortable enough to say hello and to talk to me as if I were their neighbour and not a stranger. I don't want them or their parents to feel that I am an unaccessible person. I am part of the community just like anyone else. Of course, my private life is my private life and I don't need to tell the kids and their parents my whole life story, but I think a glimpse or snippet of my life won't hurt. I believe it is important that people know who they are dealing with. On this page, I talk about my education and professional goals. I also talk a bit about myself, my family and my travels. I try to give my students and parents a glimpse of my personality (sense of humour). I plan on adding some pictures of my family....and my students have requested that I add a video of me doing the "Crank That" dance. I'll think hard and long on that request.

page 4: BLOG: I have always been an advocate of communication between the home and the school. In the past, I used to send hard copies of newsletters and I would do so on a monthly basis. On some months I felt I had very little to say and so my newsletters looked pretty drab. If there is something I'm totally pumped and grateful about on my website is this feature. Because of the BLOG, I no longer send monthly updates home. Instead, I post whatever comes to mind here and I don't have to wait a whole month before it is sent home. A blog is like having a continuous conversation. If I have something to say, I say it right away. As I am getting older, I tend to forget things. Having a BLOG feature on my site helps me with getting the info out there immediately. In the past, I would always forget to put stuff in my monthly newsletters and getting upset over it.....a BLOG has solved this problem. If I forget to say something today, I can always post it tomorrow.

page 5 & 6: PODCAST: I am truly proud of this page. Finally, there's a way to show parents concrete evidence of their children's progress in a second language environment. The PODCAST page is meant to showcase students' oral abilities. Currently, I only have podcasts of Div 4 & Div 5 singing some songs. My plan is to post individual podcasts of students reading (that's what I teach). Of course, since I do not have my site password protected, I cannot upload individual audio files yet. However, I think I may have figured out a way to get around the privacy issued by concealing the students' identity by using a numbering system. My plans for this site include posting audio/visual files. I'm also thinking of changing the name of this page to something more original. Any ideas out there?

page 7: NAPOLEON AUDIO FILES: The Napoleon series contains 12 booklets of the life story of a cat living in France. The booklets are easy readers and are used at the grade 6 LFI level (also useful for grades k- 2 EFI). Each book focuses on a grammar aspect and the level of difficulty is graduated. I have posted a recording of my voice reading each story as to provide a model. This is the only feature where I've had direct comments made to me by parents. All I can say is THEY LOVE IT! One major complaint I hear from French Immersion parents is that they don't understand French and because of that they fear they cannot help out with homework. By listening to my voice, parents can compare how well their children are doing. Parents don't need to understand the stories....all they need to know is differentiate sounds....something they can easily do. As far as changes to this page, well, I'm looking at adding a short lesson on the grammar aspect that each booklet introduces.

page 8 & 9: EDUCATIONAL WEBLINKS 1 & 2: A few years ago when I decided to use a classroom website as a means to communicate with students and parents, I always felt that it was necessary to add links to other sites that would be useful and educational. Since computers and the Internet are a way of life and that kids use them on a regular basis, I figured I would tap into this worldwide phenom and provide something authentic...something the kids could use all the time. The sites that I have found are either educational resources or games with an educational focus. My links are also organized by subject. Of all the pages I have on my website, these are the 2 pages that I want to see if they are being used. Starting Janaury, I will require students to keep a log/journal of the sites they visit and I will ask the students to write a brief summary of the things they have done on the site. Hopefully, I will be able to collect meaningful data on the usage of these pages.

page 10 & 11: Calendar & Homework/classroom page: the entire school year calendar is posted and I add a few items/events as they come up. As far as the purpose of the homework page, well that is quite simple and a given.....it serves as a secondary planner. It is, as I call it, the 'no excuse' page of my site. I know for a fact that all my students have access to a computer and the Internet. Students are told that if they forget their planners, they are to check the website for info on work to be done. This page used to be by far the one that I had to update on a regular basis. I found it difficult to keep the page updated on a daily basis therefore this year I decided to indicate what was expected from them on a weekly basis. I am contemplating posting bi-weekly info...perhaps starting next year (i.e. what needs to be done one week, and what is upcoming the following week.

So there you have it....my classroom website. Everything that is there serves a purpose. Now what I need to do is find out if people are using the info in a meaningful way. I will try to collect data starting January and report on my findings asap.

I don't think I will be posting a blog again until the new year (but then again who knows....when you're having fun, anything can happen). In that case, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Cheers!

Louise Jenkins
Grade 6 & 7 Late French Immersion
Chief Dan George Middle School
http://frenchaudio.net/ljenkins/Welcome.html