Class 1-B More about this site

I have several purposes for this web site.

First, I hope it broadens the avenue of communication between home and school.
I realize some families can not come into school as often as they would like.
Through this web site, however, they can see some of the work
from our class whenever they would like.  Of course, nothing would be better
than seeing the work in person, and I encourage families to come in
and view the actual work. On the other hand, some of the work on this web site
cannot be viewed in person.
For example, a block construction doesn't last very long in first grade!

Second, I am interested in whether or not this web site
broadens the student's sense of audience. We have regular sessions in class
when the students share their work and receive
questions or comments from their classmates.
This process is invaluable for the student's development.
I wonder if the questions or comments the student's receive
from outside the classroom through this web site enhance their development?
I also think it's interesting to notice how the questions or comments
change over time. At first, students usually get comments
relating about how "great" it was for someone to see the work.
Then the comments usually evolve to have more information
about the specific work and  sometimes prompts for the student to write back.

Lastly, my purpose is not really to teach the students about technology.
I do all the work in setting up the web site, although the students
dictate the "student's description" of the work to me.
Some students do enter the text themselves and
some do digitize images of the work using a digital camera or scanner.
But, for the most part, there is a limited amount of time
in the school day and I think their time is much better used at this age
actually creating the works that you see on this web site.

I have also considered the design of the web site.
I kept it simple with white backgrounds, black text, and a consistent layout.
In this way I hope the student's work stands out.

If you have any questions or comments about this web site
email Gordon Brune at brune@mamkschools.org

Back to Class 1-B's work.