The Benefits of Creating a Class Website

While many teachers wish to incorporate technology into their classrooms, relatively few take the first step of creating a website. However, creating a class website can be beneficial for both students and educators. In this article, I will describe some of the numerous advantages of creating a class website.

The first advantage of creating a teaching website is that the site can help to organize the classroom. Class websites offer a place for educators to post announcements, syllabi and course calendars, and assignments and answer keys. Of course, there are numerous other organizational advantages to creating a class website, but these are a few common uses.

Another advantage of class websites is that they can serve as a form of insurance. For example, many students will claim that they did not know that an assignment was due, or that they lost the instructions for an assignment. If such information and instructions are available online, there should be little to no excuse for a student to claim ignorance or misfortune. Conversely, a class website allows students some insurance as well, should they lose an important document or miss an announcement given in class.

A class website can also serve as a way to discuss material, either in a mandatory fashion or in a way that interested students can further explore a given topic. Students might feel more comfortable asking questions or showing interest in a subject in a less personal forum. In addition, great amounts of supplementary material can be provided on a class website, touching on subjects that class time alone would not permit.

Finally, a class website can be a great way to get feedback from students. Allowing students to give anonymous feedback on teaching methods and assignments can be extremely beneficial, especially for newer educators.
Ultimately, making a class website shows initiative on the part of a teacher. Students will respect that additional effort has been made for them, and school administrators will see the effort as well. As technology becomes an integral part of students' lives, it is important to present information in a relevant fashion. Creating a class website does this, and can also make the life of an educator substantially easier. It's a win-win situation.

Have thoughts of your own on creating class websites? Feel free to share them in the comments below. Thank you for reading!