ICT – Creating a History Department Website Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference
October, 2012
1 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
Introduction
You don’t have to be an IT expert to build a subject department website!
Key Questions
• What are the benefits?
• What skills do I need?
• What are the features of a good subject website?
• What tools are required to build website?
• Who will host website?
• What are the basic steps to publishing a Weebly website?
• What content can be included?
What are the benefits?
• Promotes history in a time of uncertainty
• Improves student motivation – ‘awe factor’
• Student work can be displayed digitally
• Forum for collaboration [Blogging, Twitter]
• Great resource for new/student teachers
• Teacher motivation – sense of professional development
• Learning objectives are extended beyond classroom
• Acts as a hub for relevant, subject specific content
• It’s fun!
What skills do I need?
As long as you are comfortable using an internet browser, basic computer skills are all that is
required (saving, editing, opening and closing files).
2 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
What are the features of a good subject website?
Appearance
• Good use of colour
• Text that is easily read
• Quality photographs
• Keep simple – avoid clutter
Usability
• Minimal scroll
• Consistent layout
• Prominent, logical navigation
Content
• Visitors are looking for substance
• Should be informative, relevant
• Result – student confidence in your knowledge and competence
Functionality
• Everything should work as expected – hyperlinks, contact forms etc...
• Error-free copy – facts and figures/spelling grammar
What tools are required to build website?
Essential
• Desktop/Laptop with internet access
• Web Browser e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer / Google Chrome/Firefox
Optional
• Digital Camera
• Scanner
• Smart Phone [I-Phone or Android]
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• I-pad
Who will host website?
• Wordpress
• Blogspot
• Tumblr
• Weebly
Step by Step Guide to Creating a Free Subject Website Using Weebly
Step 1: Go to Weebly and Sign Up
Type http://education.weebly.com into your internet browser [Firefox or Google Chrome work
best]. Go to ‘Get Started Now’ and type a user name, password and your e-mail address. Accept the
terms. Click ‘Sign Up’.
Step 2: Get Started
First, you will be asked to fill out an information form. You may enter your name, school name and
your country. There will be an option to skip this step if you wish. You will then be presented with
three options (see below). Choose ‘Create a Website’.
Step 3: Site Title
Then you will be asked to create a title for your new site eg. St. Mary’s History Department. This can
be changed later if required. Click ‘Continue’ to progress.
4 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
Step 4: Choose Website Domain
You will be asked to choose a website address. This will be a free subdomain of weebly eg.
http://historymatters365.weebly.com (If you wish to register a new domain, this will involve a cost).
Keep trying until weebly indicates that your proposed address is available. This is the address you
will give to people so that they can find your site. Click ‘Continue’ to progress.
Step 5: Website Builder [Weebly Editor]
You will be presented with a series of tabs on the top of your website builder:
Elements_Design_Pages_Editors_Settings
The first tab ‘Elements’ is where you will find the content you want to enter into your
website. Basic elements include multiple columns, paragraph, picture, paragraph with
picture, title etc... Multimedia elements include Youtube clips, files [word documents, pdf or
powerpoint presentations] and an audio player. Other elements include RSS Feed Reader,
Contact Form, Student Submission Form and much more.
5 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
The second tab you will see is ‘Designs’. This is where you will select the layout for your
website. You will be presentated with a wide choice of layouts.The layout you choose can be
changed at any time.
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Another tab is ‘Pages’. You can go here to add the different pages for your website such as
Home Page, Contact Page, First Year History etc...
Step 6: Add a Page
Click ‘New Page’. Give your page a title. Click ‘Save’. You can add as many pages as you wish. Pages
can be edited, deleted or moved around at any time. The ‘Pages’ tab can also be used to add a blog
to your website.
Step 7: Add Content
Once a page has been created, you can now begin adding content to that page. I would recommend
starting with basic elements. Remember, almost everything involves drag n’ drop. I suggest the
following to get you started:
Select the Home Page.
Drag n’ drop the title element onto your page. Type your page title eg. Welcome to
the History Department Wesite of St. Mary’s.
Drag n’ drop the column divider onto your page for ease of layout.
Now, try dragging the picture element onto your left column and the paragraph
element onto your right column.
To add a picture simply double click on the picture element and upload from your
files. The picture can be resized by dragging the corners.
Click on the paragraph element on the right column so that you can start adding
text. Here you could enter an informative paragraph about your website. As you
begin typing you should notice that you have access to a quick html editor which you
can use to change the colour, size, font of your text.
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Step 8: Publish Site
You now need to preview your site. Click on the orange button ‘Publish’ on the top right of your
tabs.
The following message will appear: ‘Website published’. You will be encouraged to register a
domain. This involves a cost. There is no need. You can remain a subdomain of weebly at no cost.
Simply ignore.
Click on the website address to see your site live: http://stmaryshistorydepartment.weebly.com .
Your site will open on a new web page.
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Well done! You have now created a subject department website.
Step 9: Add More Content
You now need to return to your Weebly Editor and add more content to your website. Add a second
page and/or start a blog.
A mixture of time, creativity, trial and error, persistance and a love of history are the key traits you
will need to build a great history department website!
Step 10: Share
No-one should be working in a vacum. Share your subject website with fellow history teachers.
9 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
What content can be included?
• Text
• Pictures
• Photo Galleries
• Slideshows
• Video
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• Youtube Clips
• Powerpoint Presentations
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• Word Documents
• Audio Files
• Hyperlinks
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Glossary of Terms
Domain Name - A domain name is a unique name that identifies a website. Each website has a
domain name that serves as an address, which is used to access the website. Whenever you visit a
website, the domain name appears in the address bar of the web browser. Some domain names are
preceded by "www" (which is not part of the domain name), while others omit the "www" prefix. All
domain names have a domain suffix, such as .com, .net, or .org.
Drag and Drop - Using the mouse to grab and move objects such as graphics and blocks of text from one location to another on the computer is known as drag and drop. To drag and drop an object, put your mouse (or graphics pen) pointer on the object then left click and hold the mouse button while dragging the object across the desktop to where you want it to go. To drop it, release the button. At its simplest, drag and drop is how you move icons around on your desktop or how you grab a text block at the top of a page layout and move it to the bottom of the page.
Hyperlink - A hyperlink is a word, phrase, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document
or a new section within the current document. Hyperlinks are found in nearly all Web pages,
allowing users to click their way from page to page. Text hyperlinks are often blue and underlined,
but don't have to be. When you move the cursor over a hyperlink, whether it is text or an image, the
arrow should change to a small hand pointing at the link. When you click it, a new page or place in
the current page will open.
Navigation Bar - A navigation bar is a user interface element within a webpage that contains links to other sections of the website. In most cases, the navigation bar is part of the main website template, which means it is displayed on most, if not all, pages within the website. This means that no matter what page you are viewing, you can use the navigation bar to visit other sections of the website. A website navigation bar is most commonly displayed as horizontal list of links at the top of each page. It may be below the header or logo, but it is always placed before the main content of the page.
Twitter - Twitter is an online service that allows you to share updates with other users by answering one simple question: "What are you doing?". In order to use Twitter, you must first sign up for a free account. Once you have created your account, you can post your own updates and view the updates others have posted. You can search for people to follow or you can let Twitter select random users. Once you have selected a number of users, their most recent posts, or "tweets," will show up on your Twitter home page. Likewise, your own latest tweets will show up on the home pages of people who have decided to follow you. Twitter limits each tweet to 140 characters, which means there is no room for rambling.
Upload - While downloading is receiving a file from another computer, uploading is the exact opposite. It is sending a file from your computer to another system.
Web Host - In order to publish a website online, you need a Web host. The Web host stores all the pages of your website and makes them available to computers connected to the Internet.
For a comprehensive list of terms associated with ICT - http://www.techterms.com
13 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
Useful Links
History Matters
http://www.historymatters365.com/index.html
An example of a history department website created using Weebly. The site is visually attractive,
subject specific, interactive and jam packed with resources. It contains seperate sections for junior
and senior history. The site includes a Leaving Cert Blog as well as a linked twitter account. The site is
always under construction.
Weebly
http://education.weebly.com/
Recommended web host. The key feature is a simple to use drag n’ drop website builder.
Weebly Support
http://help.weebly.com/
This link will bring you to the Weebly Support page where the most frequently asked questions are
answered. These include: How do I change my site’s address? How can I invite other people to help
edit my site? The page can also be used to send direct questions to Weebly Support should you have
any problems. Toggle the categories on the left for detailed user instructions on various aspects of
Weebly including blogging and forms.
Weebly Video Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/user/DivTagTemplate/featured
Excellent video tutorials on all aspects of using Weebly. For example, learn how to create a blog or
add slideshows to your website.
NCTE
http://www.ncte.ie/
National Centre for Technology in Education – The role of the NCTE is to promote and support the
integration of ICT in education. They provide online courses for teachers on Web 2.0 technologies
such as blogging, podcasting and the use of Wikis.
NCTE Advice Sheets
http://www.ncte.ie/ICTAdviceSupport/AdviceSheets/
NCTE advice sheets on a range of areas relevant to ICT in education including scanners, digital
cameras and blogs.
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com
14 © Christian O’Connor, HTAI Conference, Oct. 2012
Video sharing website jam packed with clips relevant to the history classroom. Try embedding clips
from youtube into your website!
Google Images
http://images.google.com
One stop shop for sourcing images for your website.
Wordpress
http://wordpress.com/
Simple to use web host. Very good alternative to Weebly.
Tumblr
https://www.tumblr.com/
Another great alternative to Weebly. Perfect for hosting a subject website.
Contact
E-Mail: [email protected]
Twitter : https://twitter.com/His_Matters
Website contact form : http://www.historymatters365.com/contact.html