managing ict managing ict
Your online options
Colin Hussey
discusses the
processes
and pitfalls of
designing a website and the
options available to schools
he world wide web may well be
T
a few years your junior – it is a mere
spring chicken at just 18-years-old
– but in that relatively short time it has
revolutionised the way we work, live
and communicate.
whether Tim Berners lee knew
back in 1990 what a revolutionary invention he
had created is unclear. however, it has grown so
exponentially that today no-one quite knows just how
huge it really is.
This morning, as soon as I arrived at the office,
I opened up windows explorer, browsed the news
headlines, checked the weather in fact, by lunchtime I
will have most probably visited Google over a dozen
times. Using the internet has become an innate part of you can then start to look at features such as buttons, Virtual tours are also popular and many schools from opening, bandwidth traffic to our servers went
working life – how did we survive without it 20 years blogs and videos. You can choose to incorporate 3d have these on their sites for prospective students and up by 500 per cent! websites really are making an
ago? It seems hard to comprehend. websites are quite shapes, podcasts, web animations, order forms, and parents to have a look at. Vyners School in hillingdon instrumental difference to school life.” SecEd
simply one of the most important communication and polls, depending on your school’s preferences. has an impressive array of virtual tours on its website
marketing tools a company, or in this case, a school The website can be linked to the school’s learning which gives the viewer a realistic true-to-life experience • Colin Hussey is educational business manager of
can have. platform, or contain a link to the school intranet or of being right there in the classroom. Serif, which produces web design software for schools.
with an increasing number of parents and teachers extranet. A good example of a school which designed
using the internet, it is important for schools to make and developed its own website is Garstang high School
Conclusion Further information
the most of their online space. So – just why do (see further information). whether you choose to go it alone or enlist help, • www.garstanghigh.com
secondary schools need a good website, and how do a successful school website can bring a wealth of • www.bushfield.co.uk
they go about getting one?
The design company option
benefits. • www.thegreenschool.net
If you decide that building the site yourself is too Mr roach gives a great example of this: “In • www.stjohnplessington.com
Hub of the school community
daunting a task, you can enlist a web design company February, when the heavy snow stopped many schools • www.vyners.hillingdon.sch.uk
A website can act as a school’s “mouthpiece” for to do it for you. This may take away ownership and
existing parents, potential parents, students, teachers, increase cost substantially; however, if the budget
school governors, general staff, and extended school allows, and if you choose wisely, you can at least
communities. rest assured that the site is taken care of by qualified
In terms of the development of a website, there are professionals.
two options – producing the website yourselves, or Top tips when sourcing a web design company
paying a design company to do it for you. include asking the following questions:
depending on the school’s circumstances, questions • Is the company financially secure?
such as who will build the site, who will maintain • how long has it been trading?
it, and what will it include all have to be taken into • what is its qualifications?
consideration. These may sound a little extreme, but if you are
John roach, managing director of e4education, purchasing a management system to maintain your
website designers and providers of web-based content school’s website then you have to be confident that they
management systems, believes that when making a will still exist in the near future.
choice on who will build the site, it is important to have web standards and accessibility are important
More Choice. More Opportunity
a long-term view on who will carry out the ongoing factors to mention, and your design company should
development, maintenance and support. be able to handle this for you. A legal requirement
he said: “one option is for a student, teacher or since 1999, this involves making sure your website is
other member of staff to take responsibility. This can accessible to people with disabilities, as well as those
keep costs down and means that total ownership of the using slow, dial-up connections or newer technologies
Here in Hertfordshire, we are home to an
website is held within the school. By using some of the such as mobiles and personal digital assistants.
web-designing software around you can end up with designers can ensure your website is constructed
a personal, professional-looking website, at a fraction in an accessible way, making sure you reach the
exceptional range of schools - from small
of the cost. widest audience possible as well as saving costs in
“however, some issues you have to consider are development and maintenance.
village primaries to large secondaries.
cover during sickness or absence, whether if the what is important is that you start the whole
person leaves the school someone else will have the process by holding a team meeting in school, to discuss
background knowledge to take control, and whether exactly what your objectives are, and which teachers We also offer superb induction and CPD.
they grasp web standards and new technology.” or individuals will be responsible for updating specific
areas. The clearer your objectives, the more successful
Going it alone
the website will be.
Within this very supportive environment,
web design software should provide you with templates
to build upon and a help manual to guide you through
Getting creative
you will have every opportunity to
the processes. Choosing and customising a web websites can provide solutions to various problems in
template makes things simple, or alternatively you can schools – for example, handling fees for school trips
start from scratch. can be made easier as parents can pay online if that establish and develop your career.
If you are already comfortable with the basics of feature is added to the site.
desktop publishing you should find revising text and In fact, a number of schools around the country
graphics, adjusting the design of each page, and laying have been using their websites in useful and creative
out page elements quite easy. If you are a complete ways. For example, Bushfield Community College in For more information about opportunities in
beginner, you can learn to use the tools in the software Peterborough runs a television station on its website
as you go. As you create the pages of the website, – over the past year, its students have been using Hertfordshire Schools, log on and apply at
you can preview them and save them as a multi-page the school’s extensive media facilities to film and
document, which can then be published as a separate produce a “virtual assembly”. This is a great example
set of pages. of how students can play an active role in the school’s
www.teachinherts.com
To publish to a local folder, you do not even need a website.
connection to the internet. To publish to the web, you Another example is The Green School in Isleworth,
will need a host for your website – that is, disk space who, inspired by the BBC, decided that it wanted a
Tel: 01438 844871
on a server connected to the internet – so that others website which was personal to the individual visitor.
can access your site. This usually means opening an The site now allows visitors to personalise the homepage Email: teachinherts.hdc@hertscc.gov.uk
account with an online service provider. and includes local weather updates and video extracts.
Try not to set expectations too high design-wise Video can be uploaded onto the school website in a
Hertfordshire is committed to the protection and safety of children and young people.
– it will be a lot easier if you stick to the fonts and variety of ways, but one school in particular has found
graphics available in your software program. A clearer a unique way of doing it.
structure means the website is easier to navigate when St John Plessington Catholic College in wirral has
it is published. a stylish video showcase where students can upload
once you have set out layout and decided on fonts, content which is then streamed like YouTube.
SecEd • may 7 2009 11
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