website - comments, critiques....

[MikeB]

G'day all,

Well, I've got 90% of the website I'm creating for my students completed.

Was tough going in a sense and ended up using iWeb to do the coding part (first and last time I made a website, was 1996). Needless to say, I'm learning and have got a long way to go yet. The website is far from being what I imagined it would be initially, but at least it's up and running.

I'd very much appreciate the thoughts/opinions of other teachers, be it on aesthetics, practicality, ease of use, etc, etc.

Here's the URL ....thanks in advance.
http://mikesclass.ca

[Brimir]

Your website looks great! Very nicely done. I especially like the "notes to self"! Your students/parents are very fortunate.
:)

[javamomma]

I think it looks great.
:)

[fireboat]

Impressive layout. Good navigation.

I like it!

[Roswenth]

That looks great! Very sharp and distinctive!

[Mr. Larrabee]

I am very impressed with your site. You sure it's been since 1996?

I only wish I could make something that looked that good.

[MikeB]

Hey folks,

Thanks for taking the time to visit my site. I actually got most of it completed this past Tuesday.

I really appreciate your positive comments - although a some constructive criticism would have been okay too! No holds barred is fine by me - so should any of you have disliked it and didn't respond (being polite, positive teachers no doubt) feel free to do so!

Thanks again. Oh, and Ben, very little credit goes to me. I used a template based program and next to no html programming. BTW, I like your title: Academic Team Head Coach. :-)

Cheers,

[LindaS]

First off, I'm not a teacher, but I've taken a couple of web design classes and have created several sites. Yours is well designed, but I do one small suggestion, if I may.

One thing that's been emphasized in class is to use italics very sparingly and only for emphasis, particularly with a small font.

Please don't shoot the messenger. :-)

LindaS

[kcaise]

Site looks great Mike! On the homework page, it looks like 'interesting' is misspelled.

Do most of your students have computers and internet access at home? Majority of the students at my school do not have computers and internet access at home. Having access to your site would be a great plus for parents and students.

[MikeB]

LindaS:
How dare you! I slave and toil and all you got to say..... :-) Kidding. Actually, I thank you very much for your comments. I've got a small list of things to change, Italics are one of them. Seems that with the program I use, any regular font that I italicize, actually changes from text to a graphic. So it makes it that much longer for visitors to view the pages. I sure am learning a lot doing this! I really appreciate your feedback - THANKS! Anything else?

Kcaise: Oddly enough, I teach a cohort that includes some of the poorest/most disadvantaged kids in the province. Yet, a governemnt program to get the province "on-line" offered people a way to get cheap computers and internet access. So, as it stands, at least 70% of our students have a pc/internet at home (or so they say when I ask them in class - I wonder if some aren't just saying yep, to not give away their desperate situations.....

Yep, I actually had two spelling mistakes on that page, which I noticed tonight. I've got a two year old at home and I've had about 4 hours of sleep per night for the past 14 months. Yep, it's cowardly to lay the blame at her tiny feet, but what can I say. I'm often most bleary-eyed when in-front of the screen.

Thanks for letting me know.

Cheers,
Mike B.