Tech Directions - March 2008 - (Page 27)

School Web Site of the Month F OR several months, Tech Directions has featured the winners of our School Web Site of the Month competition at www.techdirections. com. Starting with this issue, we have expanded our coverage to provide some information on each site’s development. And the winner is . . . www. onalaska.k12.wi.us/building/hs/ index.html. This student site was created and is maintained by Andrew Sahlstrom, a student of Jason Ludwigson, technology and engineering teacher at Onalaska (WI) High School (OHS). (See the Technology and Engineering Department’s home page at www.onalaska.k12.wi. us/ building/hs/departments/tech.htm.) We interviewed Andrew about his experience as a Web creator and share the results of that interview here. When asked how he came up with the concept for the OHS Student Web site, Andrew replied, “I got ideas from other school Web sites and incorporated those ideas and my own ideas for the site.” In terms of the technology he has used, Andrew said that he makes use of many different programs, including Dreamweaver for creation of the site and Fireworks for picture editing and navigation design. For more in-depth picture editing, he also uses Photoshop. Generating content for a Web site is always an ongoing concern. Andrew said that he sends school-wide e-mail messages to all OHS teachers, inform- ing them about the Web site and keeping them updated on his progress. “I also ask for any input, updates, or other information that they would like to see on the Web site.” Andrew has an independent study Web design class everyday that he uses to keep the site as up to date as possible. He also spends a lot of afterschool time working on it. When asked what problem-solving strategies he has used in designing and maintaining the site, he said, “I look for the origin between the time I took the class and the present, there’s been a lot of experimenting,” he added. During the first semester of the Web site’s operation, last fall, Andrew was the only person working on it. In the second semester, two classmates, James Pauer and Jerry Rank, have joined him as coWebmasters. When asked how he and others benefit from having the Web site, Andrew replied, “The Web site gives students and parents access to information about what is going on at school. It gives teachers the opportunity to post information for their classes so students can access it easily. Some teachers have links to other sites for studying purposes. The whole world is becoming more and more technological, so having OHS’s Technology and Engineering Student Projects Web page this Web site helps to fit in with the rest of the world and make it that much easier for teachers and students alike to gather the information that they need.” Congratulations to Jason Ludwigson and his students for having created an excellent Web site! Andrew Sahlstrom and his instructor, Jason Ludwigson of the problem and try to find a solution. I spend a lot of time reading manuals and looking up information on how to make Web sites better and easier to navigate through.” He also took a college-level Web design class a couple years ago. “In If you would like enter your school’s Web site in the competition, send your site address to: vanessa@ techdirections.com. www.techdirections.com SCHOOL WEB SITE OF THE MONTH 27 http://www.techdirections.com http://www.techdirections.com http://www.onalaska.k12.wi.us/building/hs/index.html http://www.onalaska.k12.wi.us/building/hs/index.html http://www.onalaska.k12.wi.us/building/hs/index.html http://www.onalaska.k12.wi.us/building/hs/index.html http://www.onalaska.k12.wi.us/building/hs/index.html http://www.techdirections.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Directions - March 2008

Tech Directions - March 2008 Technically Speaking Contents Direct from Washington The News Report Technology’s Past Technology Today Mastering Computers HDTV—Understanding the New, Dealing with the Old Technical Studies Lead to Dream Career Fill and Fund Your CAD Classroom with These Exciting Strategies STEM Progress in Katrina’s Wake School Web Site of the Month Spring Spotlight More than Fun

Tech Directions - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.