Assuming that upgrading her home internet is not an option, Lenora should first be tapping into the Cradleboard network of educators along with anyone in her local area who could support her in her learning about website creation. Obviously, she could also do an internet search and tinker with web tools herself, but from the information presented in the case, it generally sounds like Lenora’s technology skills are not strong. Having a weak internet connection would only exacerbate any frustrations that would already occur in this process.
That being said, a website is still a good idea because it provides a resource not only for their own First Nations education community but also for communities who may be in need of similar resources elsewhere. Looking at how the website is being built, the content that would reside on it, and who would put together that content could be a major strategic move for Lenora in her initiation of this project. If I was advising a specific tool for a beginner, I’d suggest a template-based web platform like Weebly that is free, provides in-app tutorials/videos, customer support, and a simple drag and drop user interface for web design.
In addition to learning a thing or two about website design and creation, the Cradleboard network and local educators could also support her by creating content for the site, as “many had stories to share about the bullying in their band schools.” This would not only bring more culturally relevant lenses to light, but would lighten Lenora’s workload in the project (and offset some of the dial-up internet woes, too). Even if the additional authors didn’t have the technological skills to add it to the site, Lenora could do the uploading at home, a page at a time, and would at least be eased of the task of creating some of the content.
Lenora could also attempt to see if her own district would support her in the development of the website project. I have seen teachers who head worthwhile professional development projects be provided with release time from the classroom in order to fully develop and hone them. Support from administration and district leadership in these scenarios may be present; all she has to do is ask. This would allow her to work more quickly and efficiently with access to the broadband network at her school.
Depending on the amount of time she can save herself through in-district or network-based collaborative resources, I would estimate that this website would take at least 3-4 months to build, but this could vary based on her internet speed. This estimation is made with a consideration that she already knows what she generally wants to include on the website. If she’s still in the process of curating sources, I’d say 4-6 months minimum.
Very nice, thorough analysis again, Victoria. I immediately thought of Weebly too, to overcome her lack of training. Another possibility would be to do a blog, rather than a website, like our WordPress blog. By keeping the content mostly or entirely text-based, it wouldn’t eat up as much bandwidth in Lenora’s limited dial-up connection. A blog might take much less time too; she could post something, and then, as you suggested, invite her Cradleboard network of educators to contribute. There might be a section where students contribute too, and because it’s about bullying, anonymity would have to be an option for students. The site could grow organically over time and continue growing as a resource rather than working on it for 4 months and then it’s done and ceases to change.
Hi Randy,
Thanks! These are great points. The choice of Weebly makes it easy to integrate a blog right into a basic website. There are pages that are “Standard Pages” for static content, alongside other pages that act as “Blog Pages” within the menu that can be continually updated with new posts. This way, the content could stream as it comes forward in real time, and I agree that this would partially alleviate the internet speed woes as well as cater to the Cradleboard network members’ broader contributions, both in the forms of resources and stories. It’s a great idea to integrate student stories as well – I didn’t think of that – but that would also make Lenora’s task easier and would likely make the overall resource more authentic to educators as well.
Cheers,
Victoria
VO,
I really like the idea of release time. If the resource is important enough to the community, the powers that be should endorse it by making time available to create and maintain the tool. If they would give release time I would think that the most valuable would be a couple of half days . . .
Well, one can dream.
KF 🙂
Hi Keri,
It really depends on administration and how your district fund professional development opportunities. In Langley, we can apply for TTOCs to cover our classrooms as we are released to observe other teachers or attend conferences. There have also been initiatives (funded separately from this TTOC fund) that release teachers from classrooms to collaborate with other teachers on professional development resources such as the one outlined in Lenora’s case. I understand that this isn’t the case in all districts to be certain, but thought that maybe others could learn from what this amazing model has provided to me!
Victoria