KnightSite - 5 "Best practices"

     KnightSite is widely used at GSB as a communication tool.  In this entry, I'd like to highlight five ways faculty are using KnightSite to effectively connect to students and parents.

     My first  example is drawn from AP Chemistry, a course taught by Judy Jerolaman.  In the class site, the calendar is used to post homework assignments and due dates.  On the home page, here's the calendar view:

 

     But click on the word "Calendar" to see how effective the calendar is as a tool to keep students informed about assigned work.  For students who want to plan, this view is invaluable:

  

     By clicking on any one of the listings, more information might be available.

     The Lower School organizes a number of classes (e.g.: music, computers, science, art, etc.) as "Related Arts."  In the Computers section of Related Arts, Jill Fedon has saved many links.  To keep them organized, she's created folders.  Open any folder and find a number of links connected by content.

     Open the "Tangrams" folder and find a variety of links to sites that are age appropriate and that emphasize Tangrams.

     Concert Choir is a class that occasionally needs to be divided into three independent groups: Men's Ensemble, Women's Ensemble and Chamber Choir.  David Southerland has created three Groups within his class. This enables him to set up separate practice calendars and post group-specific information.  Keep in mind that if you create Groups, you'll need to add members.

     Mike Stil's AP Biology class site features embedded video.  Though many class sites link to useful videos, an embedded video offers a cleaner look and avoids the extra step of opening another web site.  If you're interested in learning more, there is a Help Guide in the Technology Department folder describing how to embed video. Here's what an embedded video (from Khan Academy) looks like:

 

     Finally, I'll draw an example from our Girls Cross-Country team web site. On the home page is a photo collage that really personalizes the site to the runners.  Many LS sites feature class pictures for the same effect.  If you feel photo work is "one thing too many in your life," why not see if there are students in your class that might be interested in creating an image for your home page.