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Parkway’s Web Builder Instructions

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Table of Contents

Introduction to Parkway’s Web Builder Application ..................................................................3

Adding Information to Your Home Page.....................................................................................4

Adding Pages to Your Home Page ..............................................................................................4

Creating an Assignment for a Class .............................................................................................5

Inserting a Link to Another Page .................................................................................................5

Inserting an Image........................................................................................................................6

Uploading and Linking to Files and Documents .........................................................................10

Uploading and Linking to Video Files.........................................................................................13

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Introducing Parkway's New Web Builder Application! Congratulations on starting down the path of creating a web site. Parkway has created a program to greatly simplify the process of creating, editing, and maintaining a classroom web site. This guide will help us get started, but before we do, there is an important step each of us has to take. We must think about and answer this question:

What is the purpose of my web site?

You may decide your web site will do any or all of the following:

• Allow students to download assignments • Provide parents with ongoing information about what is happening in class • Be the place where students go to get make-up work • Present supplementary materials • Store class PowerPoint, .PDF files, and Smart Board notes • Give your contact information

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive. You may come up with any number of other uses for your web site, but what is important is that you determine how your web site is going to be used to communicate with your students and/or their parent(s).

Getting Started

• Step 1: Create an OCG (Online Curriculum Guide) Account (note: Use Firefox if it is available, as there are a few features of this program that are unavailable with Internet Explorer. However, Internet Explorer does work best if you plan on pasting content from a MS Word document to your web site. This program does not work with Safari.).

o Go to: http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/intra/curriculumReg/register.cfm and complete the form. (You will receive an email with your login information. Be sure to change your password.) Once you have registered for an OCG account, your (currently blank) home page is created.

• Step 2: Log in to the Web Builder application o Go to: http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/intra/curriculum/webbuilder3/ o Sign in to the program

You are now ready to begin building your webpage!

From here what you do will be guided by what you have decided is the purpose for you web site. Have fun building your new web site!

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Adding Information to Your Home Page

To begin building your web site, the first thing you will need to do is create your home page. You may choose to describe your class(es), introduce yourself, put basic information about how to use your webpage, or any other general information you deem important. To put information on your homepage, follow these steps: From the Main Page of the Web Builder, http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/intra/webbuilder3/, click on the "Create Your Homepage" link.

1. You will see a form with a toolbar on the top. Whatever you type in the form will appear on your home page. 2. The toolbar at the top is similar to the toolbar in Microsoft Word. You have the ability to copy and paste plain text or from a Microsoft Word document. You can also edit fonts, insert images or tables, and upload files, including PDF and video files

3. Once you have entered your home page information, click the create/update button on the bottom of the page. You will see a preview of your webpage. To get back to the web builder application, click the button at the top of the screen, "Return to Web Builder". 4. It will now display your home page exactly as it will appear to visitors

Adding Pages to Your Home Page

One way to organize your website is to create pages by class or topic. For example, you may want a web page that contains your contact information and you may want a web page for each of the courses/subject areas that you teach. To add additional pages to your web site, follow these steps:

1. On the main Web Builder page, under Add/Edit Pages, click the "Click here to add a page to your web site." link.

2. Choose a name for the new page. (ex. 1st hour—Science or Contact Information) NOTE: All pages are displayed on your page in alphabetical order by page name.

3. If you are working on a page, but do not want anyone to be able to see it, leave the box that says “Inactive” marked. This will allow you to edit your page until you are happy with the way it looks.

4. When your page is ready to be viewed by students or parents, mark the box next to “Active”. A link for this page will be created on your homepage.

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Creating an Assignment for a Class

You can create assignments for today, next week, or the entire school year if you choose. To create an assignment, follow these directions:

1. On the main Web Builder page, under Assignments, click the "Click here to add an assignment to any class page." link

2. Select the page for which you would like to add an assignment. 3. Fill out the assignment form. The “Go Live Date” is when the assignment will appear on

your web page. The “Expiration Date” will cause the assignment to disappear from your page on that date.

4. When you have entered all the information about the assignment, click “Edit this Page” 5. All assignments are saved in a database and can be easily retrieved, modified, and

reused. You can also use your website to store classroom resources, such as, PDF files, PowerPoints, Video files, etc.

Inserting a Link to another Page

To connect a page to other pages, follow these steps:

1. Highlight the word or words you would like to use as a link.

2. Click the link button on the toolbar: 3. In the URL field, type or paste the web address of the page you would like to link

to. In the example below, there is a link to CNN.com. Click OK. 4. Click "Edit/Add this Page" in order for your link to take effect.

 

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Inserting an Image

You may find it useful to insert pictures and images onto your site. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Click the insert image button on the toolbar: 2. When inserting an image from the Web, enter the address of the image (and beware of copyright restrictions) and hit OK. 3. If inserting an image from your computer, you must first upload it to the server. Click “Browser Server”.

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4. To upload a new image, click on the “Browse…” button. Notice that in the example below, images that you have previously uploaded are still available for you to use. There is no need to upload an image more than once.

5. Browse your computer and select the image file you want to upload and click "Open".

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6. Click “Upload”.

7. Now your image file is on the server. Click the image that you want to insert and then click OK. Your image will now be inserted.

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8. You can adjust image properties in the Image Properties window. You can change the size of the image, create a border, insert horizontal and vertical space and set the pictures alignment. To adjust image properties in the future, right click on the image and select "Image Properties".

9. Remember to click "Edit this Page" for your changes to take effect.

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Uploading and Linking to Files and Documents

You can give students or parents access to materials for your class by uploading and linking office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) to your site. To do so, follow these steps:

• In order to allow students or parents to view an Office document, Keynote presentation, and other application specific documents, you must first convert your file to a PDF document.

• PDF documents are easy to create, though the process varies depending on whether you are using a Mac or a PC.

o PC: In your document, go to File, then Print, then under the different printer choices, one will be Adobe PDF or something very similar. Select it, then hit OK. It will now ask you to save this file.

o Mac: In your document, go to File, then Print, then use the button in the lower left-hand corner that says "PDF" to convert your document to a PDF file.

1. Select/Highlight the text that you would like to become the link to your file and click the

link button on the toolbar . 2. Click “Browse Server”.

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3. (Note: if you are linking to a file you have already uploaded, you can click on it and move forward to step 6. All files that you have uploaded will appear in the Resource Browser window. See example below.) To upload a new file to the server, click “Browse”.

4. Browse to the file on your computer that you would like to upload to the server, select it, and then click “Open”.

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5. On the bottom right of the Resource Browser Window, click “Upload”. After your file has been uploaded, it will appear in your resources list. Click the file you wish to attach.

6. Notice the path to your file will appear in the URL field. Click “OK” and you're finished.

7. Remember to hit “Edit this Page” for your new link to take effect.

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Uploading and Linking to Video Files

You can create a link to a video file such as a smart board presentation or a short video clip just like you would link to any other file (note: movie files are limited to those with extensions .avi and .mov). To do so, follow these steps:

1. Select/Highlight the text that you would like to become the link to your video file and

click the link button on the toolbar . 2. Click “Browse Server”.

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3. (Note: if you are linking to a file you have already uploaded, you can click on it and move forward to step 6. All files that you have uploaded will appear in the Resource Browser window. See example below.) To upload a new file to the server, click “Browse”.

4. Browse to the file on your computer that you would like to upload to the server, select it, and then click “Open”.

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5. On the bottom right of the Resource Browser, click “Upload”. After your file has been uploaded, it will appear in your resources list. Click the file you wish to attach.

6. Notice the path to the file that you are linking to appears in the URL field. Click “OK” and you're finished.

7. Remember to hit “Edit this Page” for your new link to take effect.