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Get to Know Build Your Own Website
Originally developed in 1998, Build Your Own Website has seen spectacular growth as the Web building tool of choice for thousands of educators. With few exceptions, every tool in the system has been built in response to direct requests from our users. The goal has always been simple: What can we develop that has genuine, practical value to those on the front lines? Build Your Own Website is not about paradigms, information systems, or the digital revolution. Build Your Own Website is about getting the power of the internet into the classroom.
"Point-and-click simplicity"
At its core, Build Your Own Website is a simple-to-use template-based Web site builder that emphasizes the classroom as the fundamental unit in the learning process. All of the tools are built with "point-and-click simplicity". Time is a highly-valued commodity, and we learned from our educators that a long learning curve is one of the strongest deterrents to classroom use. With Build Your Own Website, your classroom Web site can be up and running in mere minutes.
Selected BYOW Templates
Educationally targeted modules
In additional to simple template-based Web pages, BYOW provides a growing list of tools that allow you to create advanced educational Web pages without th need for any special knowledge. These modules in include the Homework Center, the Online Classroom (for interactive online course generation), the Mail Center, the Web Quest builder, the Calendar Tool, and many more. For a full list, please visit the Web Services page.
Content and Resource Tools
The upload center allows users to store images, videos, lesson plans, and more within the online account. The elements can then be added anywhere on the site with our famous "point-and-click simplicity". In addition, each account comes with a Personal Resource Library that can draw from external resources that have been added by other users, schools, districts, educational non-profits, and other educational resource providers (such as PBS). A simple, but powerful, state content standards profiling tool make it easy to find just what you need to bring your creativity in line with a standards-based educational environment.
The Student Center
Within each BYOW account, a "mini-builder" is available for students. You, as the teacher, can add student accounts, grant access to Student Modules which allow your class to build online journals, book reports, puzzles, games, and photo galleries, to name a few. For a full list, please visit the Student Tools page.
Secure Parental Accounts
Perhaps one of the most valued aspects of BYOW is its ability to allow parents to become more actively involved in the student learning process. Parents can sign up for free Personal Parental Accounts and registered for automatic access to your classroom calendar, homework schedule, news & notes, featured student work, and more. As an instructor, you simple click a checkbox to make various elements availabe for parents and the BYOW system does the rest. In addition, the Personal Parental Accounts include tools for secure messaging with parents, a private chat service for virtual meetings, and mutual goal-setting and reviews. For more information on Personal Parental Accounts, please visit the Community Tools page.
Community Connection
Your online classroom Web site can operate as a stand alone applications, or can be integrated into a larger "Self-Enhancing Virtual Educational Community". BYOW For Teachers is designed to work closely with other tools that allow your peers, school & district administrators, educational non-profits, qualified volunteers, parents, and others to get involved in the learning process.
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Find out more!
If you would like more information about how Build Your Own Website can get your classroom on the Web - or turn the Web into a powerful educational community - please fill out the Information Request Form by clicking here.
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