[LM_NET] HIT: Web page design software

["Pierce, Holly Rogerson" <HRP1007@ECU.EDU>]

Hello everyone,
Thanks to all who responded to my question:  Which web page design software do you 
recommend for creating a middle school library page? I was asked to post a hit, so 
here goes...
 
*****

No doubt about it, Macromedia Dreamweaver!  Easy for beginners to use, yet
allows for the more sophisticated user to be creative.



*****

I use DreamWeaver.  It has an additonal product called Contribute.  I am the 
building webmaster and keep the building webpage up with DreamWeaver.  Contribute 
allows the teachers/teams to have a page they can access and update as often as 
they want.  It's really working out great!!



*****

It depends ;)

What kind of expertise does the person in charge of making the page
have?  Is it the librarian who gets to figure out the page on the fly?
Or is there a technical dude managing the whole school system's site?

If there is going to be a lot of web design happening, and somebody
really has time to devote to managing it, I'd say go with DreamWeaver.
However, if it's going to be a one-person effort and efficiency is
important, and you don't need a whole lot of stuff on the page, then
something like Front Page will do fine.  Since "page" is the word, not
"site," that implies a simple level and a "yellow pages" kind of web
page with basic contact information and a few links.  That would be
easily done in Front Page.

There are certainly other programs out there, but those two are common
enough so that with job turnover, a person would be likely to be able to figure it 
out or already be familiar with it.



*****
FWIW, I code all my pages and stylesheets "by hand" in the text editor
Emacs. I think that, once one has learned the nuts and bolts of XHTML
and CSS (which is neither particularly complex nor difficult), this
gives the greatest flexibility and control.



*****

If that is all you are going to do, then I recommend FrontPage. Most schools have 
someone who is familiar with it and can help you out. Microsoft also has a great 
website with help.

I have used DreamWeaver and I really like it, but I think that it is more for the 
advanced web page person. I took a couple of classes on it and then bought the 
software because I could it get it at such a great discount.

When helping my librarians put together their web pages, I purchased
FrontPage and then held a workshop for them. All but one picked it up that first 
day and ran with it.



*****

Depending on your comfort level with HTML, you could try either FrontPage or 
Dreamweaver. Graphics, animinations etc. are supposed to be easier to do & you'll 
be happier with the outcome etc. with Dreamweaver. 

 

I took a web design course thru University of Wisconsin-Stout for beginners & I 
created our school site in HTML ---but this MS-HS library.

 

http://extranet.sfs.or.kr/~lindarogde/smcwebpage.htm 
<https://piratemail.ecu.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://extranet.sfs.or.kr/~lindarogde/smcwebpage.htm>
 

 

This also teach a Dreamweaver course for Intermediate Web Design.


*****

We use Dreamweaver 8 or Dreamweaver MX (older version) at our school.  The program 
has a lot of bells and whistles (basic web commands aren't difficult to learn), but 
the HTML programming is clean, so your web page doesn't change much if the people 
viewing your site use different web browsers.

Another middle school in our school district uses Share Point.  However, someone 
has to creates a web page template that people can adapt for their needs.  The 
drawback to this program is you are limited to the template design, so you can't 
build any web pages outside the template limitations (very frustrating).

Other schools in our district use Front Page.  Some say it is easier to
learn than Dreamweaver because it doesn't have all the bells and whistles. However, 
Front Page's HTML programming adds a lot of additional programming lines to your 
page, especially XML code.  Front Page was built to run on Internet Explorer, so 
sometimes your web page doesn't resolve well in other web browsers.  In addition, 
in a large web site, the extra code slows the download of the web page.  Not much 
of a problem with small sites, but library web pages tend to grow every year as 
librarians add new pages to their sites.



*****

I have used frontpage for eight years.  It is easy and it is easy to
teach to the teachers.  Dreamweaver can create nice webpages but is a
little more professionally oriented. 



*****

If you want something easy, try Microsoft Publisher.  There are plenty
of templates to make it easy.  For those with a little more skill, try
Microsoft Front Page.  For the experienced designer, Dreamweaver.  If
your page is already established (design by a pro) and you would like to make 
content changes (ex, change the book of the week regularly  or post news items), 
try Contribute.

*****
The easiest way is to use Publisher or PowerPoint.  The kids probably
already know how to use that software, and if you save it as a HTML
document, it is quiet easy to upload it to a network or the Internet. Your IT 
person can probably provide space for you on their server.

*****

My recommendation is not intended to sound flippant, but you have a need to confer 
with data services before you make any decisions about software. Some districts 
support only what they have chosen to use, unless you are able to design your page 
using code such as html.  I like using FrontPage, but in the district I am 
employed, SchoolCenter has been purchased as a template for web page design (it is 
limiting, but . . . ) and our data services department does not support the Front 
Page extensions, etc.

Send email to your tech department, or a department willing to respond to your 
request for information.  

 

*****

My answer may not be the one that you are looking for, but it is the "reality" one. 
  My answer: the one that your school district tech person says that you HAVE TO 
use.  In one district I used the FirstClass webpage that had to be created in 
Microsoft Word and then saved in HTML.

 

In a different school, I had to learn FrontPage (My personal fave).

 

In my current school district, I have the choice as the librarian (teachers only 
have the choice of TeacherWeb) of TeacherWeb.com or Metadot.  Both of them are 
EXTREMELY limiting in what I can do with the programs. But I am not given any other 
choice.

 

Learn FrontPage if possible.  It is a good support program that transfers to other 
web page programs.

 

*****

I loved writing my own code in html and css (and teaching my students how to write 
it from grades 5-8 when I was in a school that served those grades) but now I am 
REQUIRED to use the School Center program software.  It is very easy for people who 
have no knowledge of any type of code program to use School Center, but very 
frustrating for those of us who enjoyed doing it ourselves.  Prior to Schol Center, 
when I helped classroom teachers with web pages, I encouraged the use of Front Page 
or just Word, using the "save as web page" option.  (If you post a hit, please do 
not use my name--thanks!)

 

*****

I used Front Page to create mine.  I found it simple and largely user-friendly.  I 
have used Microsoft Publisher before, but I just wasn't pleased with the results!

 

My district provides Microsoft Frontpage, a commercially available
product.  They also offer the teachers the opportunity to use Teacher
Toolbox, a web-based web-page builder available by subscription.  More
and more districts are using some sort of subscription service, like
SchoolWorld or Teacher Toolbox. I've been using FrontPage for some time
and like a lot of its features, but I don't really have a basis for
comparison.

However, if I were starting from scratch, and my district didn't have a
policy about what application I used, I'd go with one of the free online 
applications.  I'd use www.pbwiki.com, which is very user friendly, or 
www.classblogmeister.com, which has podcasting features built right in. I've seen 
great library websites built with free blogging applications, too, like blogger.

http://www.livoniacsd.org/class_webs/agordon 
<https://piratemail.ecu.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.livoniacsd.org/class_webs/agordon>
 
http://squareone.pbwiki.com 
<https://piratemail.ecu.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://squareone.pbwiki.com> 

 

*****

Pls post a hit.  I use html, but I would not recommend it to anyone who isn't 
looking for a time-consuming hobby!



*****

You really have two questions
1. Which software do you use - I use Dreamweaver Suite.  It is expensive and takes 
a while to learn so I would not recommend it to everyone.
2. What do I recommend? - I used Netscape Composer for years and still use it 
periodically.  It is easy to use and is free.  FrontPage is also a good option.

 

Holly Pierce, Media Coordinator

Phillips Middle School, Battleboro, NC

hrp1007@ecu.edu


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