New look, contents for District 88 web site

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- When District 88 students return to classes this fall, they will be able to log onto a new school website -- both in terms of content and looks.

The site will contain practically all the information posted on the former district site -- district goals, programs, a staff directory, maps to schools, school policies, school board information, etc., says Curriculum Director Bill Sprung, who oversees the project. But, when complete, it will also offer more "interactivity," with the ultimate goal of increasing communication among schools, parents and the public.

Built with new software recently acquired by the district, the new site makes it "much easier" for each teacher to build his or her own webpage, incorporating specific information about classes and other aspects of their work, says Sprung.

The idea is for each grade level, department and individual teacher to have home pages, which will be part of the sections on each school building.

The site will contain many curriculum links -- for example, beside general curriculum information for the district, a visitor will eventually be able to read the curriculum for a specific grade and a specific subject.

In another step toward interactivity, each school building will post an "ongoing" calendar. Frequently updated, the calendar will inform visitors about what happens in that school on a day-to-day basis.

The new site will contain the newsletters currently published by the schools in paper form. Updates should be promptly reflected in the electronic versions, and, if site visitors choose to subscribe to these sections, they will be notified about the updates by e-mail.

The site is intended as a one-stop shop for students, parents and interested community members, said Sprung. It will serve as an entry portal to the Campus program. The latter affords parents password-controlled, real-time access to information relevant to their kids -- for example, each student's grade and attendance records.

Other online features include the policy handbooks, question-and-answer sections, "scrapbooks" of classroom and other information, and an expanded search engine.

Building the site is a cooperative effort, said Sprung. The groundwork was laid by now retired Technology Director Jim Aufderheide, and the sections are being developed by trained media specialists in each school. The idea is for the media specialists to serve as resource people for teachers and other staff who will build their webpages. The school principals are overseeing the "construction."

Sprung is aware that it may take time to "work out bugs" and see what's working and what is not. The goal is to have the district's and each school's homepage operational before school starts this fall, he said. Department and classroom homepages will be constructed as training progresses during the year.