Evaluation

I had a great experience with Weebly when I was creating this website for Assignment #3.  I took "Webmastering" when I was in high school.  Even though I do have a basic understanding of HTML, creating a website from scratch with Notepad is still a challenge.  However, with Weebly, I didn't have to worry about forgetting codes for specific functions such as color of text and incorporation of video.  Weebly editor provided a "WYSIWYG" environment (What you see is what you get) which allowed users to be creative with their design without limitation.   For instance, I especially liked the "Design" tab under Weebly editor because it provided a wide range of templates that I can use with my website.  With this template option, I can create a sophiscated website design with a clear navigation within a fraction of second.  Also, with the "Elements" tab, I can format my body text easily by dragging the elements that I want from the menu.  Furthermore, "Multimedia" tab allows user to incorporate audio, video, photo gallery easily because it does not require users to have extensive HTML knowledge.  The "Pages" tab allows user to create multiple secondary pages at a time.  With the "Pages" tab, it is not likely to have a broken link on your website because these codes are automatically generated.  Moreover, the "Publish" button on the right side of the screen allows users to save and publish their websites easily.  FTP is certainly not required to upload the pages, images, and videos.  Therefore, I believe Weebly is a great tool for teachers who may not have extensive knowledge of HTML to use.  For teachers with a basic understanding of HTML, using Weebly definitely saves tremondous amount of time in their busy schedules.  Lastly, the only con that I have with Weebly is its server at night.  During late evenings, the server seems slower than usual so I would recommend users to constantly hit the "Publish" button to make sure your works are saved. 

I believe this website will be a great educational tool for me to use in my classroom.  It not only creates a communication bridge between me and parents, but also creates a learning environment for my students.  With Weebly, I can easily update this website on a weekly basis to make sure students and parents are on the same page.  Most importantly, this classroom website exposes my students to the technology that is available through the internet in a clean, safe way.