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Now, by merely typing in the text you can do it too!
It's so easy even 7 year old children can do it. If you are able to move a mouse, click a few buttons and string a few sentences together you can maintain a cutting edge site.
We'll give you all the training you'll need, support you on the phone or with email, all to make sure you get the best out of your investment.
Our killer features are:
Superb content management and blog software. Excellent Google optimisation.
An email to weblog interface, making updating your school blog a doddle.
Top draw support and feedback.
Try a demo or build your
30 day free trial
school website yourself. What will you write today's school news to be?Archive page for Tuesday, 10 October 2006
Tu, Oct 10, 2006Sponsored walk in Llandudno
Written by the kids, for the kids, and grown ups. Two pupils write the English account of how they all walked along the promenade to raise funds for the school. All good fun and good exercise.
And another two children tell the same story in Welsh. Lucky for me I have a translation link :-)
And another two children tell the same story in Welsh. Lucky for me I have a translation link :-)
School ads: media pack
I've put together the first draft of the media pack for advertising on a school's website. A media pack is what all magazines, newspapers commonly send out to prospective advertisers.
It tells, most importantly, the price of various ads, and the mag's circulation, or in our case traffic. Who the website is aimed at, its principles and content. (Some dynamic figures are for the site the page is read from—currently mine, and some still need to be calculated.)
In our case it also tells the prospect what they'll get out of it. Not just promoting their business, but also the good things that rub off when they advertise on a local school's site. All that good will, and increased social capital, adds to a companies reputation in the local area. To be given the OK by a local school is 'as good as it locally gets.' It's a recommendation that any business will crave for.
Of course, I foresee troubles here. Should a company be, not very good, then the truth will out, particularly on a public blog, where anybody can post. But these bridges will have to be crossed at the time. Ultimately, it is the school which decides what ads run or are pulled.
It tells, most importantly, the price of various ads, and the mag's circulation, or in our case traffic. Who the website is aimed at, its principles and content. (Some dynamic figures are for the site the page is read from—currently mine, and some still need to be calculated.)
In our case it also tells the prospect what they'll get out of it. Not just promoting their business, but also the good things that rub off when they advertise on a local school's site. All that good will, and increased social capital, adds to a companies reputation in the local area. To be given the OK by a local school is 'as good as it locally gets.' It's a recommendation that any business will crave for.
Of course, I foresee troubles here. Should a company be, not very good, then the truth will out, particularly on a public blog, where anybody can post. But these bridges will have to be crossed at the time. Ultimately, it is the school which decides what ads run or are pulled.
Me on Childline
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School ads, the moral dilemma
I spotted this, from the US, an entire school district, took free websites, and the supplying company could place adverts on them, to recoup their investment. Everybody seemed happy, except:
I've heard from one school, who's PTA were for the extra income, while the governors were not. They loved the innocence of the website without ads. They were also worried that advertising sites may lead to click throughs to 'nasties' like gambling. A compromise would be only one side was for ads and they should be for local attractions, library, museums, etc.. But these would be very, very low paying.
I could with technical trickery, hide ads from kids. All internal hits, i.e. hits from within school, would be presented with a different template, without ads. There could even be a tick box, so parents, or others that are offended could see the no ads template too. But this cuts down on the number of eyeballs.
I prefer educating kids, not keeping them blindfolded. I have this issue with my children. I try to explain that ads are mostly lies, particularly ads for toys, beefburgers and breakfast cereals. I try to deconstruct, decode them while we watch, while I'm nagged at the cereal aisle. I feel I'm on top of the pester power, mostly. But they're still quite young.
I want the children involved in all stages of the business. Getting, creating, monitoring the ads. Perhaps turning down some, as being in appropriate—yes, the content and type of adverts are the responsibility of the school, govenors, PTAs, Heads, kids councils, all have editorial vetos. I believe that most of the ads will be aimed at parents (pubs, curry houses, supermarkets—the local benefactor vibe) those that are aimed at kids (fastfood, toy or sweet shops—pester power) need to be carefully created, explained thoroughly, with advice (on junk food, brushing teeth) on the click through landing pages. Where else could a school have influence on ads targeted at kids?
I'd like to teach children that the Internet is not a walled garden, where everything is fluffy toys, and cute games.
We cannot remain blinkered to sly advertising of bad products. We cannot pretend that the Internet is all good.
We can do this, with or without ads on school websites. We should do this with or without. I think it easier, if there are ads, if the school and everybody is involved, if the website is a good earner, something serious.
I believe that there are teachable moments with ads, with the creation of ads. It's a big, bad, beautiful capitalist world out there, let's help our children be prepared for it, and able to exploit it where they can.
Ads on school websites aren't immoral if they're created and controled and explained to children. Morally, I feel we should do this!
Morally, I believe it is each school's duty to pursue the local MacDonalds for advertising cash. After all, there is healthy eating on the curriculum now. Balanced diets can contain a Big Mac, once a week. McDonalds no doubt has plenty of information on balanced diets, which could be used on the school's landing page. Let's exploit the advertisers need to be benefactors and teach the kids about the big, bad world. How many McDonalds logos are there currently in school? What cash/benefit did the school get? What teachable moments? Such was always as MacDonalds wanted. MacDonalds = sport. Plainly, an expensive lie, aimed at children.
Fight back!
(Those parents/kids that don't want to be involved can always click the no ads button.)
Or, schools should reinforce innocence: it is not a school's duty to teach about crossing the road, stranger danger, too much salt/fat/sugar, not enough exercise/vegetables/teeth brushing, big bad Internet, smiling thin people eating beef burgers, ecstatically happy kids and their friends playing with expensive toys, nutritionally cardboard cereals with free cheap toys and brightly coloured packaging...
Gary Ruskin, director of Washington, D.C.-based Commercial Alert, a nonprofit group opposed to corporate advertising in schools, said such a program "undermines the integrity of the school."
No matter the product, Ruskin says advertisements can be a distraction to students and a detriment to the school district's standing as a government institution that exists for the public interest.
School leaders should be careful, said Ruskin. Though the allure of commissions earned through these programs can be attractive, especially in tough budget times, the costs could be higher than anticipated.
Some stakeholders, he said, might be turned off, or even offended, by the appearance of advertising on school web sites. If, by chance, the ads push stakeholders away, they also might discourage them from voting in favor of supportive tax measures, bonds, and other critical spending initiatives. In that case, the program could end up costing the school system more money than the ads are bringing in.
"Some things just shouldn't be for sale, and that includes schools," said Ruskin. "What kind of messages does something like this send to the kids?"
I could with technical trickery, hide ads from kids. All internal hits, i.e. hits from within school, would be presented with a different template, without ads. There could even be a tick box, so parents, or others that are offended could see the no ads template too. But this cuts down on the number of eyeballs.
I prefer educating kids, not keeping them blindfolded. I have this issue with my children. I try to explain that ads are mostly lies, particularly ads for toys, beefburgers and breakfast cereals. I try to deconstruct, decode them while we watch, while I'm nagged at the cereal aisle. I feel I'm on top of the pester power, mostly. But they're still quite young.
I want the children involved in all stages of the business. Getting, creating, monitoring the ads. Perhaps turning down some, as being in appropriate—yes, the content and type of adverts are the responsibility of the school, govenors, PTAs, Heads, kids councils, all have editorial vetos. I believe that most of the ads will be aimed at parents (pubs, curry houses, supermarkets—the local benefactor vibe) those that are aimed at kids (fastfood, toy or sweet shops—pester power) need to be carefully created, explained thoroughly, with advice (on junk food, brushing teeth) on the click through landing pages. Where else could a school have influence on ads targeted at kids?
I'd like to teach children that the Internet is not a walled garden, where everything is fluffy toys, and cute games.
We cannot remain blinkered to sly advertising of bad products. We cannot pretend that the Internet is all good.
We can do this, with or without ads on school websites. We should do this with or without. I think it easier, if there are ads, if the school and everybody is involved, if the website is a good earner, something serious.
I believe that there are teachable moments with ads, with the creation of ads. It's a big, bad, beautiful capitalist world out there, let's help our children be prepared for it, and able to exploit it where they can.
Ads on school websites aren't immoral if they're created and controled and explained to children. Morally, I feel we should do this!
Morally, I believe it is each school's duty to pursue the local MacDonalds for advertising cash. After all, there is healthy eating on the curriculum now. Balanced diets can contain a Big Mac, once a week. McDonalds no doubt has plenty of information on balanced diets, which could be used on the school's landing page. Let's exploit the advertisers need to be benefactors and teach the kids about the big, bad world. How many McDonalds logos are there currently in school? What cash/benefit did the school get? What teachable moments? Such was always as MacDonalds wanted. MacDonalds = sport. Plainly, an expensive lie, aimed at children.
Fight back!
(Those parents/kids that don't want to be involved can always click the no ads button.)
Or, schools should reinforce innocence: it is not a school's duty to teach about crossing the road, stranger danger, too much salt/fat/sugar, not enough exercise/vegetables/teeth brushing, big bad Internet, smiling thin people eating beef burgers, ecstatically happy kids and their friends playing with expensive toys, nutritionally cardboard cereals with free cheap toys and brightly coloured packaging...
