There are many free resources for improving learning experiences. FIDM’s Community & Educational Affairs Department surveyed a group of educators and put together a list of their recommended resources. This list includes tools for building course websites and for communicating with parents online.
Classroom Websites
Instructors can create free websites for their classes. Some applications are entirely online, while others are installed on school Web servers. Course websites have built-in functionality for communication between teachers, parents, and students. They can be used to upload images and deliver homework assignments and other relevant educational content. Examples of these free sites include: Moodle, Weebly, Google Sites, and Blogger.
Tips
When researching service providers, keep in mind features offered; ease of use, security, and any potential upgrade costs. And for the safety of your students, their families, and other teachers, be sure to research whether or not your website will be public or private. For example, Google Sites is set up automatically for the public to view, whereas Weebly and Moodle are initially set up to be private (or password protected).
Online Grading Websites
Teachers can create a website strictly for posting grades, so students and their parents can track progress and assignments. Resources that facilitate this process often have multiple levels of service, some of which are free while others have a fee. Examples of grade book websites include: LearnBoost, GradeConnect, and ThinkWave.
Fundraising and Promotion
A growing trend at high schools is selling products online to promote schools, classes, and the work of talented students. Examples of sites with this functionality include CafePress and Shutterfly.