[MACEP] Free Web Hosting

[Tim Chase]

>>
>> What's the latest on free web hosting for students that won't be  
>> blocked
>> by most of the blocking software schools use? Any suggestions?
>> Thanks!
>> Virginia Petitt

I'm interested in hearing an answer to Virginia's question when the  
smoke from the "district-restriction" cannons has cleared.  It's  
against no district's policy to be able to see a student's website  
that he's hosted somewhere--what would be against policy would be  
circumventing filtering that had filtered a whole free-web-hosting  
domain because of the creeps who misuse the medium.  We ought to  
filter the whole domain, and I'm glad we do, but I'd love to hear of  
school-friendly hosting places where Virginia's kids and my kids  
could post their web pages and be able to see them from the school  
network.

The filtering software is in place for really valid reasons, but it's  
also very valid to ask "What are some places online that are not  
restricted--where I can safely have my kids go to post and read and  
interact?"

I don't have answers for Virginia's question, which I perceive to be  
simple Web1.0 in its essence: student creates html pages, posts them  
to the web, other students are able to view the pages.  Simple.  I'm  
interested because I've all along been having my kids build websites  
and just "post" them on the server in folders.  It gives them the  
general idea of html coding and folder structures, but we've never  
found a suitable place to be able to create an online site.

That said, I've had a bit more success with Web2.0 types of web- 
creating.  Students don't do any html for this stuff, but their work  
is out there on the web and the respond well to the challenge of  
increased readership--writing and creating for a broader audience.

Here are some resources I've found as I've worked to connect my kids  
to the new world of interactive webbing:

nicenet.org
I've used this to set up classrooms where my kids can post website  
links, have discussions, respond to my conference topics, etc.  It's  
all text-based, and it has allowed my kids to work on documents at  
school and at home.

google documents  (formerly Writely)
This may be filtered in some environments, and it requires an email  
address for the initial account validation (a stumbling point for the  
occasional student without an email address).  Once the account is  
set up, though, teams of kids can simultaneously collaborate on a web- 
based document (that can then be published as an owner-editable  
webpage of sorts).

google groups (more than just a listserv)
Students can create a Google Group Beta to post files to, create wiki  
pages in, set up discussion forums, etc.  In the files section they  
can save a file at school and open it from home, which is  
increasingly important but unavailable to my students.
I have not used this with my middle schoolers yet, both because we  
don't all have email addresses and because I'm not certain about my  
liability in encouraging something that I can't completely monitor.   
But it's very powerful, and if it could be monitored (ie. if I became  
a member of each of their groups and periodically checked in to make  
sure everything was hunky-dory) then I'd use it in a flash.

moodle or other course/content management system
This is the less user-friendly but more online-predator-safe way to  
collaborate.  Kids can save their documents here and access from home  
and school.  Discussion forums are available.  You get out of a  
moodle what you put into it, but it can be a really effective way to  
let kids interact with the web in a controlled environment.

edublogs
I have a couple of blogger blogs and a couple of edublogs blogs.  I'm  
going to promote edublogs here for two reasons: a) edubloggers can  
post files, including html pages, docs, spreadsheets, and jpgs, that  
have a permalink so that anyone can quickly see their work by  
following the URL, and b) they automatically have access to a  
wikispace where the group can work privately (open only to recognized  
members) on documents and then open and lock them so they become  
pretty much like a static webpage.

communitywalk.com
This is the latest toy I've had my kids playing with, and they love  
it.  They click on an interactive world map to add oodles of text and  
either upload pics or link to online pics by URL.  We're taking a  
tour around the world and they are the tourguides.  Nice!!  Requires  
email verification to establish an account.

epals
I've got one class set with epals addresses.  They can only  
communicate with other epals addresses, and I've set it so I see all  
of their outgoing and incoming messages.  Very safe.  This affords  
them no document storage, but if they want to email their work-group  
partners with the latest edition of their newspaper articles, they  
can collaborate with it.  Also a way to edit text at home and at school.

~Tim

"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." ~~CS Lewis
__________________
Tim Chase
Technology / Reading
LaPine Middle School
Bend LaPine School District


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