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A group
of pupils are working on ideas for the site as part of an IT project.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Gloucestershire's Mez Packer and Clare Parrack went along to hold
two web workshop sessions with some of the students to advise on
design and content, but most importantly to find out what THEY wanted
to see on their school website.
We
started by asking the boys about their favourite places on the internet.
These were mainly sports, gaming and music sites, so it was obvious
that a fun element should be a feature of the pupilsÂ’ section
of the site.
Suggested
titles for this section from staff jokingly include ‘Boy Zone’
or ‘Waste-o-Space’ but the pupils are confident they can
come up with a cooler name!
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| Boys
meet girlie: a look at the Barbie website made up minds about
how the school site WON'T look! |
But
a school website is not just for the students themselves. A brainstorming
session came up with loads of ideas on different audiences and what
they would want from the site. These were:
- Students: school timetable, information on all curriculum
subjects including links to useful external sites for homework
help in each subject, teacher profiles (particularly for new members
of staff), facility to send in homework via email, messageboard,
showcase for arts, music and other projects in picture galleries
and audio-visual presentations, and fun stuff too as well as the
chance to share their passions outside school – whether for
hobbies, sports, or even just favourite jokes – by writing
about them.
- Parents:
school holiday dates, newsletter, and (for parents of prospective
pupils) general information about the school - maybe even a virtual
tour which could be designed by pupils as a multi-media project.
- Staff:
showcase for pupilsÂ’ work, features on school productions,
trips and outings – in short an online brochure advertising
the school.
- Ex-pupils: messageboard, news about reunions, features
about former pupils who are doing interesting things, careers
advice and support.
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| Clare
Parrack and Mez Packer at the web workshop |
This
session helped to crystallise ideas about site structure and navigation,
while a discussion about colour and design (illustrated by looking
at websites aimed at different audiences and markets) quickly established
that Barbie pink and flowery type would not present the right image
for a boysÂ’ school!
The
boys at CTC thought the site should incorporate both the college
colours (dark blue and yellow) and the school badge.
>>See
the page of design tips and useful links we used for our web workshop
At
the end of the teach-in we set the boys some homework, too! They
were each challenged to write a story for the Voices section of
the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ website for Gloucestershire about something they are passionate
about, whether itÂ’s a hobby or an issue affecting themselves,
their friends or family.
WeÂ’ll
be sharing those stories here in the weeks and months to come.
If
YOU live near Central Technology College or Barnwood Park School
and want to contribute to our Voices of Gloucester pages - by telling
us about a local activity you want to highlight or something you'd
like to change or improve, please get in touch by using the form
below.
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