The Process

You should form five member teams. Each team member will adopt the position of one of the people who have been invited to the meeting. For the success of the project, it is critical that you work hard to understand the point of view of the person you represent and maintain that point of view while completing the various tasks in the exercise.

You should decide who you want to be now, before moving on to step two. Read the descriptions carefully and get ready to BE that person until you complete this project. (This might be a good time to read through the evaluation rubric for this project, so you know how your teacher plans to evaluate your performance.)

Once you have chosen your role, move on to the next section of the exercise.

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You will begin your work by looking at other school web sites. Each member of the committee should evaluate all the sites independently using his or her copy of the School Website Evaluation Form. Then, The, come together as a group and rank the school sites from best to worst. You will receive a form on which to do this. You should plan to spend about 7-8 minutes evaluating each site.

• Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills, CA
• Cheyenne East High School. Laramie. WY
• Denbigh High School, Newport News, VA
• Henry Grady High School, Atlanta, GA
• New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL
• Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates, CA

School website evaluation form. Print a copy for each member of the committee.

Final web site ranking. Committee members should select one member to fill out two copies of this form; turn one copy in to the teacher and keep the other copy. It will be helpful in writing school policies as well as in designing the school web site.

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You decide that you need more information before attempting to make any further decisions. You agree to do further reading and meet the following week to try to hammer out some policies for the school web site. Before you leave the meeting, you ALL look at these two web sites:

Designing School Web Sites: This site is large but gives an outstanding overview of issues and mechanics involved in this type of project. You may wish to divide this task, each taking a part of the site, reading through it and then coming back and sharing your findings with each other.

Web Sites That Suck allows readers to learn about good design by looking at bad design.

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Once you are alone, you find other web sites to study. You will use this information when your committee meets again and attempts to reach a consensus on a set of policies that will govern the site, and as you create plans for a site design. Therefore, you should should take notes on your reading, making sure to record the source of the information, or print information from the sites you visit so that you will have the information available for future meetings.

You should print a copy of the Policy Worksheet for yourself so you can be looking for ideas relevant to the specific topics listed there, as well as other concerns you develop as your read. Then you can bring your notes with you when the committee meets again.

	Principal Jefferson reviews these sites: Some Ideas for Creating Good School Web Pages: short and simple, from someone who's been there, done that. Privacy Policy Statements on School Web Sites from a site funded by the Michigan Department of Education. He found some valuable links in this issue o f Technology and Learning, a magazine for educators.
	Audrey Mittleman looks at these sites: The Benefits and Challenges of a Student-Designed Website: This paper is loaded with educational jargon, but worth reading because it discusses the pedagogical benefits of a student-designed website. (Need a dictionary? Click here.) Web-Page Creation Supports Student Reading, Writing and Learning In A Variety of Ways The Web Style Guide from Yale University
	Pat Milford clicks here: School Web Sites: A Power Point presentation by a high school webmaster that covers the basic issues. She also discovers some interesting exchanges on an educational listserv, where educators around the country exchange information and air their gripes. Missouri web policies Activities in Kentucky Web Publishing In New York City Schools Building a Content-Rich School Web Page
	John Bryant goes to these sites. SitePro News HTML Goodies Web Site Advisor's Guide Create a Banner
	Charlie Chokeberry looks here: Computer Security for Teaching Environments Copyright Issues Children's Online Privacy Bobby

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Because it is clear that committee members have some basic differences of opinion, and because it will be necessary for them to reach agreement on some very important issues, they decide to take the time to learn how to resolve these differences by using some techniques for consensus building.

Building Consensus

Those interested in reading more about consensus building may wish to check this site from Michigan State University: Building Consensus

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Now, you are ready to meet again. Begin by trying, as a group, to answer these questions:

• Why do we want a web site?
• Who is our audience?

This may help to focus you on working toward a common goal. Then, using a clean copy of the policy worksheet , clarify your ideas and resolve your differences about the other policies. Be sure to address all the issues on the sheet as well as all other ideas suggested by members of the committee.

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When you have addressed all the issues, create a final report for the school board. This should include a cover sheet with the title Governing Policies for the Fairfield High School Web Site, the date, and the names of the committee members who participated in the decision making. Be sure to outline carefully, clearly and thoroughly, the various guidelines for the Fairfield High Web Site and in each case explain why the decision was made. After you create your rough draft, be sure to go through the Writing Checklist to make sure you've covered all the mechanical and structural bases.

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Now you will create a mock-up of the front page and basic structure for the Fairfield High School web site. You may use a paper and pencil or felt tip pens, or take the electronic route and use a web editor, HyperStudio, Power Point, Inspiration or any other appropriate and available software to do this. You should create at least eight screens of a web site and show the basic content areas of the site and the navigation method (frames, tables, etc). Your work also should give an idea of the site's appearance in terms of fonts, colors and design. Again, the content and design should be the work of the entire committee, not just one member.

Make your site as perfect as you can-- something you would be proud to have people all over the world see.

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