Frequently Asked Questions

I often receive e-mails from teachers asking how I have developed my website and other materials on my website. I am going to try to answer these questions here. If I don't answer your questions, please feel free to e-mail your questions. I may just put your question on this webpage!! (cobbj@lcsc.k12.in.us)

What program do you use to develop your website? I am currently using Microsoft Expressions Web 2, but I first start using Microsoft FrontPage 2002. You do not have use programs such as these to develop your websites. There are many wonderful free website builders on the Internet. For me personally, I love the freedom I have with using Expressions Web 2. I am able to design my website the way I want to with little restrictions to my creativity.

Who hosts my website, and how much does it cost? I use Yahoo Small Business to host my website. It costs me about $12 a month. Again, there are many free providers out there that you can use to develop your classroom website.

Where do I get my graphics that I use on my website? I purchased my website graphics from www.cutecolors.com. I really liked her graphics, and I have been using them since I started developing my website. There are many great graphic artists out there from which you can purchase graphics. There are also many free graphics you can use when developing a website, but make sure you read their user policies carefully. I highly encourage you to make links to any and all websites where you get your graphics. It is just a very polite and considerate thing to do. I know that I could personally never make any of these graphics, so graphic artists have my upmost respect.

Should I have a theme for my website? Personally, I think that having a theme for your website is a very good idea. It gives your website a very uniform feel to it. I believe that is helps your visitors navigate your website more easily also. I also recommend that you include links to your main pages on every page you develop. In this way, visitors can navigate your pages successfully.

Where do you get your music? I searched the Internet to find music that can be legally used on a website. Once again, I read user policies very carefully. Also, be careful how much music you actually include on your website. To be honest, it can be very frustrating when you are searching the Internet for websites only to be blasted into the next room in your house by music on someone's website. Also. some people like to listen to their own music when searching the Internet, and when they visit a website with music it will play over the music to which they are already listening. I guess it all comes down to personal feelings about adding music to your website.

May I use your materials in my classroom? Yes, you may use the materials on this website in your classroom only. I have created these documents for my classroom, but I like to share. I do ask that you please do not link directly to my PDFs, unless you have e-mailed me to get permission. I do not mind if you link directly to any of my web pages. The materials on this website are only for classroom use. They are not for sale.

Why did you choose frogs? Do you like them? Okay, this question normally comes from the students who come to my classroom. They always want to know if frogs are my favorite animal. So here is the answer to this questions; no, I don't particularly love frogs. I really like the clip art frogs which are cute and cuddly. Real frogs on the other hand do not seem that cute and cuddly to me, though I did catch them when I was a little girl. I still love watching frogs hopping all over my parents' yard, but I no longer catch them, and I know that they belong outside!! The reason why I chose frogs is not that complicated. I have been teaching at Landis for over 10 years now, and every room I have ever been in at Landis has been green (except for the one year I taught third grade in the music room). During my second year of teaching second grade, I decided that I was going to start the year teaching pond habitats. And what lives in a pond habitat? You guessed it, frogs. I went out that summer and purchased all kinds of frogs from bulletin board sets to set-ups, and my frog theme was born. During that same summer, I began creating my website, so of course I created a frog theme. So from this humble beginning, I am now teaching 5th grade, and I still have kept my frog theme. So while frogs may not be my favorite animal (that would be cats), I have loved having the frog theme in my classroom. I have received tons of frogs from students over the last four years, so now I have quite a collection.