.Last summer I implemented a large-scale TypePad system for the Catherine Cook School in Chicago.
The teachers and staff at the school really took to the system. Despite
the hours of training I delivered to them, you never know how (or
whether) tools will be used when they’re released in the wild. Here’s a
rundown of how they used it:
- Nearly 2,000 posts spread over 40 separate websites– one for each classroom and major activity like library
- 11,318 visits and 32,872 page views for an average of about 3 page views per visit
- The visits were spread evenly among the sites, showing a large
acceptance of the classroom websites from parents. The top two most
popular sites (science and Kathleen Woolney’s junior kindergarten class) each had 7% of the total visitors, with the remaining visits spread very evenly. If you post, they will come. - About 75% of the sites were updated on a regular basis– by far the largest percentage of any system I’ve ever implemented
- Parents loved the system and bought into it all the way–
subscribing by RSS, downloading pictures, and relying on the sites for
basic information
Some examples:
After School Adventures: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/asa/
Kept parents informed about times, costs, and descriptions of dozens of programs throughout the year.
Andy Robinson – Humanities: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/arobinson/
85 posts– focused on the brass-tacks of homework assignments, study guides, and other key information that eight-graders need to know at 10:00 when they start freaking about what’s due tomorrow
Parent Association: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/parent/
38 red-meat posts focusing on meeting minutes, fund raising programs, and seminars put on by the group
Cindii Dirori – Middle School Matters: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/cindi_diiorio/
Lots of communication from the head of the Middle School along with links to photos albums on Picassa for the web– great use of third-party services to get things done.
Holly Montalvo – Preshool: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/holly_montalvopreschool/
Great use of a classroom site for general reminders, photo posts, and out-of-the-classroom activities. Updated 83 times throughout the year.
Science: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/science
A whopping 325 posts. Chock-full of classroom notes, powerpoints about
the nervous system, and other useful teaching and learning materials.
This was the most-visited site, with 2,337 page views
Kathleen Woolney – JK: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/kathleen_wolney_jk/
Very popular among parents, especially for the large amount of photos.
Mrs. Lyon’s Third Grade: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/vlyon/newsletter/index.html
This is a great resource for parents considering the school, as it has
nearly every newsletter from the classroom, showing the curriculum for
each week.
Ms. Major’s Humanities Classes: http://catherinecookschool.typepad.com/jmajors/
Another very popular site with tons of pictures and resources