Classroom Websites at Villa High School
Prepared by Laura Dickerson
Prepared for Adam Herring
November 1, 2010
Executive Summary
Villa Rica High School is located in a suburb west of Atlanta, with approximately
1500 students. Villa Rica High School met AYP for the 2009-2010 school year, but must
meet it for a second continuous year in order to be removed from the needs
improvement list. Based on teacher concerns, the students lack critical study and timemanagement skills that are needed for success. One informal method of helping
students develop these skills is through the use of classroom websites.
This evaluation will look at the classroom websites at Villa Rica High School and
answer two questions:

Is there evidence that classroom websites are a resource which helps students
with time management skills and therefore success in classes?

Is the current system of developing a classroom website a productive and
effective resource for teachers?
In evaluating the websites, two methods were used. First a pre- and post- Likert
Scale was developed by the evaluator in evaluate if the websites had a positive effect
on developing time management skills. A post-evaluation interview was also conducted
to allow teachers to express their likes and dislikes about the current software used for
the development of the classroom websites. The responses to the interview questions
were given a positive/neutral/negative score based on their response.
It was found that the websites have potential to help student achievement but it
appears to the lack of experience of the teachers and the time constraints of the
evaluation, these skills were not developed at this point. The software was considered
user friendly, but it is evident in the interview responses that teachers require some type
of training or tutorial for the program. Overall teachers saw that the classroom websites
were beneficial; they just needed more assistance in making them operational.
Classroom Websites at Villa High School
Introduction
Villa Rica High School is located in the suburbs west of Atlanta. There are
approximately 1500 students enrolled in grades 9-12. The demographics of the school
include that over half of the school population is considered economically
disadvantaged, while only 38% of the school are minority (African American, Hispanic,
Multi-Racial, and Asian). Less than 15% of students are served for disabilities and/or
are limited English proficient.
Villa Rica High School met Adequate Yearly Progress, but needs to meet it for
another year in a row to remove the Needs Improvement status. Focus is given to the
Georgia High School Graduation Test and graduation rate through out the school year
in order for Villa Rica High School to meet Adequate Yearly Progress. After speaking
with a group of teachers, it appears that students also lack study and time management
skills which may also be hindering their success. One suggestion for improvement of
time management skills is classroom websites. These sites are suggested to be used
as resources for students in a central location assignments and assessment dates.
Classroom websites at Villa Rica High School were evaluated to see if there was
any effect on student success. The evaluator is Laura Dickerson, who is a mathematics
teacher at Villa Rica High School and graduate student at the University of West
Georgia. The evaluation client is Adam Herring, principal at Villa Rica High School.
The stakeholders are the students and faculty at Villa Rica High School as well as the
community.
Purpose
The purpose of this evaluation was to determine if the use of classroom websites
at Villa Rica High School have any effect on student success. The evaluation focused
on time management and study skills, rather than specific curriculum since the web
sites are from a variety of classrooms. The evaluation is a summative evaluation
providing information on what level classroom websites help student success. Based
on this evaluation, Villa Rica High School can determine if classroom websites should
be required and if so, what information should be included. A second factor of user
friendliness was also evaluated to find out if the current system is the best choice for the
teachers of Villa Rica High School.
Evaluation Questions

Is there evidence that classroom websites are a resource which helps students
with time management skills and therefore success in classes?

Is the current system of developing a classroom website a productive and
effective resource for teachers?
Methods
Participants
The participants of this evaluation project were the teachers at Villa Rica High
School. Participation was voluntary. At the beginning of the evaluation, twenty teachers
had already established a classroom website. Eleven of these teachers completed the
initial survey; six teachers also completed the post survey and interview.
Designs and Procedures
1. Strategies to evaluate question 1: Teachers completed a pre- and post- survey.
This survey asks teachers about their current use of the website as well as the
study and time management skills of the students.
2. Strategies to evaluate question 2: Teachers completed a pre- and postquestionnaire. This survey asks teachers about the administration of the
classroom website and their experiences of designing and updating the site.
Interviews were also held at the end of the study, to allow teachers to voice their
likes and dislikes about the websites.
Instruments
Materials to carry out the project evaluation were developed by the evaluator.
Instruments include:
Pre-Post project evaluation Likert scale—These instruments provided summative
data from teachers on aspects of student success and effectiveness of classroom
websites. Teachers completed pre- and post- evaluations, and results were compared
for a match between anticipated and achieved results.
Interviews—Interviews were conducted at the end of the evaluation to allow teachers to
share their experiences with the classroom websites. Answers were scored as positive,
negative, or neutral to capture an overall experience of the design and administration of
classroom websites. These findings are shared to help determine if the use of
classroom websites is effective at Villa Rica High School.
Table 1:Classroom Website Evaluation
Instrumentation
Project Objectives
Likert Scale
1. Timemanagement
Skills
X
2. Teacher
Usability
X
Interview
X
Summary of Key Findings
Evaluation Question 1: Is there evidence that classroom websites are a resource
which helps students with time management skills and therefore success in classes?
Based on responses from the pre- and post- survey, there seems to be a small,
but positive change in opinion of the teachers in reference to their students’ time
management skills. On average each score was raised by 0.38 which seems to be
impressive in the short time period of the evaluation. There were four components
which did show changes worth noting specifically.
The two components that received the largest increase in value of agreement
both changed by 0.8.Over time, teachers are seeing that more students are
demonstrating efficient time management skills and they are providing the needed
resources to master the standards in class. While there is no comparison if the meeting
of standards in class is due to the classroom website, there is evidence that the
classroom website has helped the students’ time management skills.
Evaluation Question 2: Is the current system of developing a classroom website a
productive and effective resource for teachers?
Based on the pre- and post- survey, there was no change in the confidence of the
teachers developing a classroom website. If a teacher was confident initially, they
continued to feel confident. The development and upkeep of a classroom website did
not appear to build confidence in the teachers who were “less confident”.
The interview questions allowed teachers to express their likes and dislikes of the
program currently used. Most teachers commented that they felt the program was
easy to use but found things such as items not appearing on the site and/or multiple
postings of items. One teacher comment’s were very detailed about how they enjoyed
the site and how much useful information they put up on the site, but then stated that
their students couldn’t see it. The interview comments were scaled +1 for positive, 0 for
neutral, and -1 for negative comments. The average score for the comments were
0.28, telling us that the overall feeling of the usability of the program was neutral.
Recommendations and Conclusions
Based on the findings, it can be seen that the use of classroom websites has the
potential to help students develop time management skills and study skills that will help
them succeed. Classroom websites can also be used as a resource for students to find
additional materials needed in order to master the standards. It seems that since the
classroom websites at Villa Rica High School are in the beginning stages of utilization,
that the teachers have not utilized them to their full potential. This could be due to time
constraints and/or lack of training.
It is recommended, that Villa Rica High School continues the use of classroom
websites on a volunteer basis. It is strongly recommended that teacher training be
accessible to the teachers with help in the development and maintenance of classroom
websites. This training could be informal and offered in short increments during planning
periods or during a teacher work day. It is critical that the training be held in a computer
lab, where teachers can actively participate. The training could be held by a peer
teacher or technology specialist.
References
Amundson, L. (2009). Five steps to an accessible classroom website. Learning &
Leading with Technology,37, 16-19.
Crook, C. & Culey, R. (2009) The teaching voice on the learning platform: seeking
classroom climates within a virtual learning environment. Learning, Media and
Technology, 34, 199-213.
Hamilton, B. (2009). Making the most of a teaching partner. Reading Teacher, 63, 245248.
Hourigan, T. & Murray, L. (2010). Using blogs to help language students to develop
reflective learning strategies: towards a pedagogical framework. Australasian
Journal of Educational Technology, 26, 209-225.
Risinger, C. F. (2009). Citizenship education: “the” goal of education. Social Education,
73,330-331.
Appendix
Table 2:Pre- and Post- Survey
Please circle the number that represents how you feel about your experience with classroom
websites.
My students demonstrate
efficient time management
skills which are needed to
succeed in school.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
My students know where to
find assignments for days
that they missed class.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
My students are able to find
resources needed to help
master the standards.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
My students possess study
skills that enable them to
succeed in my class.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
I am confident in developing
a classroom website.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
I provide my students the
needed resources to master
the standards in class.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
I provide my students the
needed resources to master
the standards at home.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
I have an effective method of
reminding students of
upcoming dates of
assignments and
assessments.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
I have an effective method of
telling students about missed
assignments and activities
when they are absent.
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Agree
Table 3:Interview Questions
Tell me about your previous experience with web design and classroom websites. (This
question is to inform the evaluator of the level of experience with web design of each
teacher.)
Share with me your experience of setting up the initial classroom website.
How often do you update your classroom website?
What benefits have you seen while using your classroom website?
Is it worth the extra time it takes in your daily duties and responsibilities to keep your
classroom website current?
Would you suggest for your colleagues to create and use a classroom website?
Are there any other comments you would like to share about your experience with your
classroom website?