Classroom Web Site Builder Provides Educators with Easy Tool for Creating Online Projects

Free Web Site Tool Allows Educators to Self-Publish Classroom Activities

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Today classrooms are being filled with computers with Internet connections. Educators are anxious to use this technology to motivate students to learn. Highwired.Net's new Classroom Site Builder offers teachers across all subject areas an easy-to-use Web site creation tool designed specifically for high schools. This tool allows teachers to build a classroom Web site, without the need to know HTML, highlight student work, teach using interactive Web-based projects, and gain access to some of the best online resources for the secondary market.

Classroom Site Builder offers both ease-of-use and productive Web experiences because it allows educators to self-publish classroom lessons online and showcase student work by using simple templates to post materials on the Web.

Highwired.Net (http://www.highwired.net), the world's largest network of high schools online, provides every educator with his or her own classroom Web site that is accessible from any Internet connection; without the need to secure district server space. And, because students' work is on the Web for the world to see, this raises the bar on the quality of student writing and performance.

Because Highwired.Net's Classroom Site Builder does not require educators to know HTML or to read large manuals, educators can be online almost immediately. Key to Classroom Site Builder's application in every classroom is its database of high school-focused Customized Projects that use timely and salient topics to ensure easy integration into secondary classroom curriculum. New projects are created every month in major subject areas such as Language, Art, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science. Educators can also use templates to create their own Customized Projects and they can submit their projects for inclusion in the database of projects, thus sharing what they have created with others.

Net has formed content partnerships with some of the best companies in secondary education thus allowing educators to incorporate this content into their projects. The Classroom Site Builder will also offer contests in conjunction with these top-tier education partners under its Resources in the Classroom area. Content partners include The Learning Company and its online services -- Webivore, Comptons Encyclopedia Online (CEO) and Maps 101 -- as well as Boxermath.com, MainXchange, and PBS' Online NewsHour Extra. In the Teacher's Lounge area new content partners include PBS' Teacher Source and Nova Southeastern's Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services. Educators can also use their individualized Web site to post homework assignments, package Web links, take advantage of unique curriculum tools and resources, and post their grading policies. Students use the templates to submit homework and projects directly to the educator from any Web connection via the classroom site.

Net is the first online service that helps high schools create and publish on the Internet. The award-winning journalism service allows educators to provide students with an online publishing endeavor without the need to know HTML, receive training or read manuals. Its additional product offerings, including student activities, classrooms, student counseling, and sports, expand its reach into other areas of high school. Highwired.

Net is free to schools across the U.S. and abroad. To date, Highwired.Net's growing network has been embraced by more than 2,000 schools in all 50 states and 32 foreign countries. Launched in April 1998, Highwired.Net (http://www.highwired.net) is a Cambridge, Massachusetts company that provides online publishing systems for the education sector. The company's Web site includes free demos, online registration forms for schools, answers to frequently asked questions, and the ability to view Highwired.Net schools on the Web. SOURCE: Highwired.Net