Your Active Digital Footprint
(Pro)Actively, Enhance your Digital Footprint
In this step you will be creating a web site about you or about some aspect of your professional life you are passionate about. Most individuals do not hesitate to add their professional identity to the site, but if this is uncomfortable for you, you can use a pseudonym or create a site about a cause without identifying yourself.
I suggest using Weebly as an online tool for web site generation. It's easy to use, has free features that are adequate for this purpose, and you can always upgrade for a nominal fee if or when you need additional features. If you opt to use another tool, the content suggestions herein will still be helpful.
1. Get Started
Establish an free account for yourself at education.weebly.com
If you are having difficulties with your browser, view the recommended browsers listed here.
Then initiate a new site. When you are given the choice to plan or build, select "build my site."
Title the site appropriately, but you can modify the title later. I recommend using your first and last name if you are building a site about you; this will become your URL.
Hint: If you have a very common name you might consider using a middle name or middle initial in order to differentiate yourself.
***The Weebly tutorials archive is here: http://hc.weebly.com/hc/en-us
One of the steps in creating a site is to select a theme for your site. Select a theme that matches the content you have in mind.
Add your name in an obvious location.
A good place to add a professional headshot, should you so desire, is on your homepage.
Hint: Be sure the color scheme of the photo matches the color scheme of your site.
2. Initiate your Homepage
Below are some ideas of content that could fill various pages of a professional web site. Some of the content might also be useful on a site you are building for an educational cause:
For now, complete your homepage by adding a paragraph or two about the site. Add a professional headshot or photo that exemplifies the content within the site. Be sure to add the title of the site in the banner of your homepage. For creative ideas see the Examples tab of this web site.
Hint: Personalize the header of your homepage, then duplicate that page to build the other pages. This will keep the look of the header the same on all pages, which will help visitors know when they click on a link that they are still within your site. It will also eliminate "jumps" when a visitor navigates from page to page.
3. Create a Contact page. Use the "Contact Form" feature of Weebly. In this case, your email address will now appear on the page; instead there will be a form to complete. This prevents your email from being retrieved by the spammers who scour the Internet looking for email addresses. If you are attempting to protect your identity and are building a site about a cause, you might want to create a new google email account with a title that is fitting.
4. The URL to your weebly account requires a login. This is where you edit your web site.
The URL to our LIVE web site is the one you will share with your instructors and others who want to view your site. (i.e., http://iteachprofessionalwebsite.weebly.com/)
While logged in your account, periodically, click the Publish button in the upper right corner. This will update your live web site, and you will be presented with the URL to the published version. This is the URL you would put on your resume, at the signature line of your emails, etc.
Click on Refine in the menu above to continue.
In this step you will be creating a web site about you or about some aspect of your professional life you are passionate about. Most individuals do not hesitate to add their professional identity to the site, but if this is uncomfortable for you, you can use a pseudonym or create a site about a cause without identifying yourself.
I suggest using Weebly as an online tool for web site generation. It's easy to use, has free features that are adequate for this purpose, and you can always upgrade for a nominal fee if or when you need additional features. If you opt to use another tool, the content suggestions herein will still be helpful.
1. Get Started
Establish an free account for yourself at education.weebly.com
If you are having difficulties with your browser, view the recommended browsers listed here.
Then initiate a new site. When you are given the choice to plan or build, select "build my site."
Title the site appropriately, but you can modify the title later. I recommend using your first and last name if you are building a site about you; this will become your URL.
Hint: If you have a very common name you might consider using a middle name or middle initial in order to differentiate yourself.
***The Weebly tutorials archive is here: http://hc.weebly.com/hc/en-us
One of the steps in creating a site is to select a theme for your site. Select a theme that matches the content you have in mind.
Add your name in an obvious location.
A good place to add a professional headshot, should you so desire, is on your homepage.
Hint: Be sure the color scheme of the photo matches the color scheme of your site.
2. Initiate your Homepage
Below are some ideas of content that could fill various pages of a professional web site. Some of the content might also be useful on a site you are building for an educational cause:
- resume
- portfolio of your best work
- student work samples (names removed)
- professional headshot of you
- your university
- link to your LinkedIn profile
- links to the websites of experts in your field you admire or want to follow.
- links to organizations that are influential to your practice (e.g., International Society of Technology in Education)
- your professional philosophy
- a video of you discussing your professional beliefs
- photos of activities you have conducted (do not include photos that show the faces of minors if it would identity them)
For now, complete your homepage by adding a paragraph or two about the site. Add a professional headshot or photo that exemplifies the content within the site. Be sure to add the title of the site in the banner of your homepage. For creative ideas see the Examples tab of this web site.
Hint: Personalize the header of your homepage, then duplicate that page to build the other pages. This will keep the look of the header the same on all pages, which will help visitors know when they click on a link that they are still within your site. It will also eliminate "jumps" when a visitor navigates from page to page.
3. Create a Contact page. Use the "Contact Form" feature of Weebly. In this case, your email address will now appear on the page; instead there will be a form to complete. This prevents your email from being retrieved by the spammers who scour the Internet looking for email addresses. If you are attempting to protect your identity and are building a site about a cause, you might want to create a new google email account with a title that is fitting.
4. The URL to your weebly account requires a login. This is where you edit your web site.
The URL to our LIVE web site is the one you will share with your instructors and others who want to view your site. (i.e., http://iteachprofessionalwebsite.weebly.com/)
While logged in your account, periodically, click the Publish button in the upper right corner. This will update your live web site, and you will be presented with the URL to the published version. This is the URL you would put on your resume, at the signature line of your emails, etc.
Click on Refine in the menu above to continue.