There used to be a time in my freshman computer classes where we would create Websites. We would learn a little HTML, move to Dreamweaver, and use an actual Web server that students could upload and publish their finished Websites. Students loved it. They got to create, publish, and they were out there on the Web. Talk about having your students actively working, this was the unit. The finished product was not always pretty. (Surprisingly enough, most students have no design sense whatsoever) But, it was fun. Unfortunately, it has all disappeared. .
Last year, when we upgraded to Adobe CS 4 the other year, it came loaded with CSS tags and became more difficult (and less fun) for students to use. Don't get me wrong, we still make Web sites, but thanks to Web 2.0 tools such as Weebly and Wix, students create wonderful looking Websites using pre-made templates in about half the time. Their content is about the same (mostly weak), but it looks better.
The part that makes me sad is the loss of the process. Creating and designing a Website (without the pretty templates) took some planning and forethought by students and I think that is a great skill. Even having to upload, test, fix, re-upload, test again to get everything working very beneficial for students. In the end, they were very proud of their finished product.
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