1. Getting Started

Does your school already have a webpage about Japan or Japanese? If so, you may enter this in the contest! Please click here for more advice.

If your school doesn’t yet have a webpage, please read on for more advice on how to set this up.

If your school is not yet teaching Japanese or doing any Japan-related project, please see this sheet about support available for Japanese taster sessions, Japan Days, partner school activities and more. You may also find our FAQ for schools starting out with Japanese useful

2. Advice for setting up a webpage from scratch

Your audience

Before you start, think about what kind of webpage you would like to create. Who will it be aimed at? What is the purpose of the webpage?

After you have thought about who will be visiting your webpage, and what you want to achieve, this should help you decide on the content. This content could include:

You may have many more ideas, so don’t limit yourself to this list.

What kind of webpage?

You may want to create a webpage that is part of your school’s official website

Or, you may wish to create a webpage that is separate from your school’s official website. In this case, your school’s official website must have a link to your webpage, and your webpage must have a link to the school’s official website.  Please speak to the person who manages your school’s official website and ask if they can add a link to your page.

Blog or wiki style webpage

One easy way to create a webpage is by making a simple blog or wiki. If you can use a programme like Microsoft Word, you will easily be able to do this.

A blog is a shared online journal, where you can post entries. These usually appear in chronological order. Entries can include text, photos, videos, sound files, links to other sites and much more. You can also set up your blog so that multiple users can edit it, and allow others to leave comments on your entries.

A wiki is designed to be a collaborative website that can be created and edited by multiple users. A wiki can contain multiple pages that are all linked to each other. Like a blog, you can add text, photos, videos, sound files, links to other sites and much more.

Here is an article from Teach Primary magazine (www.teachprimary.com) with useful advice and tips on how to make the most of a class blog:
Download article as a PDF (2MB)

For some quick tips on how to set up a blog, you may find these articles useful:

How to set up a blog (Tips from ‘Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom)
Set up a Free Blog Site (Article from www.freebielist.com)
British Council: blogging for language learning

Here are some sites where you can set up your blog or wiki page:

Blogs:

Wikis:

Others:

Create a page within your school’s website

Another alternative is to create a page on your school’s official website. If you would prefer to do this, please consult the person who manages your school’s website to find out if you can create a page, what kind of content you can upload, and how you can edit this content.

Create a page from scratch using HTML

If you are experienced with web design, you may prefer to make your own page from scratch using HTML code. To do this, you will need a text editor (such as Notepad), and a Web hosting provider so that you can upload your site onto the internet.

For more advice and tutorials about creating pages until HTML, you may find the W3 Schools website useful. However, if you have not made a webpage before, you may find it easier to set up your page as a blog or wiki, or as part of your school’s website.

Example pages

You can view entries for the Japan Webpage Contest 2010 here for inspiration and ideas.

Below are some good examples of webpages created by teachers or schools. Not all of these relate to Japan, but they should give you some inspiration for the kinds of webpages you can create:

Ballyclare Primary School's
winning webpage describes, in a creative and inspiring way, the various projects and activities with their partner school, Tomei Primary in Toyama. You can read more about why the judges chose this site as the overall winner here.

Flags Project
This eLanguages project looks at the history of flags, and gives students the chance to design their own. It was set up by a teacher in England, but 14 participants from around the world have contributed. You can see flags designed by students in different countries, and read about why they chose their design. There is also advice for teachers about how to carry out the project, and a helpful message board.

South Wolds Japanese (Japan Webpage Contest 2010 Runner-Up)
South Wolds Community School's website
Describes past trips to Japan, including video footage! You can read more about why the judges chose this site as a runner-up here.

Blog of the Languages Department at Northgate High School.
Features many detailed reports on school trips to Germany, Spain and France, written by the teachers. These include lots of photos and videos, and often show phrases in the target language, e.g. “Gut gemacht, Leute!” (“Well done, folks!”). There are also reports from a former student who is now working as a language assistant in France. The blog also includes homework for students to download, and links to useful sites to help with their language learning.

Blog about Ashcombe School’s trip to France in 2008
A short blog, including many photos and even a sound file of students singing in French. Most entries are written by the teacher but there are also quotes from students.

Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls (Japan Webpage Contest 2010 Entry)
The many Japanese activities featured on this school's page include their annual Japan Day, complete with a photo gallery.

Webpage about Modern Foreign Languages at Gospel Oak School, a primary school in London.
This page is part of the school’s website. There is a very nice report on the French activities they tried at their Enrichment Day, including a video of boules competition between staff and pupils, and lots of photos. The webpage also features a video the school has made about how it is introducing French, which is being used to train teachers in other schools in Camden.

South Wolds Japanese (Japan Webpage Contest 2010 Runner-Up)
South Wolds Community School's Japanese page includes a huge bank of Japanese teaching and learning resources created by the Japanese teacher. You can read more about why the judges chose this site as a runner-up here.

Wiki made by a teacher at a high school in Canada.
This offers resources and documents for various courses in English, History and Multimedia, and is aimed mostly at the students in these classes. Here is an example for a topic called “Water: Crisis? What Crisis?”.

Blog by an English teacher at a primary school in Spain
A colourful blog, with lots of pictures and videos. It aims to let her students practise English in a fun way. There are seasonal topics such as the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree. This blog also uses lots of embedded widgets, e.g. Virtual pet and Crazyprofile.

Webpage of the Modern Languages Department of Ashcombe School, Surrey
This site is divided into resources for students, resources for teachers and resources for primary teachers to use with Key Stage 1 and 2.

Woodlands Science Zone, from Woodlands Junior School, Kent
A very neatly designed webpage to help the school’s students learn about science. It contains interactive online science games and activities, and quizzes on SATs questions for various topics.

Tile Hill Wood School's Japanese Page (Japan Webpage Contest 2010 Design Prize)
Tile Hill Wood School's website features a wonderful gallery of the students' Japanese work. You can read more about why the judges chose this site as the Design Prize winner here.

Blog of the Spanish Department at Edgehill College, Exeter
This blog aims to showcase the work that students are doing in Spanish, and encourages them to leave comments to help their classmates. Interesting features include:

Classwork page of Ambleside C. E. Primary School, Cumbria
A wonderful and very large collection of students’ work, categorised by year group.

Time Trail webpage from Nettlesworth Primary School, County Durham
A very colourful webpage for pupils about different history topics, including the Victorians and Romans. Each page features lots of information and helpful pictures and diagrams. You can also try quizzes and see classwork created by the pupils.

Year 5 work from Woodland Grange Primary School, Leicester
Contains a mixture of videos, photos and games showing the work by Year 5 students, including a project to launch a rocket, and animated footballers using clip art.

Godzilla's Den (Japan Webpage Contest 2010 Runner Up)
Bearsden Primary School's Japan Webpage is packed with reports and photos of the many Japan-related activities that this school has been doing, including martial arts, origami and arts and crafts. You can read more about why the judges chose this site as a runner-up here.

Webpage of the Modern Languages Department of the Royal High School, Edinburgh
Although the page is quite simple, it gives an impressive overview of recent achievements and events that students have taken part in. You can also download two student handbooks, and there are links to other websites where students can practice their languages.

South Wolds Japanese (Japan Webpage Contest 2010 Runner-Up)
South Wolds Community School's Japanese page includes a huge bank of Japanese teaching and learning resources created by the Japanese teacher, as well as videos of the students demonstrating their Japanese. You can read more about why the judges chose this site as a runner-up here..

Webpage of the Geography department of Ashcombe School, Surrey
A very comprehensive webpage, with full details of the school’s geography courses at Key Stage 3, GCSE and AS/A2. This would be very helpful for both students and parents. There are also resources and useful downloads for units at every stage. Photos are shown in a slideshow, which saves space but allows lots of photos to be shown.

Webpage of the Music Department of Oakham School, Rutland.
A short but smartly designed page giving an overview of the music department’s work, and students’ achievements in music.

3. Advice for those with existing webpages

You may already have a webpage about your school’s Japanese activites, and you may certainly enter this in the contest.

However, please check your webpage carefully to make sure that it is eligible. Please make sure that there are no copyright issues or student privacy issues.

All entries in the contest will need to be viewable without a password or login. If your current webpage is not viewable to all, why not decide on the content that you are happy to be made public, and transfer this to a blog or wiki page?

4. Advice for all entrants

Judging criteria

Judging Criteria

What judges will be looking for

Advice and Suggestions

Design and ease of use
  • Is the webpage easy to use?
  • Is the webpage clearly laid out and easy to navigate?
  • Does the webpage have a good use of design?

You should make sure that it is easy to find your way around your webpage, especially if it includes multiple pages.

Check that all links and any functions (e.g. search facilities) are working.

If you are using a blog or wiki, your page will probably come with a default design. You may want to customise the design of your page to make it more attractive.

Breadth of content

  • Does the webpage contain a wide-range of content?
  • Does the webpage show any cross-curricular ideas?
  • If there are any links to external sites, are these carefully selected and appropriate?

You may include links to external websites within your webpage. However, the judging will mainly focus on the content that exists within your webpage itself, rather than the content of external sites.

 

Quality of content

Taking into account the age of those who have contributed to the website:

  • Is the content technically accurate?
  • Is the content produced to a high standard?

Your webpage can contain both factual information and your own opinions. Make sure you check your webpage content carefully for any spelling mistakes or inaccurate information.

 

Originality and Replicability
  • Does the webpage showcase unusual ideas or projects?
  • Or, does the webpage present its ideas in an original way?
  • How easy would it be for other teachers to learn from the webpage and try similar ideas for themselves?

Try to think about the unique aspects of your webpage, and what makes it special.

Even if your website focuses on commonly used themes, try to present these ideas in a new way. You may find that your students have some good ideas!

Whatever kind of webpage you enter, it should be easy for other teachers to learn from your example. Remember that other teachers will be in different situations, so why not include variations and different ideas to inspire them? Any feedback and evaluation on your webpage or the projects you have done would also be useful. For example, rather than just including a simple lesson plan, why not include an evaluation of how the lesson plan worked (or didn’t work) for you. Or, if you are showcasing your students’ work in Japanese, try to explain clearly exactly how you set this work, and write about what went well, what didn’t go so well, and include feedback from your students.

Meets Webpage Aims
  • How well does your webpage meet its own aims?

If you are creating a new webpage from scratch, think carefully about who your audience is and what the aims of your webpage are. If you already have a webpage, it’s still worth reconsidering these points and adjusting your webpage if necessary.

 

Meets Contest Aims
  • How does your webpage raise the profile of Japan and Japanese in your school, and motivate your school to continue this work?
  • How does your webpage inspire teachers in other schools and promote the teaching of Japanese or about Japan more widely?
  • How does your webpage motivate the students who have been involved in learning Japanese or about Japan at your school?

If you have any evidence of how your webpage achieves these aims, you may wish to tell us about this. (E.g. any publicity your webpage has received, number of hits on your webpage, comments by students, etc.)

Giving your page the “wow” factor

There are many different tools that you can use to make your webpage more exciting and interesting. The following pages may give you some ideas. You may also find that your students have some good ideas.

A to Z of ICT in Modern Foreign Languages
A presentation by Alex Blagona, a languages teacher in Suffolk.

Ten tried and tested internet tools for teachers
A-Z Internet Resources for Education
Some tips and ideas from Jose Picardo, Head of MFL at Nottingham High School

Links to National Curriculum and advice on using ICT in your lessons

You may wish to enter this contest and develop a webpage as part of your regular teaching. Here is some useful information from QCDA and Becta:

ICT in subject teaching (Key Stages 1 and 2)

Cross-curriculum dimensions (Key Stages 3 and 4)

There are seven cross-curriculum dimensions, including:
- identity and cultural diversity
- global dimension and sustainable development
- technology and the media
- creativity and critical thinking

Depending on the aims and content of your webpage, you may find that it fits in well with one or more of these dimensions.

Becta
Becta was formally the government agency for ICT in education. Although its website is now closed, it has been archived here. This website offers a lot of useful advice on how you can build ICT into your teaching.

CILT is the National Centre for Languages, and has a website with lots of advice for using ICT in language lessons: Languages in ICT

Here are some other websites by teachers that may offer you useful ideas for integrating the contest into your lessons:

Integrating ICT into the Modern Foreign Language classroom
Joe Dale offers practical tips and advice on using ICT to enhance language teaching
Box of Tricks
Spectacular Spanish and Fabulous French

Copyright Guidance

Intellectual Property Office
This is the official government body responsible for granting Intellectual Property (IP) rights in the UK.

Creative Commons
This is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. You can use this website to find licenced works that you can share, remix, or reuse.

General guidelines on copyright, from the ICT for Language Teachers Website

Student Safety

Becta
Becta was formally the government agency for ICT in education. Although its website is now closed, it has been archived here. TThis website offers a lot of useful advice on student safety.

Blogs
The key features of a safe school website
Using images and video safely on school websites