Launch Page vs. Start Page

[Joe Peacock]

We have such a proliferation of important links for students, teachers, and parents, that we have already created a "launch" page for everyone that allows easy access to various logins, links to important research resources and the library catalogue, etc.  Recently I added the school calendar to the page.  The current version is here:

https://sites.google.com/a/burgundyfarm.org/home/

This is a static page that probably would not change much in the course of the school year, although I suppose there is nothing to say that we couldn't post announcements there as well, or maybe do RSS feeds from news on our website.  

This is a public page that requires no login.

I am also weighing against this the possibility of using a Google Start page for this purpose.  According to this instruction page:

http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=184005

Google sites has to be turned on for each organization that has access to the start page (which users access after login).  

A Google start page seems to have at least a couple potential disadvantages:

a) since we don't have Google Apps accounts for parents, they couldn't access the start page,

b) if Google Sites have to be enabled for students for them to access the start page, I assume that means that they would be able to create their own sites as well, which we might not want (can someone verify that?).

c) since this page requires a login, it could not be used as the home page in a browser, which is a convenient way to  use a launch page.

The advantages of a start page would include

a) we could customize the URL to make it quite simple (though this would also be true for the launch page in Google Sites)

b) if we posted announcements they would  be visible only to those logging in, and

c) students could customize the "customizable area" of their own pages.

I'd love to hear from other school about how they are handling this and what their experiences have been with either approach.

Thanks, Joe

--
Joe Peacock
Director of Technology
Burgundy Farm Country Day School
3700 Burgundy Road
Alexandria, VA 22303
tel. 703-842-0567

[melissa benson]

b) if Google Sites have to be enabled for students for them to access the start page, I assume that means that they would be able to create their own sites as well, which we might not want (can someone verify that?).

-->You can allow/disallow site creation per organization (settings/sites/org settings)