[OT] Experience with getting participation in school web site by teachers

[Dan Jenkins]

This is totally off-topic (except that we use Linux for all of the 
server infrastructure there), but I figured some of you may have some 
insight on this issue.

We have an elementary school as a client. They want to have a more 
dynamic web site with teachers / classrooms having more up-to-date web 
presence. Web presence defined as any of web page(s), blogs, wiki, etc. 
Each classroom sub-site could be different. They just want to have 
something which teachers would update with minimal effort for those who 
won't/can't expend more effort. As most places, there are a few zealous 
ones, a bulk of if-it's-not-too-much-trouble (or, to be honest, 
I-don't-have-enough-time-as-it-is) ones and a few no-way-no-how ones.

They do not have a clear idea of what they want to present, nor to whom. 
(I know that ought to be the first thing, but they simply don't know 
yet.) This is brain-storming phase.

They tried a website some years ago, with each classroom having a web 
page, but it bogged down. They were using various web editors (Publisher 
mostly), and most people got tied up in the effort of creating web pages 
that looked good to them, versus content that was useful to others.

I am not looking for ways to inspire them (though I will be happy to 
listen to any).

I am looking for tools to make it easy for them to update content 
(broadly defining content) and provide an overarching structure to make 
it easy-to-find.

They have four Linux servers (Mandriva), with the usual LAMP. We are 
planning on overhaul of their Linux servers this summer to address 
performance (on their email server/web filter) and storage issues (they 
are doing much more video editing and space has gotten tight). This 
summer would be a good time to put any new infrastructure for this in place.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
--
Dan Jenkins, Rastech Inc., Bedford, NH, - 603-206-9951
*** IT support excellence for thirty years