School Web Page Templates

The following templates provide pre-designed layouts that can be used to created page layouts. Special thanks to the Lowell public school students and the professional graphic designers for providing the illustrations found in these templates.

Home Page Templates

Here are two slightly different home page templates designed for the school system in Lowell, MA. Click on the image or the link to view the template.

Lowell Home Page Template 1
This is a magazine-style home page design. The design, with the colored stripe in the background, allows text about the school to be placed below the "cover story." It's always a good idea to have plenty of "meat" on a page.
This layout can be used to feature a single school internet project at a time. It's easy to just change the center portion of the cover when a new project is ready to be showcased.

Lowell Home Page Template 2
This is a slight variation on the first Lowell home page template. The only difference is that the student illustration of the school is placed in the colored columm rather than on the right. This design leaves extra room for the "cover story." These Lowell Home Page templates were designed by Nicole Yankelovich. They use illustrations from her collection of Children's Spot Illustrations.

Blackboard Home Page Template
This template, using artwork created by Kathy Zola, uses a strong school theme. In this template, links to particular projects are provided right on the home page and basic information about the school is included at the bottom. Use the artwork provided in the Blackboard Series to modify the topics on this home page or to create coordinating subsidiary pages.

Kids Home Page Template
This template, designed by artist Pam Keenan, is intended primarily for elementary schools. It has a fun, youthful look, and the template is easy to modify. In this template, basic information about the school is include on the home page, while links to other pages provide readers with information about projects and other aspects of the site. Use the artwork provided in the Kids Series to create subsidiary pages that coordinate with this home page.

Templates for Other Pages

Each of these templates has a different use, depending on the type of content you wish to include. Click on the image or the link to view the template. The illustrations used in these templates, plus others like them, can be found in the collection of Children's Spot Illustrations.

2-Column Layout
This is a basic layout that is most useful when you have small illustrations to go along with most of the subheadings on the page. For example, this layout can be used for a page that contains short abstracts of the materials contained on the web site.

Alternate 2-Column Layout
Here is a variation on the previous 2-column Layout. This one needs a small illustration for the upper left corner. This template can be effectively combined with the previous one by using the same illustration in a subhead of the 2-column Layout and the title of the Alternate 2-column Layout. This technique provides visual continuity between the pages.

Single Column Layout
This template can be used either for variation or because the material is more suited to a single column layout. This layout is recommended if a page contains lengthy text. The template includes a table of contents with internal links to sections later in the document.

Student Artwork Layout
Many school web sites include displays of student artwork. Use this layout to showcase a piece of artwork and include information about the artist and the work. It works well to include thumbnail size pictures of the artwork in a layout such as the Alternate 2-column Layout. When users click on the thumbnails, this layout can be used to provide the image at full size, along with some detailed information.

Internet Resources Layout (list of links)
Lists of links to pre-selected sites can be extremely helpful for students. These lists help students use their time efficiently by exploring sites that a teacher or parent has pre-selected. Also, this helps to ensure that students are not viewing material that is inappropriate for them. When creating lists of links, it is always best to annotate each link with some information about what is at the other end. A list without annotations is frustrating and hard to use. If your list of links is long, try to divide it up into subsections. This layout provides an optional table of contents at the beginning to accommodate long lists of Internet resources.

School-Related Illustrations

Graphic artists who are members of the professional organization called Greater Boston SIGCHI (special interest group on computer/human interaction) have generously donated their time to create illustrations tailored specifically for school home pages. This collection is under construction and will periodically be updated with additional illustrations. Any graphic designers who wish to contribute to this collection should contact Nicole Yankelovich.

Blackboard Series
This series of icons, created by designer Katherine Nitchie Zola, with a coordinating bullet and rule covers many academic subject areas including math, chemistry, reading, language, drama, art and music.

Kids Series
These illustrations, created by designer Pam Keenan, include playful bullets and rules, in addition to larger images useful for spot illustrations.

School Series
These illustrations, created by designer Bridget McManus, include icons, bullets, and rules.

Children's Spot Illustrations
These illustrations were created by designer Nicole Yankelovich from photographs of children's drawings. The collection includes pictures of children, school buildings, doors, windows, animals, and other school-related motifs.

	Lowell Home Page Template 1 This is a magazine-style home page design. The design, with the colored stripe in the background, allows text about the school to be placed below the "cover story." It's always a good idea to have plenty of "meat" on a page. This layout can be used to feature a single school internet project at a time. It's easy to just change the center portion of the cover when a new project is ready to be showcased.
	Lowell Home Page Template 2 This is a slight variation on the first Lowell home page template. The only difference is that the student illustration of the school is placed in the colored columm rather than on the right. This design leaves extra room for the "cover story." These Lowell Home Page templates were designed by Nicole Yankelovich. They use illustrations from her collection of Children's Spot Illustrations.
	Blackboard Home Page Template This template, using artwork created by Kathy Zola, uses a strong school theme. In this template, links to particular projects are provided right on the home page and basic information about the school is included at the bottom. Use the artwork provided in the Blackboard Series to modify the topics on this home page or to create coordinating subsidiary pages.
	Kids Home Page Template This template, designed by artist Pam Keenan, is intended primarily for elementary schools. It has a fun, youthful look, and the template is easy to modify. In this template, basic information about the school is include on the home page, while links to other pages provide readers with information about projects and other aspects of the site. Use the artwork provided in the Kids Series to create subsidiary pages that coordinate with this home page.

	2-Column Layout This is a basic layout that is most useful when you have small illustrations to go along with most of the subheadings on the page. For example, this layout can be used for a page that contains short abstracts of the materials contained on the web site.
	Alternate 2-Column Layout Here is a variation on the previous 2-column Layout. This one needs a small illustration for the upper left corner. This template can be effectively combined with the previous one by using the same illustration in a subhead of the 2-column Layout and the title of the Alternate 2-column Layout. This technique provides visual continuity between the pages.
	Single Column Layout This template can be used either for variation or because the material is more suited to a single column layout. This layout is recommended if a page contains lengthy text. The template includes a table of contents with internal links to sections later in the document.
	Student Artwork Layout Many school web sites include displays of student artwork. Use this layout to showcase a piece of artwork and include information about the artist and the work. It works well to include thumbnail size pictures of the artwork in a layout such as the Alternate 2-column Layout. When users click on the thumbnails, this layout can be used to provide the image at full size, along with some detailed information.
	Internet Resources Layout (list of links) Lists of links to pre-selected sites can be extremely helpful for students. These lists help students use their time efficiently by exploring sites that a teacher or parent has pre-selected. Also, this helps to ensure that students are not viewing material that is inappropriate for them. When creating lists of links, it is always best to annotate each link with some information about what is at the other end. A list without annotations is frustrating and hard to use. If your list of links is long, try to divide it up into subsections. This layout provides an optional table of contents at the beginning to accommodate long lists of Internet resources.

	Blackboard Series This series of icons, created by designer Katherine Nitchie Zola, with a coordinating bullet and rule covers many academic subject areas including math, chemistry, reading, language, drama, art and music.
	Kids Series These illustrations, created by designer Pam Keenan, include playful bullets and rules, in addition to larger images useful for spot illustrations.
	School Series These illustrations, created by designer Bridget McManus, include icons, bullets, and rules.
	Children's Spot Illustrations These illustrations were created by designer Nicole Yankelovich from photographs of children's drawings. The collection includes pictures of children, school buildings, doors, windows, animals, and other school-related motifs.