First of all, you need to think about what you want to put online, and how it will help your class. Putting syllabi, assignments, or course outlines can save you time when students ask for those kinds of information, you can just tell them your webpage address. Putting other kinds of information online, like readings, can be tricky if you are unsure about copyright. Please be sure before you put it up! While I encourage saving paper, we all have to be careful.

You are welcome to look around and see what other professors have done. One place to start looking is Resources for English Language and Culture or Internet Resources for language teachers and learners.

Luckily for you there is a site dedicated to helping you put up syllabi or course outlines without too much fuss. The site is a workshop created by Rachel Wilson. It gives you step by step instructions on the html you will need for formatting syllabi or course outlines.

If that site's html explanation is too confusing, check out Andy Carvin's HTML Crash Course for Educators, it gives you opportunities to practice.

Another page that gives you templates you just need to cut and paste, then type your own content, is Charles Kelly's article: "How to make a successful ESL/EFL webpage", it has links to templates, quiz builders, table formation, and colors.

If all this is too much for you, then I suggest you go to the Total Beginner option and see if that looks better.

Once you feel comfortable enough to start putting your stuff onto your free website from Geocities, go to the Geocities File Manager Page. , log in, choose the Advanced html editor option and go! If you have any questions, be sure to ask me.

I have also compiled a few more links here for you to peruse if you are feeling ambitious.

If you would like to find your own how-to pages, I suggest you start searching either at FUN or at the Internet TESL journal's web-authoring links page. Here are my own recommendations:

Barebones Guide to HTML

NCSA Beginner's guide

First of all, a warning to be careful and make sure that what you are borrowing is actually free. Also, if someone requests you put their name on your page if you take their graphics, that's what you should do. While internet copyright laws are not well defined as of yet, we all want to give credit where credit is due.

If you didn't know yet, you can actually copy any image or graphic on any page on the web. All you have to do is right click your mouse and choose "save image as". That doesn't mean you should, just that it is possible. Well, here you go, here is a starting list of some places that offer free graphics, as well as some places to look for help with tables. (remember to look at Geocities' free graphics as well)

My flower graphics came from a free page by Kazuyuki Hashimoto.

Here is a good page for learning more about forms. Or try this more advanced tutorial from Webmonkey.

For a kooky-flavored page, check out Laurie's free web graphics

For bullets, arrows, backgrounds, and other stuff, try ABC Graphics, make sure if you use their stuff that you add a link back to their page. (read the warning and fine print section)

For a comprehensive listing, try Freegraphics.com. (each of their links has different usage requirements so please read the fine print!)

If you still haven't found anything you like, go to any search engine (like Yahoo,, Lycos, or Webcrawler) and do a "free _____" search on your own.