Do you have a child going off to college? Is your family becoming more disconnected as your schedules become busier? Would you like to set up a family-oriented site for your classroom? Would you like to build a sense of family for students in your classroom this upcoming year? WebFam to the rescue!

Here is a slightly edited description provided by the company when I set up my account…

“WebFam is a cool new family-oriented service where we can start sharing files and photos, building websites, coordinating our schedules, or just chatting. WebFam is a virtual computing platform, which means that you can access all the applications and files that you share from any computer that supports an internet browser. WebFam fully encrypts and backs up every file x3 so we’ll never have to worry about information being stolen or lost! Also, each cloud computer is private, and uses the same security encryption as financial institutions. WebFam uses AirSet cloud computing technology…the absolute best on the market.”

Additional information provided by the company…

“WebFam lets you manage all your family groups in what we call Cloud Computers. These cloud computers come with 5 gigabytes of storage for saving, organizing and sharing all your files, pictures, schedules, contacts, links, tasks, blogs, and more. All your data is backed up 3 times, so you never have to worry about losing a thing. The best part is… you can create as many shared cloud computers for all your family groups.

WebFam also offers great tools for publishing websites, greeting cards, invitations, newsletters and more without any web design or programming knowledge. It is as simple as uploading one of our templates, adding your pictures, blogs, schedules, and whatever else you like, and then publishing it with your own unique web address (for example: farroutfamily.airset.com).”

I initially found the interface a bit counter-intuitive, but did manage to navigate my way through adding family members (remember your students could be considered classroom family) and setting family member user rights without too much trouble. I also added a link, a photograph, music, and a message and sent an invitation to my husband and kids to join the network. Of course, all of this would probably have been much easier if I had taken the time to review the posted tutorial videos found on the homepage of the site.

Things I really liked (at least initially)…

• The dedicated web address (an address you could ask to have unblocked in a school environment)
• The interface reminded me of Window’s desktop.
• The customization of user rights.
• 5 gigabytes of storage seems very generous (if I set up a similar account in Airset directly I am offered only 1 gigabyte of storage)
• The idea of sharing information, photos, and videos with my family members without having to email back and forth.
• The shared calendar…now, we all have access to family birthdays, anniversaries, etc. (obviously, you could also do the same thing if you set up a family classroom site).
• The family message board.
• The fact that I could enable an RSS feed so notification of new information posted to the site is automatic.
• Family members or students can upload documents (like homework assignments or worksheets).

If I could change anything…

• I would get rid of the advertising (as it stands now, you have to pay to remove advertisements…the advertising is not obnoxious…it’s just there).
• I would integrate document creation like Google Docs (hey, I can always dream…right?)
• I would make it possible to set up an online account that did not require email verification (since many students do not have email accounts).

If this is a resource you might like to use to build your classroom family this Fall, I would suggest that you play with it and become familiar with the interface over the summer while you have time to explore and upload items like your homework policy, supply list, welcome letter, etc.). I think you will also find it is easier to share the resource with your school Technology Coordinator if you can show him/her the work you have completed over the summer. This resource holds a lot of potential.

Please let us know what you think and feel free to share your ideas for an integrated [home or school] family site using the comment link/section at the end of this post.