Net Aid for Teachers

School districts have struggled to find a balance between the cost of putting technology in the classroom and the cost of training teachers to use the devices. One of the more common problems is figuring out a way to let computer-confused teachers build and run their own extensive, professional-looking Web sites.

The solution, say staff at Scantron Corp. and Intranet Communications Corp., rests in two of their latest software products: IntraSchool and HomeRooms.

Scantron, based in Tustin, is known for its paper testing forms and networking systems. Intranet Communications in Irvine is a software firm that specializes in Web applications. The two companies have a joint agreement to develop and distribute the two products.

IntraSchool gives users a selection of predesigned Web page templates. Punch in the information to be posted online, choose a background color, or import graphics or photos with a simple click of the mouse. The software aims to help “people who don’t know, or don’t want to learn, HTML programming [the language used to build Web sites] to still get involved with Web publishing,” said Russ Hertzberg, vice president of marketing for Scantron.

HomeRooms acts as a companion program to IntraSchool. For districts with small technology budgets, Scantron has developed a Web hosting service that handles most of the tasks associated with running an online site. HomeRooms includes establishing server links to nearby network carriers, configuring the computer equipment and operating the network, among other things.

Garden Grove Unified School District is one of nearly 200 in California, Colorado and Washington to implement the IntraSchool software. The Orange County district, a test site for the program, said the software’s ease-of-use helps staff feel more comfortable with the Web--and therefore more likely to use it in their curriculum.

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P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.