One thing a busy, busy educator must face is the value of the effect vs. the time it takes to create that effect. The energy and effort may or may not be worth the time investment to produce the effect.
Value Ratio
Your Cost = Value of the Effect
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Time Requirement
Fortunately, some special effects are not too difficult to add and may even enhance your purposes for little or no effort on your part. Enter the world of Java!
Fortunately, you do not have to become a Java Script programmer to use Java on your web site. Just as you have enjoyed collecting images from different sources and copying ideas from other sites, you can also use the 'copy and paste' method to put some useful 'style' to your page and perhaps put some useful utility too.
A word of caution here...some special effects are so special, they may detract from your purpose! A few examples of special effects will illustrate what I mean. Look at a few examples to see some very 'cool' effects, but some effects that would drive most visitors to your site away after just a few minutes.
Special Effects That Quickly Become Distracting
Example 1: Elastic String
Example 2: Snow Effect
There are many, many scripts published on the Internet which have the potential to help you accomplish something useful. Many of these effects are applications which will require very little other than the usual copy and paste process.
Special Effects That May Be Useful
Consider these scripts and the suggested uses. Perhaps one of them will be of value to you in building your web page. There is a 'hint' to help you work with the script. The same or similar process works for each script, so you might not need the hint after you build one or two pages with these special effects.
Hints for Java & HTML (a Word-97 Document 64KB)
Calendar with Events
Use this script to publish your assignments for students in your class. They click on a date and read the assignments you have for that date. If you are fortunate enough to have students who like to work ahead or plan for tests IN ADVANCE, you might appreciate this script. It could be used as a school calendar of events in the life of the campus!
Prime Number Finder
Consider having assignments or conducting student projects on line. Have your students check into the 'primeness' of numbers by using your webpage to do research on numbers. Have students organize into groups to plan strategies for testing their conjectures about numbers.
Calculator
Use the Internet as a place to publish problems for your students. If the problem is a math challenge, they may attack the problem if they find a calculator right there with the problem!
I have collected several scripts from various Internet sources and bundled them together in a zip file which you may download. There is a text or Word-97 file that gives directions for building the HTML page as well as a sample page so you can observe what happens. Often there is an image file or two that goes with each script. This is also included. Some care has been given to selecting scripts which are felt to have potential for some instructional use. Enjoy!
You may also check any of the search engines like Excite, Alta Vista, HotBot, using the keyword: javascript.
Download Javascripts(zip-437kb)
(After unzipping, you will find it useful to begin grouping images with html documents using folders. If you look at the javascript, you will see which image goes with which html document.)
I don't think Java Scripts should be used extensively on an educational site, but could play a useful role for a creative educator wishing to enhance a site for the audience.