Dreamweaver MX, and indeed the Studio MX bundle (Dreamweaver, Flash et al) is a step forward from previous versions in many ways.

"Subwebs" are structures supported by Microsoft server hardware and Frontpage.  A properly structured website allows the same structure with much more flexibility.  Dreamweaver has industry grade content protection if you need it, and can track who has edited a page.  You can "sign out" pages for editing to avoid duplication, allocate rights and protect the structure of the website much more powerfully than with Frontpage.

Yes, you would have to learn how to use the program.  It is quite different from Frontpage in many aspects.  It's user interface in particular is much stronger and more intuitive, but will take getting used to.  That said, once you have mastered its methods, you have skills which transfer to other macromedia products you may also use.  

Dreamweaver also makes ASP (Active Server Pages) and JSP (Javascript Server Pages) as easy as possible.  That means, if you want to provide personalised web pages or create web pages on-the-fly from database content (VERY useful), or administer automatically marked tests on the intranet, Dreamweaver will help you get it done faster.

Web authoring is as complicated as you want to make it these days!

THe latest MX version, which should really be considered as part of the Studio MX suite (see www.macromedia.com for info), is easier to use than ever before and offers significant benefits for schools. 

No, I do not, nor have I ever worked for Macromedia.  
It's just good software!

:)







> We use FrontPage 2000 because it offers us the ability to run a subweb for
>each department inc econ & biz and because RM have a special version which
>allows us to allocate rights via RM User. This means I can determine which
>pupils edit or browse which pages, and if one pupil mucks up a web site it
>is only one subweb, not the whole site.
>
>RM has now dropped FP2K and offer Dreamweaver and it is the industry
>standard.
>
>A licence costs only circa £50 for schools form www.pugh.co.uk
>
>Plus Macromedia offers a site licence for a 1,000+ school of just £2,000!
>
>If we starting afresh we would go with Dreamweaver but it is quite a steep
>learning curve ? The latest MX version may have made things easier?
>
>Regards
>
>Richard Young
>AST Teacher of Business Studies, Economics & ICT
>Deputy Head of VI Form - Year 12
>Wood Green School
>Woodstock Road
>Witney OX28 1DX
>
>Tel 01993 702355
>Fax 01993 774961
>
>www.woodgreen.oxon.sch.uk
>BECTa/Guardian Secondary School Web Site of the Year 2001
>[log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
>From:   Economics, business, and related subjects
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]]  On Behalf Of Philip Monk
>Sent:   22 October 2002 21:44
>To:     [log in to unmask]
>Subject:        Dreamweaver
>
>As a skilled, enthusiastic, and frustrated ICT user...
>
>There are 3 schools (no pun intended).
>
>1) Those who write html by hand and shy away in horror from anything that
>looks user friendly.
>2) Those who use Frontpage.
>3) Those who use Dreamweaver and many other good authoring programs.
>
>As a school, there are strong arguments for Dreamweaver.
>*) Although it is expensive, an educational licence costs only around £200
>now.
>*) It is complex, but powerful, flexible, intuitive and follows industry
>standards.  It IS the industry standard.
>*) It is scalable and integrates with other ICT technologies.
>*) It has a feature called "clean up FrontPage HTML" (!)
>
>Perhaps more importantly for the school environment, it is the only program
>to explicitly consider accessiblity.  It is intuitive and simple to use.
>
>Ironically, FrontPage is rarely used outside of the classroom.  It is tied
>to Microsoft technologies and platforms in a way that Dreamweaver isn't, and
>lacks significant features and capabilities the value of which are quite
>complex but should not be underestimated.
>
>These days it isn't about writing wonderful HTML, it's about putting useful,
>accessible, differentiated and appropriate content in the hands of capable
>users quickly, easily and reliably.  Dreamweaver is the only choice.
>
>PLEASE don't be another school which embraces the idea and yet implements it
>in such a poor manner as to make the results at best embarassing and at
>worst, discriminatory.  Producing accessible, well designed pages is
>something that has to be learnt .  There are plenty of books on that!
>
>If you want to discuss this further, I'm always willing.  This is a special
>interest of mine.
>
>I'm buying the latest version of Dreamweaver et al tomorrow.
>
>Philip Monk
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Headmaster Runnymede College" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 10:30 AM
>
>
> >Dear All
> >
> >I'm trying to find out how people go about uploading material to their
> >school intranets/websites.
> >
> >Are there lots of wizard html writers out there?
> >Do people use Dreamweaver/Frontpage?
> >Are there people who's job it is to do this (ever hopeful!) ?
>
> Our IT bod does ours.
>
> >
> >Jenny Wales
> >
> >
> >
> >Jenny Wales
> >Citizenship Co-ordinator
> >Nuffield Foundation
>
>
> --
> ________________________________________
>  From the Headmaster
> Runnymede College
> Calle Salvia 30
> 28109 La Moraleja
> Madrid
> Spain
>
> <a Target='_new' Href='http://talk21.btopenworld.com/redirect.html?http://www.runnymede-college.com'>http://www.runnymede-college.com</a>
>
> phone: +34 91 650 8302
> fax:    +34 91 650 8236
> ________________________________________
>



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