As I left college in 1997, internet integration and education was still very primitive. I have built my own user-facing web portal for students to see their grades (and for me to input them) and download assignments. Until the emergence of tools like Blackboard and D2L, this was the primary way I communicated with students... electronically.
Now that the tools are there, I am concentrating on adding video narration and illustration to my courses using YouTube. I also curate playlists of videos to use in the classroom. If you have any input or suggestions, feel free to contact me!