Workshop Outline
I.
Introduction: How Can The Web Enhance Learning?
A. What Are The Elements of a Course
Site?
1. What is a course site?
Before we begin the actual construction of course site, we need to
define what a course site is. There are no rigid guidelines for setting
up a course site; instead, there are several levels of web-assisted instruction,
and in order to get some inspiration, it helps to take a look at some course
sites others have created. Let's take a look at an existing course
site and familiarize ourselves with the pedagogical possibilities it offers:
(on-line syllabus, links, bulletin board, etc.).
B. A Closer Look At Existing Course Sites
1. evaluating exisiting pages. Now it's your turn! We
have collected a
list of course sites for you to evaluate. Spend a few minutes
skimming through existing course sites in your discipline, then pick a
site to evaluate. Note at least two things that you like about the
site and two things that you would change. You may want to use worksheet
#1--evaluation form to guide you.
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go over evaluation form
-
open up list of course sites
2. synthesizing results
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What did you find that you liked and disliked?
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How are each of the course sites' elements helpful for your different disciplines?
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From your group discussion, list the 5 best features of a course site.
C. How Does A Course Site Enhance Learning?
Now that we have seen and evaluated several different course sites,
we can draw from our experiences to highlight several main areas in which
the Web can enhance learning. Let's look more closely at these:
1. Improves communication
-
instructor-student
-
student-student
-
student-world
2. Expands resources
-
far-reaching
-
authentic
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up-to-date
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allows for collaboration with colleagues
3. Student-centered
II.
Planning Your Project: Concepts
A. Which Technological Features
Will Most Help My Students?
1. As powerful as these features are, by no means do they replace
the instructor. On the contrary, new technologies require planning
and intelligent use. By keeping certain questions in mind, you will
be able to translate these concepts into practical usage with your own
course site. Some pertinant questions might be:
-
Who is my audience? Consider the scope of your page: do you
only want to target your group of students, or do you want to reach
distance learners, potential students, and potential employers?
-
What advantages does this medium provide for my particular discipline?
What could be acheived more effectively through traditional methods?
-
What skills do I want my students to develop by using this medium?
Which do they already possess?
B. Sketching Your Course Site
We will now translate these conceptual considerations into the layout
of your course site. Since you have seen and evaluated completed
course sites, and have done some brainstorming related to the specific
goals of your course, you should have a basic idea of what your site will
look like. We will provide worksheets to help structure your planning.
It is a good idea to physically sketch out your ideas before starting--
worksheet
#2 will help you to set the parameters of your project by requiring
you to consider a few questions focused on the particular needs of your
course.
III.
Planning Your Project: Technical Tools And Skills
A. Tools For Composing Your Course
Site
Now that you have a general idea of the elements of a course site--both
in its layout and its pedagogical background--it is time to begin the creative
process. There are several ways to compose a course site:
Netscape Composer
In the first workshop, you used Netscape's editor function to publish
your professional page. Netscape Composer can also be used
to construct a course site.
Software Packages
Specifically designed for creating course sites, software packages
such as Web Course in a Box and Web
CT can easily be used to create and personalize your own course site.
B. Skills For Assembling Your Course
Site Materials
1. Both Netscape Composer and software packages demand
a minimum of computer skills. However, if you want to personalize
your site, you will probably be using
search engines to scavenge for ideas and images. In the first
workshop, you learned how to save images to a disk; now you will
learn how to find helpful sites and save their location to a disk.
2. You may spend the remaining
part of the workshop collecting the actual materials you want to
include, such as syllabi, images, and links.
IV. Homework
for next session
You have now completed the hard part--the conceptual work behind constructing
a course site. In the next session, you will begin to physically
compose your site. If you haven't assembled all of your materials
and organized them onto your worksheets, you will need to have this done
before you begin construction of your course site. You will also
need to bring the following:
-
your completed worksheets
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your syllabus on a disk
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any URLS or images you may have saved on a disk
-
your worksheets from workshop 1
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