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Developing Educational Materials for the World Wide Web
Week 1 - Web Basics
The web is becoming part of our lives and our culture. We find web technology in our homes, in our offices, in our schools and libraries, in shopping malls, in doctor's offices, in health clubs, in hotels, in airports, in coffee houses, and even in churches. We use web technology to shop, to bank, to buy and sell stocks, to communicate with distant friends, colleagues and relatives, to read the news, a book, a magazine, to watch a movie or a ballgame, to listen to music, to participate in a discussion or chat, to find up-to-date information about health issues, to find a job, to post a photo of a newborn child or an entire wedding album, to renew a driver's license, to pay our taxes, to send a message to our mother or The President of the United States, to organize a high school class reunion or to arrange a weekend holiday.
Organizations use web technology to publish important information, to connect together staff, offices, and districts across distant facilities, to communicate internally and externally, to find and support clients, customers and investors, to advertise goods and services, to find partners and establish collaborations, to search trademarks and patents, to support staff and their families, to provide training and to conduct seminars and publish annual reports. Schools use the web to make available information about themselves, including their class schedules, registration information, calendar of events, academic department information, teacher curriculum guides, and lessons.
Thus, the web serves many purposes for many different kinds of organizations and different populations of users. Web technology is used by people and organizations to connect and communicate, to store and make available, to add value in the way of multimedia, and to create.
The web is more than just communications, however, and more than just the extension of a word processor.It is not only a medium of communication, it is a tool for writing, talking, reading, conducting surveys, shopping, playing games with people half way around the world, having a visual experience, recording our preferences, and accessing vast libraries of information. It reflects the real world in its presentation of real places and real people, for example, virtual museums, and virtual music tours. We can create and publish our own information, music, art, or writing.
What kind of concept are these websites dedicated to? How do you like the presentation of their website?
Amazon.com, the world's largest bookstore. http://www.amazon.com
http://www-graphics.stanford.edu/papers/webviz/webviz/node4.html#breadth
A graphic representation of how searches are made on the Internet.
Sites For Education
In the past few years, educational content on the web has exploded. Not only are most U.S. colleges and universities online, but many of them prefer online registration and some even require it. Teacher resource sites, homework sites, and student collaboration sites become more common as schools and universities, teachers and students take the time to create their own web pages. Some of these sites are quite simple and some have been in the works for years.
Reading Assignment and Focus Question:
http://www.webreview.com/1998/06_12/webauthors/06_12_98_2.shtml/
"The 5 Phases of Web Design," by Wendy Willard, professional web designer. The author of this article presents five phases of web site design, including Define the Scope, Planning the Project, Designing and Testing, Production and Implementation, and Maintenance and Updates. Your focus question for the week is: "Do I have the desire to learn, spend time, and carry through with the construction of a web site?" If your answer is yes, (which it ought to be, since you're taking this class!) then start thinking about what kind of website you'd like to make!
Preparing Educational Materials for the World Wide Web
EOU Malheur County Center (541) 889-7468 or (541) 889-6222
