EDLD+5365+Web+Mastering

**Week 1 Discussion Post (3/1/09)** In //Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools//, Solomon & Schrum state, "Using collaboration and communication tools with educational methods that also promote these skills-- such as project-based learing-- will help students acquire the abilities they need for the future." After sixteen years in the classroom and quite a bit of experience with the concept of project-based learning, I am a strong proponent for this method of teaching. Students seem to become far more engaged in the learning experience when there is an end product or result that has value. It motivates them, makes the experience more real, and gives them an end to work toward. It is important, when using this method of teaching, to assign roles to group members, so that everyone is accountable and responsible for learning and sharing. Project-based learning promotes collaboration, as well as responsibility, which will both be important skills for 21st century learners to possess. Because of this, I advocate the use of project-based learning, along with the new collaboration and communication tools available to schools through open source software. When I consider the quote by Solomon and Schrum about Western graduates being "just as well versed in using new tools," and requiring, "significantly smaller salaries," making "clear where the jobs will go," I realize how important it is to equip our students with these tools, if they are to be successful in the globally competitive workforce of the future.

The situation with the web site team on my campus most closely resembles that of Courtney's-- one person, the webmaster, is responsible for maintenance and updates. The site was created off campus, by the district technology department, and the webmaster serves mainly as a gatekeeper. There is not a lot of "creation," no interactivity, very few resourceul links for students, and overall it is outdated. Considering the fact that school websites are such a valuable information tool, I certainly undertand why we need to be exploring Web 2.0 technologies. It seems clear that the Web 2.0 tools can be a cost-effective solution to change these sites so that they are more interactive and ultimately, a more effective communication tool. In addition, the collaborative capabilities of these tools effectively address the issue of unmanageable amounts of work being the responsibility of one person. I am eager to explore all the new concepts, tools, and techniques we have touched on in the readings so far. I look forward to applying the knowledge in improving our school website in time.
 * Reply to others:**

I agree with Shantay in that Kaiser's comparison of website planning to that of building your dream home was very effective in helping me undertand how much planning should go in to building a website. Clearly, if the site is going to be well designed and serve its purpose, effective planning and leadership are crucial. Although I am completely new to web design and creating web sites, I have had experience in leadership roles, and I feel like all the tips provided by Kaiser, especially assigning roles and delegating responsibility, are key factors in the successful outcome of any project.
 * 2nd Reply to others:**

====While reading from Kaiser's book, __Delivering First Class Web Sites__, I was surprised to learn that an ambiguous organization scheme was recommended for users who may not know what they want. I would have guessed that exact organization schemes were recommended the majority of the time. After reading the explanation and comparison to Amazon.com's website, it seemed to make sense that users might prefer this organization scheme at times. I have found Amazon.com to be a very user friendly site that I enjoy browsing. According to the tips presented in Kaiser's work, it is important to review and assess successful websites, such as Amazon.com, and implement similar elements in the design process of your own website. ====
 * Week 2 Discussion Post** **(3/9/09)**

**Reply to others**:
 I too agree with Sulema's observation about the importance of all the principles of usability as noted in Kaiser's book. All of these principles are the same ones we like to see implemented in the websites we visit ourselves. It only stands to reason that we should follow the same principles when designing our websites.

Along with Anna, I am a visual learner. As I read the information in Kaiser's __Delivering First Class Web Sites__, I began to brainstorm about all of the things I wanted to include in my website. Although I had so many ideas, I was not able to organize them and create some sort of order until I began mapping them out on paper. Once I actually took the time to do that, the organization of my ideas and content became much easier and clearer.
 * 2nd Reply to others:**

**Week 3 Discussion Post (3/16/09)**
 What is the relevance of the Open Source movement in K-12? The Open Source movement is extremely relevant to public schools because along with this movement, two extremely important factors that have proved burdonsome in the realm of public education are significantly reduced if not eliminated. Those two factors are time and money. Open Source software saves educational professionals a tremendous amount of time by allowing collaboration on projects, assignments, and tasks--not to mention the benefits related to the collaborative abilities it generates for students. The time factor is an important benefit, as it allows educators to spend their valuable resource (time) on completing other tasks to further their educational goals. The second factor, money, is always an important issue in public education. With the Open Source movement, many tools are available at no cost, which fits perfectly in many school budgets.

**Reply to others**:
 I also do not have a background in programming. Although I thoroughly enjoy technology, programming, from what I've learned so far, would not be something I would be interested in learning. I feel, however, that basic knowledge in programming is helpful. This basic understanding provides the front end users with more insight and appreciation of a webpage, as Monica stated.

**2nd Reply to others**:
 I agree with Courtney in saying that programming is much simpler than it appears. The problem for me is that programming is the type of task that is very uninteresting, so I have no desire to learn it. I do, however, believe that it is important to have a basic understanding of it if you plan to work on web sites.

Week 4 Discussion Post (3/21/09)
 I have created a few short podcasts and used them as teaching tools in my classroom. In my experience, I have found podcasts to be an extremely effective tool. I have used software programs to alter my voice and create characters to deliver some of my lectures. It seems to spice things up a bit and make lectures more entertaining and therefore, interesting for the students. Another benefit is the fact that these audio lectures can be saved and easily edited to add more content for future use. Finally, it has proven helpful if students were absent or needed to revisit a lecture to improve understanding. I feel like podcasting is a great tool to use in education.

**Reply to others:**
 I agree with you, Monica. It does make for a more lasting impression, thus a stronger learning experience, if the students are active participants in creating and producing something, such as a podcast. The experience was more meaningful to them than if they had simply completed a worksheet on the material covered.

**2nd Reply to others:**
 I agree with Shantay. At this time, we don't take advantage of blogging as much as we could at my school, but I feel that it is a great tool for communication. Blogging seems to offer a safe way for everyone to offer opinions, advice, and share thoughts. This is an important tool to consider since communication among educators, students, parents, and community members is a key factor in determining the success of educators.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Week 5 Discussion Post (3/28/09)**
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> There is not a Web Oversight Committee on my campus at this time. We have a technology facilitator that serves as the webmaster, and she is the only person on our campus responsible for our site. Throughout this course I have discovered several reasons why it might be beneficial to have a committee of people working together to produce a school web site. If I was given the task of creating a Web Oversight Committee, I would begin by talking to people on my campus to see who would be interested in participating. Additionally, I would create a survey on Survey Monkey to generate some feedback on this idea and who would be willing to be a part of the committee. Based on the survey results and informal feedback through discussion, I would begin contacting willing participants to discuss our ideas and set some goals.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reply to others:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Lisa makes an important point about district money being spent on more tangible items such as hardware. Sadly, tangible items often do seem more impressive than intangibles, such as training. Upon realizing this, however, we need to work hard to overcome this mindset and persuade administrators of our need to dedicate more of our budget to training and effective use of these tangibles. Otherwise, we will continue to see our classrooms full of devices and tools that are inaccessible to students because educators are uncomfortable or unaware of how to use the technology and tools at their fingertips.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2nd Reply to others:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I agree with you, Lisa. In order to truly attain customer satisfaction, some qualitative data, achieved through more open-ended questions, needs to be a part of the measurment instrument. Such open ended feedback will more likely address important elements of website success.