My project website is here.
I considered the Web to be a useful tool for teaching before I took this course, and my opinion has changed only in that I have found a number of additional ways to make it useful.
1) I will probably try to put together a course syllabus for each of my classes that I teach and put them on-line.
2) I also plan to include reference links to the files that students need to use and to extra reference material.
3) As a rule, high school students really like to blog. Unfortunately, my school systems' networks have horribly limited access to the outside world, deliberately imposed and controlled yb our ISP. So I don't see myself incorporating anything there...
As for what others think, see Todd's site and Danny's site.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Week 8: Learning through doing
At this point, I am convinced that there is no HTML editor out there that gets it right all of the time. I agree that What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWIG) editors such as MS Front Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver allow you to create a lot more code more efficiently that you would be able to do if you were just hand-coding. BUT - the cose they create isn't always correct or the most efficient code possible.
The most common place where I find that HTML generaters fail is in the creation of links. I usually want to use a relative link - something like "myfile.html" - which means that the file targeted by a link set up that way will simply look in the same directory as the file containing the link. HTML editors frequently use absolute links - such as "/websitecode/thissite/myfile.html". This becomes a problem when you relocate the code - you have to go into the code and change all of the absolute links.
The tables created by HTML generators are frequently a bit more complex than they really need to be.
Also, style elements are usally coded "in-line" by code gemerators, rather than using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to easily provide a consistant easily-modifiable style for the entire site.
The moral of the story is TEST TEST TEST - try out the code on your development system, then try it out again on the sserver where it will be permanently hosted. Be ready to re-code some code sections by hand if necessary to produce more effective code.
The most common place where I find that HTML generaters fail is in the creation of links. I usually want to use a relative link - something like "myfile.html" - which means that the file targeted by a link set up that way will simply look in the same directory as the file containing the link. HTML editors frequently use absolute links - such as "/websitecode/thissite/myfile.html". This becomes a problem when you relocate the code - you have to go into the code and change all of the absolute links.
The tables created by HTML generators are frequently a bit more complex than they really need to be.
Also, style elements are usally coded "in-line" by code gemerators, rather than using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to easily provide a consistant easily-modifiable style for the entire site.
The moral of the story is TEST TEST TEST - try out the code on your development system, then try it out again on the sserver where it will be permanently hosted. Be ready to re-code some code sections by hand if necessary to produce more effective code.
Week 7: Video
I like movies, and consider it handy to be able to see the trailers of films that I am thinking about seeing before I actually go to the theater. For this reason, I like Yahoo's movie preview section.
Apple Computer puts its TV ads on their web site, thus allowing them to do double duty as Internet content and TV ad. They are acctually pretty informative and funny. I love the way their computer ads slam Microsoft - like the best satire, they aare deadly accurate in revealing the weakness of PC spoducts compared to the Macintish.
The Microsoft Network (MSN) also makes effective uses of video - their "video headlines" on the main page of their site encourage the user to browse and stay on site - a prime goal for any commercial site.
Apple Computer puts its TV ads on their web site, thus allowing them to do double duty as Internet content and TV ad. They are acctually pretty informative and funny. I love the way their computer ads slam Microsoft - like the best satire, they aare deadly accurate in revealing the weakness of PC spoducts compared to the Macintish.
The Microsoft Network (MSN) also makes effective uses of video - their "video headlines" on the main page of their site encourage the user to browse and stay on site - a prime goal for any commercial site.
Week 6:Podcaster
I looked at some podcasting sites, but I don't think I successfully subscribed to anything.
Week 5: Delicious
I found del.icio.us and set up an account. I located several good professional links and put them into it. See below for a link.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Week 4: Fair Use and Friends
What is fair use?
When in doubt, start with the law. In this case, that would be According to Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92, starting with Chapter 1, Section 107, which you can view here. The gist of the matter is that portions of copyrighted works can be legally reproduced in several cases:
What is creative commons licensing?
Per the official website for Creative Commons Licensing (CCL), CCL is an attempt to find a happy medium between full-fledged copyright protection (all rights are reserved by the creator) and public domain (the creator retains no protection against any other party making use of his creation for any and all purposes). For works protected by a CCL agreement, the creator retains the same rights that he would have for his works under copyright law, but he can specify accepted uses for his creation which are looser applications of normal copyright law. For example, an artist may specify that it is acceptable for anyone to use images from his web site on for-profit web sites as long as the image is credited to him. Some specific variants are discussed here.
In my Links section, you will find a number of interesting sites containing CCL or public domain images.
When in doubt, start with the law. In this case, that would be According to Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92, starting with Chapter 1, Section 107, which you can view here. The gist of the matter is that portions of copyrighted works can be legally reproduced in several cases:
- If someone wishes to discuss or criticize some portion of the work, it is legal to reproduce portions of it so long as they are properly credited.
- Education workers tend to have fairly wide discretion to create and distribute copies of copyrighted materials for educational purposes.
- The amount of material reproduced and the profit/non-profit status of the entity doing the reproducing are taken into account.
What is creative commons licensing?
Per the official website for Creative Commons Licensing (CCL), CCL is an attempt to find a happy medium between full-fledged copyright protection (all rights are reserved by the creator) and public domain (the creator retains no protection against any other party making use of his creation for any and all purposes). For works protected by a CCL agreement, the creator retains the same rights that he would have for his works under copyright law, but he can specify accepted uses for his creation which are looser applications of normal copyright law. For example, an artist may specify that it is acceptable for anyone to use images from his web site on for-profit web sites as long as the image is credited to him. Some specific variants are discussed here.
In my Links section, you will find a number of interesting sites containing CCL or public domain images.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Week 3: My web site project
I am planning to implement a wedding site for my daughter, who plans to marry on August 18 of this year. I anticipate that I will include these pages:
I plan to use the RoadRunner account that I am already paying for to host the site. I am still trying to find out what technical features they support. I talked to the RR help desk, and the rep seems to believe that Javascript and PHP should both be supported. We'll see.
For the background on most of the pages, I plan to try to emulate the pattern of white swirls in the cloth of Jenny's wedding dress. The cakemaker is planning to use this pattern in the frosting too.
- Main/splash page
- Family page - short bios of the bride and groom and whoever else gives me postable information
- Itinerary for the wedding day
- Directions
- An RSVP page capable of generating e-mail
- A page with links to the stores with which the couple has registered
- A links page including links to the various service vendors involved in the wedding
I plan to use the RoadRunner account that I am already paying for to host the site. I am still trying to find out what technical features they support. I talked to the RR help desk, and the rep seems to believe that Javascript and PHP should both be supported. We'll see.
For the background on most of the pages, I plan to try to emulate the pattern of white swirls in the cloth of Jenny's wedding dress. The cakemaker is planning to use this pattern in the frosting too.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Week #2: Favorite web sites
One of my favorite web sites is http://www.snopes.com/ , the Snopes Urban Legends site. Content-wise, it is a fascinating collection of urban myths, fables, misunderstandings and outright lies whose circulation has been greatly facilitated by the advent of e-mail and the Internet. Rumors that once-upon-a-time may have taken years to spread and achieve the critical mass that provides them with a sense of credibility can now achieve that status in weeks or days. It is a glorious site to visit to while away some time or to be reminded that P. T. Barnum was entirely correct when assessing the birth rate of suckers.
From a design perspective, the Snopes site is focused on frill-free functionality. The intro page contains a list of the categories of tales stored on the site described by a word or two and a little icon. E.g.:
Love
Both icon and keyword serve as hyperlinks to the category page. There, the category is broken down further into more specific topics with a list of text hyperlinks. Finally, following one of those links takes you to a list of actual stories. This works very well, I think - I can usually find interesting tales in areas of interest without having to wander lost for very long.
I suspect that the authors of the site opted for a fairly simple layout because these pages are frequently printed. Sure, they could create a separate "printer-friendly" page, but a simple, clutter-free main page kills two birds with one stone.
A second extremely useful site is the C-NET Security Center, which addresses such computer security issues as viruses, scams and operating system vulnerabilities. It is highly useful whenever I get one of those panic-filled spammed e-mails:
Subject: OMG new virus EATS ur HD READ THIS NOW!!!! then send it to every1 u know!!
I visit this site to see if there really is a problem. Often, the e-mail IS the virus, and sending it on to other people is the last thing one should do with it. In case of a legitimate threat, the site typically has accurate, easy-to-follow instructions as to how to avoid or remove the cybernasty.
The main page is organized as blocks of hyperlinks, with each block consisting of a topic area. The site also features pictures, some as essential content and some (I suspect) just because they are nice to look at and break up the otherwise unrelieved columns of text. There is also a site search box for those occasions when you have a specific topic in mind and no particular inclination to browse.
The threat descriptions and cures are laid out in a single standard format, which makes them easier to read once one has become familiar with the format.
A third useful site is TigerDirect, the web site of one of the larger on-line computer product sales companies. They recently reorganized the index page. It used to have a single left-hand menu with a large frame in the center of the page for page content, as the non-index pages do now. Instead, the title page now contains several rows of ads for specials, followed by lists of products broken down by category. This is a vast improvement because the old index used a single alphabetical list - items were not especially easy to find.
TigerDirect is a great place to browse for new product, including pictures, diagrams and good technical explanations of the feqatures and compatibility of the items they sell. This is a typical product page from their on-line catalog - in this case, a printer.
A search box and a site map round out the site's navigation features. In my opinion, this is an excellent commercial site.
From a design perspective, the Snopes site is focused on frill-free functionality. The intro page contains a list of the categories of tales stored on the site described by a word or two and a little icon. E.g.:
LoveBoth icon and keyword serve as hyperlinks to the category page. There, the category is broken down further into more specific topics with a list of text hyperlinks. Finally, following one of those links takes you to a list of actual stories. This works very well, I think - I can usually find interesting tales in areas of interest without having to wander lost for very long.
I suspect that the authors of the site opted for a fairly simple layout because these pages are frequently printed. Sure, they could create a separate "printer-friendly" page, but a simple, clutter-free main page kills two birds with one stone.
A second extremely useful site is the C-NET Security Center, which addresses such computer security issues as viruses, scams and operating system vulnerabilities. It is highly useful whenever I get one of those panic-filled spammed e-mails:
Subject: OMG new virus EATS ur HD READ THIS NOW!!!! then send it to every1 u know!!
I visit this site to see if there really is a problem. Often, the e-mail IS the virus, and sending it on to other people is the last thing one should do with it. In case of a legitimate threat, the site typically has accurate, easy-to-follow instructions as to how to avoid or remove the cybernasty.
The main page is organized as blocks of hyperlinks, with each block consisting of a topic area. The site also features pictures, some as essential content and some (I suspect) just because they are nice to look at and break up the otherwise unrelieved columns of text. There is also a site search box for those occasions when you have a specific topic in mind and no particular inclination to browse.
The threat descriptions and cures are laid out in a single standard format, which makes them easier to read once one has become familiar with the format.
A third useful site is TigerDirect, the web site of one of the larger on-line computer product sales companies. They recently reorganized the index page. It used to have a single left-hand menu with a large frame in the center of the page for page content, as the non-index pages do now. Instead, the title page now contains several rows of ads for specials, followed by lists of products broken down by category. This is a vast improvement because the old index used a single alphabetical list - items were not especially easy to find.
TigerDirect is a great place to browse for new product, including pictures, diagrams and good technical explanations of the feqatures and compatibility of the items they sell. This is a typical product page from their on-line catalog - in this case, a printer.
A search box and a site map round out the site's navigation features. In my opinion, this is an excellent commercial site.
Week #1: "Me" Stuff
Greetings, gentle reader. I am Larry O. Hetrick. O is for Otto - not my fault, it's a multi-generation naming convention in my family. Not O'Hetrick - although I have a small amount of Irish in me.
I am currently teaching Information Technology (IT) introduction courses to high schoolers at Licking Valley High School and Northridge High School. Specifically, I teach computer literacy and Microsoft Office applications basics to ninth graders and IT Foundations, a general intro to all areas of IT, to 10th graders. I am an employee of C-TEC, Licking County's joint vocational school. They pay my salary, but I do my actual teaching at LVHS and Northridge.
This is my second year in this job. Previously, I have wandered back and forth between working in IT and teaching IT to others for my entire working life. On the IT side, I have been a computer applications programmer/analyst, a computer systems programmer/analyst and a database designer/administrator. On the teaching side, I have taught computer programming and related topics to IT professionals, end users and other post-high-school audiences, including a couple of courses taught at Franklin University. This is my first job teaching high school students.
My B.A. is in Political Science, from Kent State University. I have an M.S. in Computer Science from Franklin University. My only academic exposure to education has come from the courses I am taking here at OSU.
I have never worked professionally as a web designer or web programmer. My exposure to the art and technology thereof is basically academic - I have studied these topics in some classes and taught some in other classes. I am very familiar with HTML and CSS. I have used Javascript occasionally - I am more familiar with server-side technologies such as PHP and JSP. I teach MM Dreamweaver as the primary web editor/design tool for my classes. I have used MS FrontPage, but I don't like it. For this course, I will be trying out nvu, a free software tool for website development. We'll see how that goes. I am pretty competant on the technical and coding side of web site construction, but have no real design skills - that would be a body of knowledge that I would like to explore while taking this course.
I am not sure how I will be able to use the skills I will be learning here in my teaching. Eventually I would like to have a web site for my IT Foundations courses. Unfortunately, Licking County's Internet Service Provider (ISP) is very - controlling. They will not allow a teacher to have the ability to directly maintain a website on their server. All blogging and message board sites are blocked by them, so I can't really introduce those activities to my students.
Here is the Northridge HS web site...
http://northridge.k12.oh.us/NorthridgeHS/index.html
I am currently teaching Information Technology (IT) introduction courses to high schoolers at Licking Valley High School and Northridge High School. Specifically, I teach computer literacy and Microsoft Office applications basics to ninth graders and IT Foundations, a general intro to all areas of IT, to 10th graders. I am an employee of C-TEC, Licking County's joint vocational school. They pay my salary, but I do my actual teaching at LVHS and Northridge.
This is my second year in this job. Previously, I have wandered back and forth between working in IT and teaching IT to others for my entire working life. On the IT side, I have been a computer applications programmer/analyst, a computer systems programmer/analyst and a database designer/administrator. On the teaching side, I have taught computer programming and related topics to IT professionals, end users and other post-high-school audiences, including a couple of courses taught at Franklin University. This is my first job teaching high school students.
My B.A. is in Political Science, from Kent State University. I have an M.S. in Computer Science from Franklin University. My only academic exposure to education has come from the courses I am taking here at OSU.
I have never worked professionally as a web designer or web programmer. My exposure to the art and technology thereof is basically academic - I have studied these topics in some classes and taught some in other classes. I am very familiar with HTML and CSS. I have used Javascript occasionally - I am more familiar with server-side technologies such as PHP and JSP. I teach MM Dreamweaver as the primary web editor/design tool for my classes. I have used MS FrontPage, but I don't like it. For this course, I will be trying out nvu, a free software tool for website development. We'll see how that goes. I am pretty competant on the technical and coding side of web site construction, but have no real design skills - that would be a body of knowledge that I would like to explore while taking this course.
I am not sure how I will be able to use the skills I will be learning here in my teaching. Eventually I would like to have a web site for my IT Foundations courses. Unfortunately, Licking County's Internet Service Provider (ISP) is very - controlling. They will not allow a teacher to have the ability to directly maintain a website on their server. All blogging and message board sites are blocked by them, so I can't really introduce those activities to my students.
Here is the Northridge HS web site...
http://northridge.k12.oh.us/NorthridgeHS/index.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)