EDLD+5365+Discussion+Boards


 * Week 1**

What are the jobs on the web site team at your school?

I laugh at this one because we do not "technically" have a web team. Our campus instructional technologist is the only person that updates the web site. She does, however, require each grade level to provide information to her so she can keep it updated. Kinder through 4th grade provide weekly homework and spelling words while PK provides a monthly list of letters and themes we study for each week. She is lucky to have a 4th grade Campus Update Team that is very eager to use their technology skills and create short video clips of upcoming events to post on the website. Teachers do not have any input in the design or content of the web site. I went about 7-8 months before finding out that she had added a blog link on the web site. She was hoping one of the 4th grade teachers would utilize it but I never went back to check on it. I am on the fence about letting one person handle it or a web site team. As Shirley Kaiser states in Deliver First Class Web Sites: 101 Essential Checklists, " Just as too many cooks can ruin dinner, too many decision-makers can spoil a web site project." If there is a web site team, I question if they would take too long making decisions because they did not agree on something or they never had time to meet so the site never became updated. It would take a lot of planning, organization and time-management to utilize a web site team effectively.

Kaiser, S. (2006). Deliver first class web sites: 101 essential checklists, Collingwood, VIC, Australia: Sitepoint. (p. 3).


 * Week 2**

What are the most important best practices for usability in Web design that you have learned about this week?

Overall aesthetic is one important best practice for usability. If the web site is not pleasing to the eye the minute someone logs onto it, the user will not stay. I have been to many web sites were my initial feeling caused me to leave the site immediately. The site can be plain jane or too busy and this can cause someone to leave it.

Changing and/or updating the web site is also important. You can provide the same content but just changing the font or color can help. I became very bored with our school web site because of the annoying light blue color I saw every time I logged on the site. Kaiser suggests rotating information on the homepage so they see different information each time they visit. I like that idea. This way you can highlight the different navigation sites contained within your web site.

In reviewing my comments about this topic, I definitely feel I am a visual learner. I would spend hours on a web site if the look pleased me. I don't think it would matter how difficult it was to navigate as long as it looked good while I was playing around with it.

Kaiser, S. (2006). Deliver first class web sites: 101 Essential Checklists. Australia: Sitepoint Pty. Ltd.
 * Week 3**

What is the relevance of the Open Source Movement in K through 12? There are many reasons Open Source is relevant in K-12. Cost is mentioned first most of the time. If schools use open source, they do not have to buy licenses or have to spend money to update computers. Students and parents can access programs in other locations at any time. Technology departments will not have to grant every teacher administrative access to load or use a CD or take time to load the program themselves. The most important aspect of open source is that students can take a program or activity and use critical thinking to create something else. As Solomon and Schrum state in web 2.0 new schools, new tools, "programs should be available for anyone else to study, use, enhance, and distribute." With the workforce of today focusing on technology, students will need to have this skill mastered in order to succeed.

Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0 new tools, new schools. Washington, D.C.:International Society for Technology in Education.


 * Week 4**

Do you currently use podcasting as a communication platform in your school? If not, why not? If you do, what has your experience been?

Because this was my first year teaching PK, I personally did not use podcasting. Our Instructional Technologist used podcasting with her 4th grade Campus Update team. In reading numerous articles and viewing various discussions, I am now planning on using podcasts with my PK students. At the end of the year, some of my students took digital pictures and created 3 Animoto videos and 1 Photo Story. I am sure my new students will be able to create podcasts with my help. One activity for the use of podcasting is digital storytelling. I feel this would be a great tool for PK students. According to Solomon and Schurm in Web 2.0 new tools, new schools, "One could argue that there is even yet another component beyond sharing the story. In the world of 2.0, the final piece involves he audience-to chose to watch or not, to choose to modify or not, to choose to re-create or collaborate or not. And then to offer it back to the original author-or not-and so on, in the ultimate peer-learning experience." Not only would my students be working on retelling (which is in the TEKS) but they would have to make choices and decisions based on information and back up their decisions. That is a lot of higher order thinking going on!

Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). web 2.0 new tools, new schools. Eugene, OR. International Society for Technology in Education.


 * Week 5**

Is Survey Monkey a good tool for assessing customer satisfaction with a school web site?

Online surveys are a great way to gather information on everything from lunchroom procedures to program design. This information can impact solutions for student achievement, community relations, and district management. (Parsons and DeLucia, 2005). Survey Monkey surveys would be an outstanding tool to assess satisfaction with a school web site. Anyone from parents to students to staff could share their feelings about the assessibility of the web site. The site offers numerous options for questions, templates, response validation and other customizations. You can also get your responses quickly and analyze data. Charts and graphs are already included, there are printable PDFs and shareable data. Not only would a school be able to use it for outside users of the web site but it is easy enough that teachers could use it in their classrooms. Teachers could ask students about teaching styles, assessment of lessons and activities and upcoming concepts. They could also use it on grade level web pages to obtain information from parents. To make sure technology TEKS is covered, students would also be able to use its surveys for various projects.

Online Survey Checklist, Catherine Parsons and Jodi DeLucia. Classroom, Education, Technology, Bloom’s, Taxonomy, Mac, PC - Techlearning.com. N.p., 5 June 2005. Web. 21 June 2010. .