The following is an example of a very exceptional response to the the first blog posting on Easter Island.
Easter Island
Over 1200 years ago, a group of seafarers from a distant culture landed on the shore of Easter Island. During the next few centuries the settlers established a remarkable yet isolated society centered around a unique tree which they used for all aspects of living, including: hunting, housing, transportation, and even the construction of its most famous monuments, the moai. Moai are large statues made from volcanic rock that line the shores of Easter Island, the moai are the only things left from the fallen society as the depletion of the island's natural resources proved to be the downfall of the isolated culture. The downfall of this society was in direct correlation to the devastation of the environment which led to cannibalism, slave trade, and the spread of European diseases. Many years later, scientists, environmentalists, and conservationists are making efforts to restore the natural environment by reintroducing native trees and bringing back the native population.
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
There is a valuable lesson to learn from the history of Easter Island; A once productive and prosperous society doomed by a lack of environmental responsibility is something that simply cannot be ignored. We are faced with issues today relating to these same problems as we continue to tap into nonrenewable natural resources such as crude oil, fossil fuels, and coal which powers nearly 84% of Kentucky's energy alone. Even intermediate renewable resources can be depleted, just like the native trees on Easter Island. If we don't learn from history and take action then the World will fall into a continuous pattern of rise and fall until eventually the earth loses all value, fertility, and availability. Researchers are continuing to look for a solution to the ongoing problems concerning sustainability and the use of our earth's natural resources. Often times the government will step in to regulate things such as the amount of garbage one household can send off to the dumpster, or perhaps the amount of deer you can shoot in a single hunting season. All these things are part of our environment and they should all be treasured as if there were a scarce supply at hand and we needed to make the most of it; never take the gifts of mother nature for granted...you never know when your civilization may fall.
Posted by Kalena2011 at 8:38 PM
A big thank you to Kalena Roark
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Content
I am assuming that content pertains to both what can be found on my web pages and to how it is presented.
1st: I what my web page to be a home for class notes and assignments. Later it can be more integral to the classroom. Right now I need to get the usefulness web pages going. So things like notes, assignments, futures dates are some of my biggest concerns.
2nd:I would like to leak my web page out by the end of this school year so that I can get some feed back from my hand picked students and other colleagues. This will help with how I am presenting my content.
I need to learn how to use my district save space to store some content that can accessed via my web page. I also need to find time to maintain my site. It is easy right now but when I am on my own I will have a hard time staying caught up.
How will I take care of students with different browsers or cannot access my info? Making the info universal is a step in the right direction but some of my content is not very universal in nature.
1st: I what my web page to be a home for class notes and assignments. Later it can be more integral to the classroom. Right now I need to get the usefulness web pages going. So things like notes, assignments, futures dates are some of my biggest concerns.
2nd:I would like to leak my web page out by the end of this school year so that I can get some feed back from my hand picked students and other colleagues. This will help with how I am presenting my content.
I need to learn how to use my district save space to store some content that can accessed via my web page. I also need to find time to maintain my site. It is easy right now but when I am on my own I will have a hard time staying caught up.
How will I take care of students with different browsers or cannot access my info? Making the info universal is a step in the right direction but some of my content is not very universal in nature.
Font Size/ Typography
Every time I read the Yale Guide I am amazed at how specific it is about web site design. I feel they have really considered all areas of a web page. I find the reading very comprehensive.
This week was no exception on comprehensiveness. The chapter on Typography was so in depth. I had never realized how the html script and CSS can impact your web pages usefulness. There was one page that dealt with the ratio of image pixels to the useful data on a page or heading. What????? I never thought that I would be thinking about how useful my headings can be. Another section of the reading dealt with different borrowers that could negatively impact your page. Whether it is user friendly or too complex.
I have come to some conclusions
1. I will never be the best html/CSS writer. I find this very new and challenging for me But I think I can learn enough to be dangerous.
2. be Consistent. All of the chapters that I have read mention something about consistency. TO be more universal in nature I need to be consistent with all my web pages. Consistent with the pages, font, headings, colors, wire frames etc....
3. Remember not to get too caught up in a flashy web page, an overcrowded page, too complex page. In the reading I learned that Flash, crowding, and complexity can ruin your web page.
My motto from the beginning has been about simplicity. If I as the instructor find it complex or difficult then my students will find it extremely difficult.
The font/header size 11/13 was a fact that I had not realized about what individuals like to read. I keep learning more and more.
This week was no exception on comprehensiveness. The chapter on Typography was so in depth. I had never realized how the html script and CSS can impact your web pages usefulness. There was one page that dealt with the ratio of image pixels to the useful data on a page or heading. What????? I never thought that I would be thinking about how useful my headings can be. Another section of the reading dealt with different borrowers that could negatively impact your page. Whether it is user friendly or too complex.
I have come to some conclusions
1. I will never be the best html/CSS writer. I find this very new and challenging for me But I think I can learn enough to be dangerous.
2. be Consistent. All of the chapters that I have read mention something about consistency. TO be more universal in nature I need to be consistent with all my web pages. Consistent with the pages, font, headings, colors, wire frames etc....
3. Remember not to get too caught up in a flashy web page, an overcrowded page, too complex page. In the reading I learned that Flash, crowding, and complexity can ruin your web page.
My motto from the beginning has been about simplicity. If I as the instructor find it complex or difficult then my students will find it extremely difficult.
The font/header size 11/13 was a fact that I had not realized about what individuals like to read. I keep learning more and more.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Well this past Thursday (3-11-10) I presented a workshop to some of my peers and colleagues. It was the KySTE conference. I was very nervous at first but once I started I got into the zone. When I finally stoped talking it was 11:35. I had lectured about Prezi software for over an hour. WOW!!!!!
Any who it was great and I look forward to doing it again. I believe that their were around 75 people in the workshop. People were lining the floors and walls. One set back was that I was outfitted with Apple computers and I am a PC man. So their were some language barriers that I could not address.
Good Times!!!!
Any who it was great and I look forward to doing it again. I believe that their were around 75 people in the workshop. People were lining the floors and walls. One set back was that I was outfitted with Apple computers and I am a PC man. So their were some language barriers that I could not address.
Good Times!!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Things that I plan on using on my website.
first I have been working on about 3-4 different websites.
000webhost one
this one at blogger
one with word press
my g-portfolio
so i have a lot going on. This will help with the information storage part. I can link to videos and images that can be seen on my web page. This way I will be able to use a lot of multimedia on my webpage with out using it all up.
I will use movies and images. I already have some of these things in place. I will also be using the google forms as well as the google presenter tool to give notes.
I have also practiced using keepvids.com to convert youtube videos so they can be used at school and home with my kids. I think I will meet all the requirements for this part of the rubric. They will be student images as well as ones that I will create. All will have something to do with the improvement of my lessons.
I linked my video here it can also be found on my webpage.
rmccann.webege.com
Just click on the link below. Enjoy.
Above is a the same picture but you can see that is loads very quickly and it only takes up 36 KB of storage space.
Above is the original image. However,here is the link original image, it's properties are like 860x640 59 KB of storage. I was not sure what exactly I was supposed to do with this and why I needed to know the link?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
How can the Google Form be used in the classroom?
It can be used in a number of ways.
1. to take a quiz either in the class or at home
2. to find out about a lesson. kind of like a self evaluation tool
3. to find information about the students. what they like and dislike
4. among your colleagues. find out how they feel about something.
I can think of more ways. I really like the Google Form. I guess the haves and the have nots would be my only concern. I know that their are still kids out their that cannot access the internet. However, they should be able to do something at school at some point. I will most definitely be using this in the near future.
1. to take a quiz either in the class or at home
2. to find out about a lesson. kind of like a self evaluation tool
3. to find information about the students. what they like and dislike
4. among your colleagues. find out how they feel about something.
I can think of more ways. I really like the Google Form. I guess the haves and the have nots would be my only concern. I know that their are still kids out their that cannot access the internet. However, they should be able to do something at school at some point. I will most definitely be using this in the near future.
What I would change on your form!!!
Well the first thing I would change would be to make it more inviting. The templates that are offered are neat and may actually appeal to students.
Now on a more serous note:
1. You have 2 questions one that says "name" and one that says "enter your name." This in my book is the same question repeated. I would clean this up. Besides only one of the name questions is actually required. Regardless I would think that name information would be required.
2. The phone number questions. This is information that most people don't give out. I really did not want to give the info myself. Depending on the situation it may be relevant.
3. The experience question was really vague. I wanted to choose never done it and want to learn more about it. However, you only allowed me to choose one of the options. Maybe you should have chosen the "check all that apply option."
4. Additional comments......
should this be required. In most of these forms the additional comments box is usually not required. In this case I thought it did not need to be required.
I never caught onto the relevance of the whole form. Something that I think the person completing the form should know about.
Now on a more serous note:
1. You have 2 questions one that says "name" and one that says "enter your name." This in my book is the same question repeated. I would clean this up. Besides only one of the name questions is actually required. Regardless I would think that name information would be required.
2. The phone number questions. This is information that most people don't give out. I really did not want to give the info myself. Depending on the situation it may be relevant.
3. The experience question was really vague. I wanted to choose never done it and want to learn more about it. However, you only allowed me to choose one of the options. Maybe you should have chosen the "check all that apply option."
4. Additional comments......
should this be required. In most of these forms the additional comments box is usually not required. In this case I thought it did not need to be required.
I never caught onto the relevance of the whole form. Something that I think the person completing the form should know about.
Interactive element
Wow! I thought the Google form was easy to create and easy to implement into the website. I am very glad that I have had the chance to learn how to create one of these. So far Google has been a great tool. One would think you could offer a course on how to implement Google Tools in the classroom. I think I might teach a PD for my school on implementing google.
I hope to implement at least one survey from Google Form. I would also like to implement a video activity from united streaming/ discovery education. On this site I can create the video and then have a quiz that the kids can take afterwards.
I already have the search box on my website. So I guess I already have one tool.
I wonder if a webquest would be an interactive piece?
neat stuff!!!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Google Wave
From what I can gather at this point, it seems that google wave just may be the future of emailing. However, I cannot see the change coming in too near a future. As a society we have a problem accepting change. I can't see enough interest to change the current status Que for at least 3 more years. The reality is that we have to learn how to use the programs that we have now before we change to a totally new system. I for instance, am still learning more things about email each year that make me more effective at teaching and communicating. I would rate myself as an above average technology user. Those can use Google wave are more than above average they understand the flow of thinking. I would guess the average user on any word processing or spreadsheet software uses about 40% of what is actually available. The average email person would probably have a hard time sending an attachment in an email. My parents don't even have a computer in their home. In my opinion Google Wave is the future but not right now.
Articles I read
Pro article
In this article you will find how the web has to used to meet the demands of a growing educational philosophy. "WBI can be used to meet the needs of a more diverse group of students"
Con article
In this article we learn a little something about reality. The reality being that even with the influx of new and innovative software we are still as educators unprepared to use it and to use it effectively.
Articles I read
Pro article
In this article you will find how the web has to used to meet the demands of a growing educational philosophy. "WBI can be used to meet the needs of a more diverse group of students"
Con article
In this article we learn a little something about reality. The reality being that even with the influx of new and innovative software we are still as educators unprepared to use it and to use it effectively.
Site Structure
First I hope you got a chance to look at my changes, because I changed my template back to the original template. The color contrast were starting to give me a headache :)
Too design or Modify that is the question???????
-Well I feel that I will more than likely modify my web page. I think that I do not know enough about the CSS or HTML to design my own page. Besides that templates that are provided are really good ones in my book. I also reminded of Nielsen's article about keeping things simple and consistent. I think that the templates that are provided have been chosen because they are simple for the average user in mind. They are also good in terms of usability/consistency. Many of my students are used to the navigation practices that accompany the templates that are provided. With my knowledge of HTML and CSS it would be a mistake to attempt to design something that could potential ruin my web page and my goals.
CSS or HTML
- I am guessing that my web site which is powered by web host has what I guess is an over all HTML script with access to CSS sheets. I say this because when I modify the sheets it gives me the CSS sheets and then I have an option to view the HTML code with the embedded CSS code. I could have the explanation backwards but I am not sure. Maybe you could feel me in on the correct answer to this question.
Site Structure
-I think that you have to keep things simple. I know I have said this time, and time again. If the web page uses terms and pages that my students are unfamiliar with then I am asking for a headache (mirror images, what they hear and see in class with what they will read and see on the web page). I think you have to do and use things that are familiar with my students. Not to mention I have students that are on different learning levels (a language that everyone can understand). If I were to make my web pages complex that would be fine for my gifted kids but the other 2 thirds of my classes would be completely lost and frustrated. Again consistently simple. The complexity can come in the variations of the assignments not in the navigation and location of them.
Finding my web page
-I have been currently using my name or "rmccann" as a tag. Many of my passwords that my students need to remember for web assignments have the rmccann as a user name. So it is easier for them to remember and I think is should be consistent. The only problems I have found is that my kids cannot always spell my name correctly :( Anyways, the name recognition has worked for me so far.
Page Header
-my name and the ninth grade school and tab to all my pages as well as a sitemap page for ease of navigation.
Scan Columns
-I am using one that is not exactly a scan column but a drop down column that includes the subpages that can be found on my main pages. For instance when you scan over the class header you get class assignments, homework, class notes, bellringers etc....
Content on my pages
-right now I am using basic template that has a header complete with all my main pages. then you can navigate to these pages that have separate pages for viewing all the while at the top of any page is a list of my main pages in case one gets lost.
Footer?
- not sure what should be in the footer besides contact info and the info that comes with the template design. I don' t want to delete anything that should be on the footer because of copy right laws....
Internal pages
- I already have a few pages designed please locate my earlier drawing to view my webpage
here is a link to the site that is mostly under construction. webpage
Too design or Modify that is the question???????
-Well I feel that I will more than likely modify my web page. I think that I do not know enough about the CSS or HTML to design my own page. Besides that templates that are provided are really good ones in my book. I also reminded of Nielsen's article about keeping things simple and consistent. I think that the templates that are provided have been chosen because they are simple for the average user in mind. They are also good in terms of usability/consistency. Many of my students are used to the navigation practices that accompany the templates that are provided. With my knowledge of HTML and CSS it would be a mistake to attempt to design something that could potential ruin my web page and my goals.
CSS or HTML
- I am guessing that my web site which is powered by web host has what I guess is an over all HTML script with access to CSS sheets. I say this because when I modify the sheets it gives me the CSS sheets and then I have an option to view the HTML code with the embedded CSS code. I could have the explanation backwards but I am not sure. Maybe you could feel me in on the correct answer to this question.
Site Structure
-I think that you have to keep things simple. I know I have said this time, and time again. If the web page uses terms and pages that my students are unfamiliar with then I am asking for a headache (mirror images, what they hear and see in class with what they will read and see on the web page). I think you have to do and use things that are familiar with my students. Not to mention I have students that are on different learning levels (a language that everyone can understand). If I were to make my web pages complex that would be fine for my gifted kids but the other 2 thirds of my classes would be completely lost and frustrated. Again consistently simple. The complexity can come in the variations of the assignments not in the navigation and location of them.
Finding my web page
-I have been currently using my name or "rmccann" as a tag. Many of my passwords that my students need to remember for web assignments have the rmccann as a user name. So it is easier for them to remember and I think is should be consistent. The only problems I have found is that my kids cannot always spell my name correctly :( Anyways, the name recognition has worked for me so far.
Page Header
-my name and the ninth grade school and tab to all my pages as well as a sitemap page for ease of navigation.
Scan Columns
-I am using one that is not exactly a scan column but a drop down column that includes the subpages that can be found on my main pages. For instance when you scan over the class header you get class assignments, homework, class notes, bellringers etc....
Content on my pages
-right now I am using basic template that has a header complete with all my main pages. then you can navigate to these pages that have separate pages for viewing all the while at the top of any page is a list of my main pages in case one gets lost.
Footer?
- not sure what should be in the footer besides contact info and the info that comes with the template design. I don' t want to delete anything that should be on the footer because of copy right laws....
Internal pages
- I already have a few pages designed please locate my earlier drawing to view my webpage
here is a link to the site that is mostly under construction. webpage
Home page
-main page with links to
Monday, February 15, 2010
Interface/Navigation Design
1. Paths- at the top of my page their are (right now) 5 different paths a user can navigate
Home, Class Schedule, About, Sitemap, and News
2. Regions-each page listed above has its own unique attributes. eventually these pages will give way to; HOMEWORK, CLASSNOTES, BELLRINGERS etc...
3. Nodes-I think I have made my site pretty basic so their should not be too much confusion. If their is I have a sitemap page that can help with navigation mistakes. also I have a search box to help search for certain tag words.
4. Landmarks- as you navigate from each page you will coninue to see the main navigation pages on the top of your screen sort of like the breadcrumb idea but not exactly.
Navigation tools and why?
I like the fact that the main pages never disappear. If my users get lost then they can refer to the top tool bar to find their way back. I also like the search box. This way users can search tag words. I would eventually like to have some kind of calendar with links to the days on the calendar. I think this would be a very usefull navigation tool. Kids could look specifically at the days that they missed or did not understand and get caught up or extra help.
Wayfinding Metaphor?
I think that this is where you can go overboard. I have read some of Nielson's articles about teens and usability and I think that this element if done incorrectly could really hurt you web page. I think that at first I would stick to one image that "defines" my home page. But if I use a web page that automatically shows my tool bar at the top would I even need an image that would help with navigation? I am confused. I guess in the end it would be nice to have som sort of image on each page that navigated to my email. So that my students would be able to email me from any page without having to navigate back to the main page. I can see that the images would help a little but other than the stereotypical "house" representing homepage, i am not sure how this will help me if I have a page that keeps a "breadcrumb" at the top of it.
Enterprise?
I believe the big aspect here is keep it simple and keep it consistant. I would have to incorporate some of the navigation features that my school district has on their web site. Having mine look and act differently ma cause confusion and worst of all frustration. However, what if my distirct has it all wrong and they neew to be more user friendly. Right now I would have to say they have some fixing up to do. I find our district page very hard to navigate. Other things that I have to consider are my classes. Do I want to specify a different look for different classes? Some of them are at different places in the content? Not sure how to answer this other than to keep it simple and consistent with other pages that share the same goals as mine and my district.
Basically this is what I think I want right now.
Will it work?
I have found that the blog site is great for information. I could use it for notes and day to day things. However, I think a more in depth web page it needed for assingments and extended lessons. I like what I have so far. It is the "F" approach that both W3C spoke of and Nielson in his interview. Where the audience reads across the top and down the left hand side. I also like the site map within my page and the fact that the top tool bar stays present throughout the search. these are charactoristics that my district uses on its page and to keep the "enterprise" happy I will try to do the same. So many things to think about and do. I love the CSS and HTML stuff how can anyone remember how to do all of it. So many steps.....:)
Home, Class Schedule, About, Sitemap, and News
2. Regions-each page listed above has its own unique attributes. eventually these pages will give way to; HOMEWORK, CLASSNOTES, BELLRINGERS etc...
3. Nodes-I think I have made my site pretty basic so their should not be too much confusion. If their is I have a sitemap page that can help with navigation mistakes. also I have a search box to help search for certain tag words.
4. Landmarks- as you navigate from each page you will coninue to see the main navigation pages on the top of your screen sort of like the breadcrumb idea but not exactly.
Navigation tools and why?
I like the fact that the main pages never disappear. If my users get lost then they can refer to the top tool bar to find their way back. I also like the search box. This way users can search tag words. I would eventually like to have some kind of calendar with links to the days on the calendar. I think this would be a very usefull navigation tool. Kids could look specifically at the days that they missed or did not understand and get caught up or extra help.
Wayfinding Metaphor?
I think that this is where you can go overboard. I have read some of Nielson's articles about teens and usability and I think that this element if done incorrectly could really hurt you web page. I think that at first I would stick to one image that "defines" my home page. But if I use a web page that automatically shows my tool bar at the top would I even need an image that would help with navigation? I am confused. I guess in the end it would be nice to have som sort of image on each page that navigated to my email. So that my students would be able to email me from any page without having to navigate back to the main page. I can see that the images would help a little but other than the stereotypical "house" representing homepage, i am not sure how this will help me if I have a page that keeps a "breadcrumb" at the top of it.
Enterprise?
I believe the big aspect here is keep it simple and keep it consistant. I would have to incorporate some of the navigation features that my school district has on their web site. Having mine look and act differently ma cause confusion and worst of all frustration. However, what if my distirct has it all wrong and they neew to be more user friendly. Right now I would have to say they have some fixing up to do. I find our district page very hard to navigate. Other things that I have to consider are my classes. Do I want to specify a different look for different classes? Some of them are at different places in the content? Not sure how to answer this other than to keep it simple and consistent with other pages that share the same goals as mine and my district.
Basically this is what I think I want right now.
Will it work?
I have found that the blog site is great for information. I could use it for notes and day to day things. However, I think a more in depth web page it needed for assingments and extended lessons. I like what I have so far. It is the "F" approach that both W3C spoke of and Nielson in his interview. Where the audience reads across the top and down the left hand side. I also like the site map within my page and the fact that the top tool bar stays present throughout the search. these are charactoristics that my district uses on its page and to keep the "enterprise" happy I will try to do the same. So many things to think about and do. I love the CSS and HTML stuff how can anyone remember how to do all of it. So many steps.....:)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Web Accessibility
Perceivable:
This web page was very hard to look at. The color of the background was basically the same color as the text. The blinking was distracting as was the music. I was unable to listen the the video bacuase the music would not stop playing so loudly. Also the marquee was a distraction. Basically the whole web page was a distraction. Visually I had a hard time trying to navigate the page with my eyes. Had I not gone to the webinar I would have had a hard time viewing the page. If had a page like that for my special needs students they would not be able to scroll down the screen for all the distraction they are incountering. The ADD would kick into high gear.
Also their were no alternate text for the images or anything on the page. I tried using Microsoft sam on the page but he could not get to anything. He was unable to read the page to me. A blind student would have a hard time reading this page.
Based on the Wave test and the Cynthia test the web page is in need of some work. The main problem that web sites picked up on we the alternate text for images as well as link within the page.
Operable
This is hard to answer becuase I am so used to using my mouse. However, upon further investigation I was able to use the sift tab function to navigate but again it would be pointless if their were no narration to tell me what I am doing. The alternate text are very important for this keyboard function to actually be of assistance to visually impaired students. I could not understand the order that the sift function went in. If were guessing I would say that it started me at the bottom of the page as opposed to the top of the page. I would this that this order does not make any since and would be confusing.
Understandable
lets face it the text and the background are the same color. the music is loud. the marquee could be too fast for some readers and their is no way to stop it and their is no subtitles to help. The video seems to be out of place. Maybe if the the video opened in a new window you could actually hear it. The music was just too loud. Man I seem to be over focused on the music. I was just hoping after a few minutes it would stop.
Robust
Not sure how I would answer this question. I would think that since their are errors in the operable phase and the perceivable phase that this web site would not pass the robust phase. However, in basic terms I would have to say that the majority of individuals would be able to access the page but they would be confused about the navigation, and over all presentation of the material.
Other thoughts.
First off the Html code. I am not sure how you would fix it in terms of tags but you would need to tag the images with some kind of alternate text tag. That way people can understand what and where some objects are within the page. I found the table to wrong also . Not sure how it should be fixed but the alignment seemed off. The marquee does not have a scrolling speed? or does it? I could not see it when I viewed the source. I am not great at the Html code stuff, but it seems the images at the bottom for the Wave page and the Cynthia says web sites were coded wrong.
After running the page through the filter pages. I was surprised to see that their weren't that many mistakes. The Wave filter basically said that their were 4 mistakes. mostly dealing with header tags, blinking text, and not having alternate text. The Cynthia says site came up with more mistakes but they were way more picky. I did find that My schools web page has a ton of mistakes 38 in all most of them dealt with alternate text and tables and navigation errors.
My web page:
Wow each time I think I have something figured out and I am thrown another curve ball. Not only do I have think about people accessing my web page but I have to specially think of my kids. I can tell right now that my main problems would be forgetting to use alternate text for images and tables etc... Unless I am prompted each time I add something to my web page to add alternate text then I am certain I will forget. I noticed however that when uploading images etc.. that you are sometimes prompted by that particular web site. Other problems that I can see coming is operability. I think that I will have something that is too complicated to navigate trough. I need to remember to keep it simple. Start with the basic needs of my class on the web page and branch out as I can more confidence in my abilities as a web teacher.
Now that you have given the chance to use the WAVE and CYNTHIA SAYS web pages I think I will use them to make sure my web site is up to par with some of the WCAG standards. Of course no one can help me better than feed back from my kids and colleagues that visit the site. Using their input alone will help. Especially early on and later for quality control
This web page was very hard to look at. The color of the background was basically the same color as the text. The blinking was distracting as was the music. I was unable to listen the the video bacuase the music would not stop playing so loudly. Also the marquee was a distraction. Basically the whole web page was a distraction. Visually I had a hard time trying to navigate the page with my eyes. Had I not gone to the webinar I would have had a hard time viewing the page. If had a page like that for my special needs students they would not be able to scroll down the screen for all the distraction they are incountering. The ADD would kick into high gear.
Also their were no alternate text for the images or anything on the page. I tried using Microsoft sam on the page but he could not get to anything. He was unable to read the page to me. A blind student would have a hard time reading this page.
Based on the Wave test and the Cynthia test the web page is in need of some work. The main problem that web sites picked up on we the alternate text for images as well as link within the page.
Operable
This is hard to answer becuase I am so used to using my mouse. However, upon further investigation I was able to use the sift tab function to navigate but again it would be pointless if their were no narration to tell me what I am doing. The alternate text are very important for this keyboard function to actually be of assistance to visually impaired students. I could not understand the order that the sift function went in. If were guessing I would say that it started me at the bottom of the page as opposed to the top of the page. I would this that this order does not make any since and would be confusing.
Understandable
lets face it the text and the background are the same color. the music is loud. the marquee could be too fast for some readers and their is no way to stop it and their is no subtitles to help. The video seems to be out of place. Maybe if the the video opened in a new window you could actually hear it. The music was just too loud. Man I seem to be over focused on the music. I was just hoping after a few minutes it would stop.
Robust
Not sure how I would answer this question. I would think that since their are errors in the operable phase and the perceivable phase that this web site would not pass the robust phase. However, in basic terms I would have to say that the majority of individuals would be able to access the page but they would be confused about the navigation, and over all presentation of the material.
Other thoughts.
First off the Html code. I am not sure how you would fix it in terms of tags but you would need to tag the images with some kind of alternate text tag. That way people can understand what and where some objects are within the page. I found the table to wrong also . Not sure how it should be fixed but the alignment seemed off. The marquee does not have a scrolling speed? or does it? I could not see it when I viewed the source. I am not great at the Html code stuff, but it seems the images at the bottom for the Wave page and the Cynthia says web sites were coded wrong.
After running the page through the filter pages. I was surprised to see that their weren't that many mistakes. The Wave filter basically said that their were 4 mistakes. mostly dealing with header tags, blinking text, and not having alternate text. The Cynthia says site came up with more mistakes but they were way more picky. I did find that My schools web page has a ton of mistakes 38 in all most of them dealt with alternate text and tables and navigation errors.
My web page:
Wow each time I think I have something figured out and I am thrown another curve ball. Not only do I have think about people accessing my web page but I have to specially think of my kids. I can tell right now that my main problems would be forgetting to use alternate text for images and tables etc... Unless I am prompted each time I add something to my web page to add alternate text then I am certain I will forget. I noticed however that when uploading images etc.. that you are sometimes prompted by that particular web site. Other problems that I can see coming is operability. I think that I will have something that is too complicated to navigate trough. I need to remember to keep it simple. Start with the basic needs of my class on the web page and branch out as I can more confidence in my abilities as a web teacher.
Now that you have given the chance to use the WAVE and CYNTHIA SAYS web pages I think I will use them to make sure my web site is up to par with some of the WCAG standards. Of course no one can help me better than feed back from my kids and colleagues that visit the site. Using their input alone will help. Especially early on and later for quality control
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Lesson 3 Questions
1)How do I anticipate organizing the content of my web page?
-This is a hard question. I teach science so it is pretty easy for me to think in terms of heiarchies and taxonomy. Hell I teach these exact topics. However, I am seeing that using this for my own site is not as easy as I had once thought. besides their are a lot of things that I have to consider. Reading the Yale articles have only given me more things to consider.
-Now I will start by utilizing the some sort of basic wireframe. For instance I will divide my content into "categories" I think this will give me a way to track my blogs so that my students can navigate to the appropriate blogs. also having some sort of calendar app on my web page is also very important. let be back up
1) sort all my content into some kind of a calendar of events. this is already being done by own distirct. i might be able to link to the district site so as not to bog down my site with info that has been created and stored else where.
2) divide my content into topics or big ideas. thankfully think is somewhat already done for me by the kentucky department of education in their combined curriculum document.
3) classroom stuff. bell ringers to announcements. because everyone knows that nothing follows a timeline. and i will constantly be ahead of schedule or behind.
I have to utilize things like "categories" and "pages" for my site. these will only allow me to be more organized and the more i am the more my kids will be to navigate my site. I will more than likely spend a few hours drawing my web page on the dry erase board before i commit to anything.
2) Paradigms
-I think that I would lean more towards the navigation side of things. However, the service sites that come with my current text book can be very useful. I am very leary of the web 2.0 sites. the ability of getting viruses has really turned me away from some of them. Yet, the answer may be to purchase something. I would most certaining do this if i thought it would enhance my classroom. So i just read an article about web 2.0 and how it has many "hats". If you think that web 2.0 is bloggin and wikis then that is fine but it could also be other things as well. So to that i think that I like the bloggin component but i think having my students interact with the site other than using it as a resource opens the doors to future problems.
-what i am trying to say in order to answer this question is that I want a resource that my parents, students, and colleagues can visit for information about my class and what is going on. I want them to email if they have quesitons but i don't want them to be able to comment on my site because i don't the comments to be public to other users who may be on the site at the same time. I just think that makes it too easy for parents to avoid teachers and for people to complain about why did you or did you not allow a comment. just email or call me if you have quesitons.
3) web page structure
-wow!!!
their are so many steps to a web site. i really had no idea. i have played a little with wordpress and like the ease of use. the blogger sites uses different terms that i am not as familiar with. I am Kind of liking the web and spokes. I really don't know. I have found that the workpress is easier to use than the 000webhost software. but i think it is only because i am not hip to the verbage yet. I think as the class progresses i will feel more comfortable with the web host. Really there are so many things to think of and i am the only person on the web site building committee.
4 &5) Site design
-more than likely i will be using microsoft paint to design something. if this does not go well i will just take good old pencil and paper and draw what i think it should look like. the yale articles give a lot of information to think about in building a web site. i feel pretty good about using inspiration software. i think that all this comes down to how comfortable you feel. this web site has to easy to use but very effective. somethimes it is hard to mash the 2 together.
here is a link to my web page
http://www.rmccann.webege.com/
i think this is the basic thing for right now. i am not sure. their is so much to consider and i am not really comfortable with the 000webhost terms. I will only get better.
this has taken me 3 plus hours and i still am not sure if i like any of it. I have also been playing with a kentcukyclassroom.org site that i created with Dr. Hyndman.
-This is a hard question. I teach science so it is pretty easy for me to think in terms of heiarchies and taxonomy. Hell I teach these exact topics. However, I am seeing that using this for my own site is not as easy as I had once thought. besides their are a lot of things that I have to consider. Reading the Yale articles have only given me more things to consider.
-Now I will start by utilizing the some sort of basic wireframe. For instance I will divide my content into "categories" I think this will give me a way to track my blogs so that my students can navigate to the appropriate blogs. also having some sort of calendar app on my web page is also very important. let be back up
1) sort all my content into some kind of a calendar of events. this is already being done by own distirct. i might be able to link to the district site so as not to bog down my site with info that has been created and stored else where.
2) divide my content into topics or big ideas. thankfully think is somewhat already done for me by the kentucky department of education in their combined curriculum document.
3) classroom stuff. bell ringers to announcements. because everyone knows that nothing follows a timeline. and i will constantly be ahead of schedule or behind.
I have to utilize things like "categories" and "pages" for my site. these will only allow me to be more organized and the more i am the more my kids will be to navigate my site. I will more than likely spend a few hours drawing my web page on the dry erase board before i commit to anything.
2) Paradigms
-I think that I would lean more towards the navigation side of things. However, the service sites that come with my current text book can be very useful. I am very leary of the web 2.0 sites. the ability of getting viruses has really turned me away from some of them. Yet, the answer may be to purchase something. I would most certaining do this if i thought it would enhance my classroom. So i just read an article about web 2.0 and how it has many "hats". If you think that web 2.0 is bloggin and wikis then that is fine but it could also be other things as well. So to that i think that I like the bloggin component but i think having my students interact with the site other than using it as a resource opens the doors to future problems.
-what i am trying to say in order to answer this question is that I want a resource that my parents, students, and colleagues can visit for information about my class and what is going on. I want them to email if they have quesitons but i don't want them to be able to comment on my site because i don't the comments to be public to other users who may be on the site at the same time. I just think that makes it too easy for parents to avoid teachers and for people to complain about why did you or did you not allow a comment. just email or call me if you have quesitons.
3) web page structure
-wow!!!
their are so many steps to a web site. i really had no idea. i have played a little with wordpress and like the ease of use. the blogger sites uses different terms that i am not as familiar with. I am Kind of liking the web and spokes. I really don't know. I have found that the workpress is easier to use than the 000webhost software. but i think it is only because i am not hip to the verbage yet. I think as the class progresses i will feel more comfortable with the web host. Really there are so many things to think of and i am the only person on the web site building committee.
4 &5) Site design
-more than likely i will be using microsoft paint to design something. if this does not go well i will just take good old pencil and paper and draw what i think it should look like. the yale articles give a lot of information to think about in building a web site. i feel pretty good about using inspiration software. i think that all this comes down to how comfortable you feel. this web site has to easy to use but very effective. somethimes it is hard to mash the 2 together.
here is a link to my web page
http://www.rmccann.webege.com/
i think this is the basic thing for right now. i am not sure. their is so much to consider and i am not really comfortable with the 000webhost terms. I will only get better.
this has taken me 3 plus hours and i still am not sure if i like any of it. I have also been playing with a kentcukyclassroom.org site that i created with Dr. Hyndman.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Scott County 9th Grade General Science Blog
Mission
Our School's mission is to "Build a Tradition of Excellence."
As a science department we have strived to create a curriculum that encomapsses all student abilities. With the implementation of a web site I feel we will be able to create a "home" for teacher/student/parent communication, a resource for teachers to access common lessons as well as Labs and assements, and finally a place where classrooms will be able to access their curriulum.
Support
Communication:
Our School's mission is to "Build a Tradition of Excellence."
As a science department we have strived to create a curriculum that encomapsses all student abilities. With the implementation of a web site I feel we will be able to create a "home" for teacher/student/parent communication, a resource for teachers to access common lessons as well as Labs and assements, and finally a place where classrooms will be able to access their curriulum.
Support
Communication:
- Right now parents have the ability to access grades on infinite campus but they can only see things that have already happened. Many parents complain that if they "only knew ahead of time", or what is tests or quizzes are "coming up."
- Whith the advancement in technology many students have the ability to be online. With a working web site I will be able to post assignments. Students will be able to download worksheets and missing assignments. The site will also allow teachers to adapt lessons to reach more learners. So much of the class time is spent teaching the middle of the road when their are kids that need more lesson but we have no time. They could access the site for enhancements.
- Oganization: the web site will allow parents and teachers to see the up coming assignments and lessons so that they can plan ahead of time.
Resource:
- The web site would be a great place for my colleagues and myself to post lessons and labs that we are doing in class so that we all have the potential to access more plans. Right now we have email which works but sometimes it can be time consuming. A web site would serve two purposes we would be posting for our students to see but also for our colleagues to see as a resource. Besides we get so many emails on a dailey basis that one for a colleague can get lost in the shuffle. Not to mention emails get deleted and our web site would have the info incase they get deleted.
- We go to the Clark County High School web site so many times to look for open response questions. Why do we do this? becasue they have done what we have failed to do. Put all our info into one place, a web site.
- We have created a curriulum map for science grades 6 through 12. However, no one has access to it. We have spent a year trying to put this together but for some reason no one has seen a final copy of it. We meet once a month on this very topic but I still have not witnessed the fruits of this labor. A a department we could get head start on the whole district by placing our information on a web site that can be accessed by other science teachers in the district.
- Not to mention it is a goal of our district to produce something that is universal in design, with all students in mind. A web site for our science department would be a great start in the right direction for our district.
Goals
1. Universal Design
2. Easy to use
Primary Audience
My primary audience will be my parents and students. Latter I hope to gain the support of my colleagues and add their classes to the site so that our school is using the site. My last audience will be the other science teachers in our district.
Think or Do (under constuction)
Taking my my classes into consideration, I want them to be able to access the site first and post a comment to a question. As I gain more experience with the site I will ask more of my students. i.e. posting assignments, using a calendar, communicating grades and results.
I have more questions but right now I am out of answers. Stay tuned for updates on my future online classroom.....
Monday, January 18, 2010
Robert McCann
Rob McCann's First Web page
Robert J. McCann
Scott County High School
Georgetown, Ky
Phone Number: 502-316-3577
My Experience in web page design
I am a first timer. I have had some practice setting up an online classroom, using google docs, and basic internet stuff. However, I have no knowledge of html stuff. Personally, I am a little lost when it comes to the html formatting.
What I want from EDU 558
I would like to know more about how I will be able to incorperate this new knowledge into my classroom. For instance, how will html formatting help with implementing instruction in the classroom? Another one of my goals for this class is to walk away with a website that my colleagues and I can use as a reference for 9th grade science students and parents. So many districts already have something that students and parents can visit. However, our district doesn't really have anything.
My Family
My Wife Codye and Our 9 month old daughter Campbell
What about html?
All I can say is wow. This has opened some doors for me. I think with some practice I can get better. However, I will admit I am out of my element. I like the idea but I will most definitely need some practice. It isn't so much hard as it is remembering all the tags and steps.
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