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Project:
Making a Homepage a Virtual Homeroom:
- I
am using this opportunity to build technology aspects into an online
course
in Communications that I have offered once, and will offer again in the
Summer of 2004.
- The
target course is "Comm 477/577: Professional Communication
Ethics."
Both undergraduates and graduate students take this course.
- It
takes several years to refine an online course so that the
student/teacher
interface is more than a "front door," and becomes instead a welcoming
"homeroom" that:
- engages
students by tapping their curiosity and different perspectives,
- anticipates
their special questions and needs as distance learners
- provides
the supports and conveniences that are available for traditional
courses
on campus
- invites
students to join a community they cannot see.
- I
want the homepage to convey a welcoming climate for discovery and
active
(not passive) interaction and inquiry. However, the current
version
is not visually appealing, provides information but doesn' t
specifically
signal encouragement for developing more energetic learning strategies,
and doesn't model technological sophistication or creative
thinking.
- To
address these deficiencies, the Coursetools coursespace will be
revisited
to try to
- add
visual appeal through graphics and other design elements
- help
students find and navigate the services available for distance learning
students
- encourage
students to use the online academic research databases
- create
links to other features of the coursespace (such as Discussion Forum,
Lectures,
Resources)
- convey
subtextually and through design elements the value of creativity,
exploration,
intellectual risk-taking, and even playfulness
- Here
are some of the sample features that I might add to the coursespace to
make it more user-friendly:
- a
gateway to the Library's services and resources for distance learning
students
- a
gateway to the Distance Learning Office
- a
gateway to the most relevant online academic research databases for the
field
- a
link to the Electronic Reserves (ERes) page for the course
- a
few content-specific resources
- a
quick-look version of the syllabus with links to study questions or
discussion
prompts
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