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Educator Websites Friend or Foe? Presented by Jeff Gullion Instructor, Information Technology Des Moines Area Community College IBEA Conference October 15, 2005
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Educator WebsitesFriend or Foe?
Presented byJeff Gullion
Instructor, Information TechnologyDes Moines Area Community CollegeIBEA Conference October 15, 2005
The Good The Bad The Ugly
• The Good– What you like and what most people like
about websites
• The Bad– What you dislike and what most people dislike
about websites
• The Ugly– Oh my gosh! Somebody really paid money
for that?
What do you like about websites?
“The Good”
What do you dislike about
websites?
“The Bad”
The Ugly
• Learn from the worst!– http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com– Books– Articles– Web sites
Website Design Guidelines
• Websites are about communication
• Websites are about content!
• Depends upon how you intend to use it.
• Efficiency and Usefulness are the key!– Usability– User Friendly– Useful Content
Website Design Guidelines
• Design is about personal preferences
• What one person doesn’t like the next one will.– You can’t please them all, just try not to
irritate most of them!
• Style your site for how YOU will use it
• Experience is your best bet! Use and do what you like!
Content Suggestions
• Syllabus• Assignments• Reading suggestions• Class related materials• Time sensitive material• Resource Links
– Related material or websites– Other instructor websites– Other courses or related courses– Other schools
‘Cool’ Tools
• Instant Messaging or IM • Blogs• Message Boards• Polls
– Class related– Humor– Current events http://www.aol.com
• Quizzes– Daily comprehension checks Practice questions
‘Cool’ Bells & Whistles
• Videos– Mouse?– Keep them small and limited– Give your visitor a choice!
• Audios– Are they relevant and small?– http://jeffglover.com/ss/sucky02.php– Give your visitor a choice!!
Do’s and Don’ts
• Match the Content to your class/course!
• Use it!
• Use it in your class!
• Use it yourself!
Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t ignore it and hope it goes away!
• Don’t make fun of it.
• Don’t make it bigger than you can keep updated
• Don’t make it something you can’t use.
Do’s and Don’ts
• Have a purpose and a goal for your website
• Be able to discuss what it will do – for you as an instructor– for your students– for your class or course
Most Annoying Issues
• Msspellings and Typose• Too wide for standard monitor “horizontal
scroll”• Poor legibility
– Hard to read font– Poor contrast between font and background
• Busy Background – http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/9448/b
ack.htm
Most Annoying Issues
• Home page without content– http://www.angelfire.com/rebellion/babb/– Home page / Splash Page
• Advertising – Ads– Pop Ups– Pop Unders
• Broken Links
Most Annoying Issues
• If the page isn’t finished don’t display it!!!– http://www.cs.utah.edu/~gk/atwork/
– Do you really want to tell people you haven’t done this yet? Oh, my house isn’t clean yet!
– Google 154 million pages with “under construction”
Most Annoying Issues
• Any blinking icons!
• Hit counters– Bad for small sites “Doesn’t anybody come
here”– Too easy to ‘set’
• Distractions from your website’s purpose!
Print Media vs. Web Media
• Print media is different from Web Media• Text presentation on a web page
– is broken up by headings – is shaped into lots of punchy, single idea paragraphs – puts key phrases in bold face – bullets key points – avoids jargon and rhetoric – is straightforward, and – is short.
• Paper – Eye’s focus on upper left corner• Monitor – Eye’s focus on center of screen
Best Practices – Summary
• Know what your website will do for you!
• Know what you are willing to do for your website
• Make the content useful to you and your students
• Keep it simple and focused
• Grow it as your usage grows
Best Practices – Summary
• Learn the tools as you need or want them
• Use the website!
• Believe in what it will do for your and your students!
• Have fun!
• Go to class! Learn new things from your students! Use the Internet where appropriate.
Educator WebsitesYour Friend!
Presented byJeff Gullion
Instructor, Information TechnologyDes Moines Area Community CollegeIBEA Conference October 15, 2005
