Maximizing Teaching & Maximizing Teaching & LearningLearning

Maximizing Teaching & Maximizing Teaching & LearningLearning

For the Short CourseFor the Short Course

Short Course Problem Overview

Inherently have problems getting students to learn required material due to their limited duration

Compounded when there are clear distinctions in the skill levels of the students taking the class

Two main questions arise: How can course content delivery be

maximized? How can you keep more advanced

students interested while still maintaining an appropriate course content level?

Class Information CST 135, Introduction to the Internet &

World Wide Web Five-week course taught at Broome

Community College Content includes

How to use email & search the Web Discussion of ethical issues Creation of basic Web sites

More Class Information Skill levels range from those with no

computer skills to those with a programming background & have created some Web content already

Class meets 3 hours per week in a laboratory classroom equipped with a projection unit

MethodologyMethodologyMethodologyMethodology

Immersion:Key to the 1st Question

Created Web site http://www.sunybroome.edu/~hinton_r/CST135Home.html

Aside from the textbook, no paper is used Assignments are exchanged via email Quizzes are form-based Web pages submitted

to the instructor & returned via email Forces students to work in a Web environment

for all phases of the course even though they’re in same room

Available outside of class

Web Site Content:Addresses the 1st

Question Designed (for the most part) to teach

good design principles Navigation methods Page dating Layout Screen resolution Displaying information in the browser title bar etc

Web Site Content:Addresses the 1st

Question My Web pages contain these elements &

serves two purposes: Site is easier for the students to use while learning

the course material Access to standard course documents, such as Course

Policy & Class Outline Current assignments with instructions are also available Study Guides serve as lecture tools as well as reference

documents for assignments As students repeatedly use the site, they realize why

the design principles are important, making them more likely to include them in their own projects

Pedagogy Dictates I Break the Rules!

While consistency is an important feature in good Web site design, this rule wasn’t strictly enforced

Students are told up front that this was done to provide as many online examples as possible

Pedagogy Dictates I Break the Rules!

Consistency is illustrated in my design of the menu system for the Study Guides pages All menus associated with the Study Guides use the same

screen layout While the backgrounds for each individual study guide are

different, each provides a similar format After the heading, most pages provide a topic overview

followed by the details, which are organized by subtopic Most pages not only provide sample code that can be copied

and pasted to a student’s file, they also present the material using that method See Lists screen shot

Aside from links (for navigability), each page builds on the previous topics, reinforcing their concepts

Web Site Content:Web Site Content:Web Site Content:Web Site Content:

Addresses the 2Addresses the 2ndnd Question Question

Why is keeping the interest of more advanced students

considered difficult? Common approach is to write the

information for two different audiences A better solution lies in subtlety,

enhancing the way the information is presented On the surface, Web pages look very

straightforward

The Home page is menu-based providing access to all other areas of the Web site & a link to the textbook’s Web site

Study Guides teach students how to use email, create a basic Web page, create a template, utilize basic HTML elements, & Tips & Tricks

Piquing Their Curiosity Advanced techniques are embedded in most of

the pages Usually not apparent to novice students

Students are encouraged to review the source code for all the pages on the site In fact, the first HTML lesson teaches the students how

to look at a Web page’s source code Since these screen shots are static, the more

obvious advanced techniques aren’t apparent here Play with the Web site & see what interests you http://www.sunybroome.edu/~hinton_r/CST135Home.html

Sample TechniquesSample TechniquesSample TechniquesSample Techniques

Page Loading Effects Home page contains a JavaScript forcing the

window to open in a 800 x 600 window or smaller depending on the available screen space JavaScript isn’t taught in this class

Opening Web pages Links to Web pages I created open in the current

browser window Links to Web pages at remote Web sites open in a

new window

Text Effects Way of capturing the user’s attention

Implemented on both sample pages Internet Explorer & Netscape provide

different effects These Web pages contain the code for both

types: In Internet Explorer the title scrolls across the

screen In Netscape the title blinks

Displaying Different Fonts Need to know the font’s name

Default Web page font is Times New Roman These pages are designed to support a

range of fonts that might be installed on a user’s machine Student can download a self-extracting Zip

file containing a set of fonts designed work with the site

Instructions for installing them are provided

Displaying Special Characters

Need to know the special character’s HTML code or its numeric Unicode value

Each guide provides sample code that a student can copy & paste into a file they are creating The advanced student will wonder how the

tag brackets (<>) were displayed

Pushing Them Forward Links are provided to more advanced

resources As I learn new techniques, they are

incorporated into the Web site’s design When I have time, I plan to add guides for

creating forms & advanced use of color & links

Instructor Information Rachel E. Hinton Assistant Professor/Adjunct Lecturer Broome Community

College/Binghamton University http://www.sunybroome.edu/~hinton_r/

Takes you to my personal Home page which has links to this & other sites I’ve developed