Matt Sly EdPsy 387 – Computer Use in Education Major Project Web Site   Network+ Website

 

Click the light bulb to visit my project!   *Not in final condition or location, but will be soon!

Project Goal and Description: My goal for this project was to develop a web site that could be utilized next year while teaching my Network+ course. The web site should include items typically found in a course syllabus (class expectations, rules, grade guidelines, course topics, etc), but should also be a source of dynamic information for the entire class.  I wanted to bring in features such as online grades, resources for the course, web logging, HTML skill building, and guidelines for the web portfolio (a major aspect of their grade in this class).    Background: I developed and proposed this course last year and was granted the course as seventeen students signed up for the class.  For a computer lab that only holds twenty students, this was a remarkable turnout for a first-year course.  The High Tech School-to-Work Project paid for textbooks and basic networking supplies. The class will focus on preparing students for the Network+ exam (a professional computer networking certification exam), but will also focus on key skills essential to the workplace. These skills will include group network design projects, learning the use of Microsoft Visio, developing a web portfolio, basic HTML knowledge, wireless technology, and much more.  My goal was to develop a web site that supports this class, allowing it to grow in new and exciting directions.

 

Target Audience:

This website should really serve several different audiences.  The largest and most important audience is the students taking my Network+ course for the 2003-2004 school year.  They will be mostly juniors and seniors, as course requirements restrict younger students from enrolling.  They should visit this site almost daily, as they will have internet access in front of them each day in the classroom.  It should inform them about assignments, but also be used to monitor grades and connect with other students.  However, I do hope to have some connection to parents via the site as well.  The grade information, along with assignments and other “ongoings” of the class should be able to keep parents connected to their student’s Network+ endeavors.  I also hope that this might be useful to other educators looking to bring this type of technology education to their school.

 

 

Knowledge & Skills I Learned Along the Way:

• Front Page - I became more proficient with utilizing this Microsoft web development application.  I still like the control of using HTML directly, but Front Page is very quick and allows so much more time to analyze the site for look and content.

• HTML Tutorials and Instructional Guidelines - I was not aware of the vast amount of resources for learning HTML on the web.  I have done some looking into this in the past, but this project really got me searching through a vast amount of enriching information.  THis includes step-by-step tutorial and online activities that I can bring into my class.

• Web Design Strategies - Utilizing the resources from this course, I designed my web page with a concern for ease in reading and navigation.  I did utilize some suggestions given by the Bobby web site. However, I also tried to bring in the visual appeal I thought was necessary for my audience, a rather tech-savvy group of high school students.

• Web Logger - I was intrigued by the educational use of blogging (web logging) and decided my Network+ students would be a great group to tes the usefulness of this type of journaling.  The Blogger tools make this an easy format to create and utilize for my students.  My only hope is that school firewalls do not shut this down.