Course Introduction and Goals
Summer 2012 On Line
Online section live webcasts will normally be Thursdays at 3pm Pacific time, with our first meeting on Thursday, May 24th. A detailed schedule will be posted prior to the start of class.
If you register after Tuesday, May 22nd, please email me and let me know so that I can add you to the course database and listserv. Please mention you're in EDTEC 541 on line.
Looking forward to working with you this semester!
Introduction
Welcome to Educational Multimedia Web Development. In this course you’ll learn the basics of building educational multimedia Web sites. There are a range of tasks involved, requiring both design skills and software development skills.The course flows along in three main streams, that parallel and build on one another. Our first order of business is to begin to master the software toolkit you’ll need to build Web sites. The toolkit includes HTML, a Web page editor, image editing software, and audio and video compression software. Naturally, part of the job is to figure out how to use the right tool for the right job and pull all the pieces together. We’ll use a screen-based tutorial called Presence as you work with the tools on your computer.
| Software tools: Presence | |||
| Design skills: Textbook and Web-based modules. | |||
| Designing an Educational Web Site | Developing an Educational Web Site | ||
But the software tools, of course, are useless without some design skills to go with them. In this course, you’ll learn to assess your target audience’s needs, then choose appropriate content and design navigation systems and page layouts to meet those needs. You’ll do this with the help of the textbook (Williams & Tollett) and the Web-based presentations, discussions, and other activities.
You’ll put your newly-acquired design skills into practice right away by starting to design your own educational Web site. You’ll assess your audience’s needs, draft a short proposal, draw a flow diagram and sketch a storyboard. By the time your design is ready, you’ll have completed the software tools segment of the course, and you’ll be ready to begin development of your design. By the end of the course, you’ll have designed and developed a prototype educational multimedia Web site you can use in your professional portfolio.
See a more detailed pacing calendar (a simplified Gantt chart, for those interested in project management) for the course, that includes an overview of deliverables and due dates.
Course Goals and Competencies
Educational Multimedia Web Development will help you understand the information revolution and its effect on educational and instructional design and product development. The course will provide you with intensive hands-on experience in production of multimedia products specifically for the Web. Emphasis is on the design process involved in multimedia development. You will assume various roles to carry out that process, ranging from content expert to quality assurance engineer.
EDTEC 541 features performance outcomes that directly reflect the competencies that underlie the EDTEC Master's program [noted in brackets, below]
At the completion of this course you will be able to produce a complete, information-based multimedia product using a Web authoring tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, and other applications. To reach this goal, you will learn to:
- Prepare and submit a proposal for a Web-based multimedia project. [Processes]
- Design attractive and effective screens. [Technical; Principles, theories, and models; Communication]
- Design navigation schemes for moving within your multimedia program. [Technical; Principles, theories, and models; Communication]
- Incorporate appropriate interactivity in your program. [Principles, theories, and models]
- Present your designs to others and negotiate improvements and accomodations based on their feedback. [Data-based decision making; Principles, theores, and models]
- Digitize video, still images and audio and use them appropriately within a multimedia program. [Technical]
- Post the program that you create on Web. [Technical]
As multimedia and telecommunications are merging, another goal of this course is to make you adept and comfortable using computer-based communications. In Educational Multimedia Web Development, you will acquire the skills that you will use in future classes and in professional work. More specifically, you'll be able to:
- Use e-mail and a listserv to communicate with local and distant colleagues. [Interpersonal]
- Use the World Wide Web as both a learning and marketing resource. [Communication]
- Upload and download files from distant sites. [Technical]
- Participate in online discussions. [Cognitive]
So let's get started!