Welcome
Welcome to WebClassroom. Each of you comes from widely varied
geographic regions and experiential backgrounds. It is exciting to think
about the different perspectives and expertise that you will contribute
to this community of learning. You are participating in an experience
that is in some ways uncharted territory. As we work together we are bound
to experience misunderstandings(what in the world is that teacher talking
about?), encounter technical problems ( I know I saved that file somewhere
before my computer crashed!) and struggle with personal time constraints
(when am I going to find time to get that reading done?). If we don't
encounter at least a little of that, I'd be a bit concerned. It seems
like true learning is always pretty messy.
Course Purpose
The basic purpose of this course is to provide
you with basic knowledge, skills, and tools needed to deliver effective
instruction through the World Wide Web. When we endeavor to learn about
instructional technologies it is very easy to have the "technology" demand
far more attention than the "instruction". Concerns about "getting that
software to work" or "how do I get that image to show up on my page" frequently
distracts teachers from giving adequate thought to the principles of good
teaching. Instruction is overwelmed by technology instead of being served
by it. In this course, we will attempt to prevent that from happening
through conscientious, calculated effort to minimize the complexity of
the technology. Technology should be as painless as possible.
Course Instructional Methodology
Possibly more important than this course's instructional
activities (readings, discussions, projects, etc.) is its instructional
medium. What better environment to learn about online instruction
than an online class? Keep an eye out (with notepad handy) for the
things that work well in this course and the things that don't work so
well. When it comes time for you to deliver your own web-based instruction
you can hopefully make use of this first-hand experience and avoid some
of the mistakes that I have made.