Reflections+on+EDLD+5365


 * == **__Reflections on EDLD 5365- Web Design __** ==

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According to Shirley Kaiser (2006) in her book “Deliver First Class Websites”, a user friendly website is one that “allows users to find information and complete tasks swiftly and simply”(p.61). I could not agree more. I have been to several websites and have been completely turned off from ever visiting again because of difficulty navigating the site and finding the information I am looking for. Kaiser suggests that the designer give users multiple ways to find information. This reduces the time it takes to find things and is a situation where redundancy can be an excellent thing. Also, top on the list of what I thought were most important usability practices were helpful navigation, and having content that is easy to access and scan through when searching for information. The last of the best practices that I found useful was the use of a search engine and a site map. It is recommended that if a site has more than 12 pages that a site map be included, this would serve as another quick method of locating relevant information on a site. I was able to put these best to use during the course assignments. My plan for the professional development website included a navigation that was easy to use and I focused on creating a user interface that was simple and easy to scan for information. Although I had created websites in the past and was familiar with concepts related to design for usability, the tools I learned from Kaiser aided in the development of my staff development website and I have used them to influence my web site designs created since then. ======

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In addition to creating a staff development website, we were tasked with updating the Acceptable Use Policy on our campus. An Acceptable Use Policy is an effective approach to allowing students to self manage and learn important computer ethics skills. “ By teaching students responsible behavior, asking them to sign an agreement, and providing written descriptions of the consequences for wrongful action, students develop a sense of responsibility and ownership for their online experience” (i-SAFE, 2009, 1). This assignment had significant relevance to me because as a technology teacher I personally go over the policy with my students and have them sign each year prior to allowing them to use the computers. In the past, I have always felt that the policy was not inclusive enough that that we needed a policy that specified and clarified our stance on all technology related aspects of instruction. In speaking with fellow program colleagues, I found that several other districts had the same problems. Most of us had current acceptable use policies that were a page or less in length and basically said that if you did anything unacceptable your privileges would be revoked. I gained a lot of valuable insight into what was missing from most acceptable use policies through those discussions and it led to a revised acceptable use policy that not online outlined specific behavior that was prohibited, but it outlined goals of the policy and specific standards for websites, files and graphics housed on district servers. ======

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As a member of the Technology Integration Team on my campus and the original developer of our campus website, I found the coursework in this course extremely relevant and it inspired me to lead the redesign of our campus website and acceptable use policy. Our website gives valuable information but needs to be transformed into interactive tool that gives users up to date information from a personal perspective and allows for student expression as well. We are considering adding a Principal’s Corner blog and daily podcasts of school announcements to the website. As Solomon and Schrum(2007) point out in //Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools//, educational institutions must begin to take advantage of Web 2.0 tools like blogs, podcasts and interactive web sites. In the past, I worked on the website primarily alone and did not have a team to divide responsibilities and share ideas. The best practices learned throughout the course have given me the ability to effectively lead the revision process and plan a revised campus website that more efficiently meets the needs of our campus community. ======

**References ** i-SAFE America. (2009). //Acceptable Use Policies//. Retrieved on March 27, 2012 from []

Kaiser, S. (2006). //Deliver first class websites:101 essential checklists//. Collingwood, VIC, Austrailia: Sitepoint

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, new schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education
||= ==Course Files ==  [|Website Revision Project Charter] [|Website Policy] ||