__ __ __ __ __ __ web's eye view 04-15-98 | | /| / /| | /| / /| | /| / / alan levine | |/ |/ / | |/ |/ / | |/ |/ / Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction |__/ |__/ |__/|__/ |__/|__/ http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/eye/ ..............New bag of URLs.......http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/eye/bag/ ============================================================================== New Bag of URLs --------------- has just been filled and is awaiting pickup at: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/eye/bag/curr.html Thumbs Up for POLIS ------------------- Thanks to Billie Hughes (PC) and the folks at GCC for the demo of POLIS on March 25. We've heard quite a bit of positive response and interest in this tool from the University of Arizona. If you were not able to attend the demo, you can get material and a demo from the POLIS web site. Project for On-Line Instructional Support (POLIS) is both an on-line instructional resource for students and an on-line support tool for instructors. You can use POLIS to put up interactive lessons and other materials on the World Wide Web, which makes them available to your students through any of the various means they might have for connecting to the Internet. http://www.u.arizona.edu/ic/polis/demo/POLIS.cgi Apparently many attendees were impressed by the design and instructional ideas behind the technology as presented by U of A's Sally Jackson. As those who begin to experiment with POLIS at Maricopa, please share some URLs and feedback, by sending a note to our webs-eye listserv, webs-eye@lists.maricopa.edu Web Discussion Boards --------------------- One of the nice built-in features of systems such as POLIS or webCT is the capacity for a web interface to a discussion area, more or less what we've done for years with Electronic Forum. With a little help from your IT support staff, there are free CGI (webs erver programs) scripts that allow you fairly easily to set these up. Previously we've used a package called "WWWBoard" which seems to be used quite frequently around the web, but more recently have been using another free package called "WebBBS"; a test version we set up is at: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/cgi-bin/bbs/test1.pl We are going to create on for each issue of our publication the "Labyrinth-Forum" (follow the "Discuss" link): http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/labyforum/ For follow-up discussion of the current issue's articles. You can get more information on the Web BBS package from: http://awsd.com/scripts/webbbs/ Chris Schnick and cohorts at CGC have been creating *many* web discussion boards for "Weaving Community through Serving, Storytelling, and Writing: Learning Community" (English 071, English 101, English Humanities 110). http://www.cgc.maricopa.edu/instruction/langhum/english/connections.html And Chris has even gone another step by creating separate Web Boards for each of his students who use it to answer a series of interview questions about service learning: http://www.cgc.maricopa.edu/instruction/langhum/english/schnick/lc/service.html Test Some Stuff for Us? ----------------------- We've been developing a simple tool/template for a JavaScript-enabled web slide show thingy. The idea is that you assemble a series of JPEG images, toss them into a folder, and modify the contents of a single HTML document to provide the directions of a slide show. But you can probably grasp it better by looking your self. Examples, directions, and a 200k template download are all available for the "jClicker": http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/proj/jclicker/ Also we have converted a program developed a few years back, from HyperCard to a web version. "Research Methods in the Social and Natural Sciences" was developed as a District Internal grant with Bernie Combs (SCC); several other Maricopa faculty provided content. You can give it a try from: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/proj/res_meth/ Note that the "practice" and "post-test" sections make use of Shockwave, but the web pages should do some checking to test if your web browser has the necessary components. Feedback is most welcome! At the Crossroads ----------------- The Crossroads project at Georgetown University has an excellent site full of examples, ideas, and resources for instructional use of the web in American Studies. Here is some relevant info, I was most interested in their "Case Studies" of faculty that had participated in the technology development projects: Throughout the month of April, the American Studies Crossroads Project is sponsoring an Electronic Expo, an online event intended to raise awareness and generate dialogue about the appropriate uses of new media in culture and history curricula. The main page of the Electronic Expo is: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/expo/ One of the features of the Expo is the public opening of the Portfolio of Case Studies from the Crossroads Classroom Research Project. The Portfolio presents drafts of case study reflections on the use and impact of technology in culture and history courses, culminating a year long project in which 20 faculty kept reflective journals on their teaching practice. We invite commentary and participation from faculty in these fields and others interested in faculty development and support. The Portfolio of Case Studies is at: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/conversations/cases/ We have also created a new preview site for a set of faculty development materials produced by the Project, focusing on the use of new media for achieving six learning goals in culture studies settings. The materials include a video and casebook/handbook; they are available for previewing online: Engines of Inquiry: A Video Tour of Technology and Learning in American Studies (34 min.) and Engines of Inquiry: A Practical Guide for Using Technology to Teach American Culture (350 pp.) http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/guide/