March 18, 2000

We have two Phorum assignments for the week, one for Strategies and the other for Staff Development.

Strategies

Something old | Something new | Something borrowed | Something blue

Something old ...

• Post your questions to the Phorum. In the Available Forums list, you'll see Projects. Within that Forum, you've used the Web Authoring iMET 2 thread that I've created for questions about the various applications. There's also a "General Questions" category. Chris C., Joe, Doug, and RJ have supplied some excellent responses to several good questions. Keep those questions coming.

Q & A on the Phorum

• If you find particular problems that a fellow iMETer is experiencing, then reply to the question with some encouraging and practical advice or suggestions. I will continue to respond as needed.
• Continue to read Robin Williams and John Tollett (The Non-Designer's Web Book) through Chapter 10. You'll start to get it. These authors really give excellent examples with wonderful illustrations. And, it's easy reading.
• Use my tutorials:

  Web Authoring 282

Pay particular attention to Lesson 4 on Modifying Sites. You can always go back to the first few lessons if you need them. Lesson Two also contains links to tutorials I've made for Composer and PageMill.

Something new ...

There are two parts to this new assignment.

• I have started a thread on the Phorum called Human Resources for Collaboration.  It's in the Project Phorum. Post links to sites that you have found that offer collaborative opportunities.  These don't need to be links that you are currently using.  Your iMET colleagues, however, may be able to make good use of one or two of these.  Make this a short list (2 or 3 each) as this will be multiplied by 21 by the week's end.  You will notice that iMET 1 has already added significantly to this list. You get to add the new stuff.
• Tell about one new procedure you have learned to do within the Web Authoring Zone of Proximal Development within the past two - three weeks.  Describe how to do this procedure so that others may follow your instructions.  You get big style points if you create a one-page web tutorial for that procedure.  Procedures may focus on autothumbnailing in FrontPage, rollover images and links in Dreamweaver, hover buttons, adding sound, making frames, taking a screen shot and converting it to a jpeg or gif file with a particular application, dynamic HTML effects in FrontPage, etc. Once again, you'll notice that iMET 1 has made a contribution here. You may have special talents and tricks that others need to hear about.
  • Just in case you want to go the one-page web tutorial route, you may want to take some screen shots.  This means that you can take a picture of your screen and convert it to a gif or jpeg file with your graphic application of choice.  Here's a web that includes instructions on how to do that on a PeeCee or a Mac.  (Capturing Screen Shots)  Just ignore the part about HyperStudio in that tutorial.
• If you haven't learned anything (well, sometimes that's the way the mop flops), read what others are posting and respond by trying their procedures and giving feedback.

Something borrowed ...

• This just fit the theme.  Here's something that Jeff Peach shared with us at the ETA summer sessions.  It's called the Fish Philosophy.  It speaks to both staff development and web authoring.
• Here's a great Dreamweaver tutorial on the web. Check out the section on forms.

Something blue ...

• Do your links always need to be blue?  Do you know how to change that?  If you do know how to change the color of links in your chosen web authoring application, there's a chance above for you to explain that procedure and post it to the Phorum.

Staff Development:  Renaissance 2000

Reading:  "Renaissance 2000" by David Thornburg.  This link takes you to the Thornburg Center where you can download this visionary article.

In this Phorum posting, you need to envision and describe or locate a presentation example that provides insight into the potential uses of telematic computing. Remember, be visionary!

• Read "Renaissance 2000" and reflect on the potential of R2K and staff development.
• What would you do in a staff development session to illustrate the R2K concept to teachers?
•  How would you get teachers to reexamine their instruction in light of R2K?
• Develop or locate an example to present to teachers illustrating how you have reexamined and changed (or will change) a piece of your curriculum not just in light of telematics, but in the essence of this true renaissance.
• Post your ideas to the Phorum thread labeled "Renaissance 2000".