I should have been doing this all along, silly me.
To review the design process to this point:
- Performance analysis - new students struggle to master copious requirements at the start of the school year.
- Problem could be solved with instruction, an instructional tool that compiles all resources and requirements in a central location, in this cases an electronic repository.
- Needs assessment - a check list has been used in the past that formed the basis of the needs assessment. As we worked through the check list this year, I monitored the process for weak and missing needs. I determined that additional incentive may produce more favorable results. 1000 points were offered upon completion of all the items on the check list. Results to this point have been good. The deadline is Fri. 9/7. At that time I will analyze percentages completed. This will provide a basis for comparison in the future.
- Goal 1 - students will locate the central repository (CR)
- Goal 2 - students will work though self paced tutorials explaining features of the CR
- Goal 3 - students will complete the check list called "First Week Homework"
Moodle - I have had some exposure to Moodle in the past and our center has two moodle servers available currently. I chose not to use Moodle because of the time required to set up and maintain the system, classes, courses. It is quite feature rich on one hand but the learning curve is pretty steep on the other.
Wikispaces - I have used Wikispaces in the past and find it the best of several I have tried. It offers free wikis to K12 and the interface is very easy. For what it does, it is a robust wiki solution. I may still use it in the course but is not capable of serving as the CR.
HTML web server - I use a web server to deliver most of the curriculum which comes pre-built from Cisco System and Hewlett Packard. The performance is marginal and it is my intention to upgrade the hardware and to switch to Linux in an effort to increase performance. This server will be a big part of the course but will not act as the CR.
GMail - At the summer workshop, we explored GMail and Google Docs and Google Talk. I thought this could be the foundation of the CR. I started to explore in detail how the product would fit into the classroom solution as the CR. It can do so.
iGoogle - I then stumbled across iGoogle which offers a calendar along with other Google stuff on a convenient Start Page. I was feeling pretty excited that I had arrived at a viable solution. I shared this with a colleague who suggested I look into Google Apps.
Google Apps - Google Apps is a solution offered by Google that supports a private domain. For instance, the domain pcnet.jatc-sandy.org. Google Apps is iGoogle in a managed domain. It offers all the features of iGoogle in a more controlled environment. I allows email accounts using the domain name, ie; user.name@pcnet.jatc-sandy.org. It allows a shared Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Talk, GMail. This looks like the solution.
Implementation and Setup of Google Apps
To fully take advantage of Google Apps, it required an application to Google and the we the participants must have a working domain. In our case it was: jatc-sandy.org. There was some DNS administration tasks that had to occur which were managed by an associate.
I knew just enough jargon to ask the right questions and he agreed to help. He was, by-the-way, the colleague who recommended that I look into Google Apps.
The application was approved, the administration task accomplished and I was set up as the domain administrator. I added the users first thing and then set up the Start Page that everyone sees when they login. I created a calendar and shared that with all domain members.
I have created a couple of shared documents to this point, the class roster in a spreadsheet and a list of important web links in a text document.
After the "back-end" configuration happened, the
1 comment:
I like this Ben. You are very thorough and this will work well for you when you are writing your final reports. Keep up the great work...Sandie
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