Week of April 21, 2008

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• I need to tweak all of my pages to be able to make them more user friendly
• I am still working on finishing my webspace
• I need to get my blog up to date.
  
  

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

I feel pretty satisfied that my work is almost done. I feel like I put together a pretty decent webspace that is both professional and entertaining. I still need to learn a ton before I would consider building websites for companies. I still am trying to figure out what to do with all of this information.

3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

No readings for the week

Week of April 14, 2008

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• I need to complete my webspace
• I need to tweek all of my pages so that they are uniform and professional
• Keep the Blog up-to-date
• Make a run-through of my entire site for functionality
• I need to check if I need a seperate site for each part of my webspace.

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

Well, we are coming to the final stretch. I have put in a ton of time and have learned a ton. I just hope that my space is enough to warrant an A in the class. I have definately learned skills on the fly that I plan to employ in the future as I build webspaces. I have really enjoyed using Dreamweaver and figuring out all that it has to offer. Like I have stated before, I am much more of a blogger than anything. I do, however, enjoy creating usable content for others. I feel like I am limited in the quality of the content because of the size/space limitations.

3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

I enjoyed discussing the usability issues last class period. I have begun to think about how to employ it in my webspace. I guess one should consider these things BEFORE creating a Webspace. I feel like I was tweeking on the fly.

Week Of April 7, 2008

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• Fix my footer
• I need to add pages for the "how to" section
• Make sure all navigation is working and goes where I want it to.
• Pick a background color that looks professional, but not white
• read all article for next week
• keep up with my blog

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

I think that I am finally on track with my webspace. I have worked on it a bunch, but have plenty more to do. I feel like I will have a nice finished product at the end. I do need to steal some time to get everything done. The cool thing about having class online is that you get done early and don't have to leave home. the bad thing is that I force myself to get work done when I am at school. I need to organize my stuff, especially for a portfolio for the masters program.


3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

In reading the article "Survey of Professionals Using Electronic Surveys", I felt that the concepts of "Sound Survey Design" to be interesting. I think that whenever you do anything electronically, you need to keep in mind ease of use. I also think that with the increase of availibility to the internet that a more suitable sample size can be found. I was intrigued by the statement that eludes to giving respondents multiple ways to response to the survey. I think I will keep the "...Ease of use" in mind when design my webspace.

In "Universally Designed Instruction", I found that I already do many of the concepts that they indicated. I found that the concepts are really similar to those that are needed to include special education students into the mainstream classroom. This way you can create a less restrictive environment. I believe you go back to the idea of "...Ease of use" then you can create a design that will be instructional for all.

"Quality in Distance Learning" was particularily interesting. It confirmed what I had thought about technology in schools. I found that the phrase "Technology, then, is "merely a means of delivering instruction,"" to be interesting in relation to some of my colleagues. They seem to think that they need to integrate technology and because of this that the students will learn more. I believe that the methodology needs to change and not simply integrating technology into the classroom. What good does it do to use technology but deliver the content in the same fashion. I agree with Russell's frustration that "after so many studies, people continue to believe that technology impacts learning". I also find it interesting that our class is a hybrid class, especially based on some of the findings in the study. I think there is something to be said about blending all of the means of delivery.

When reading through "Using Instructional Design Strategies To Foster Curiosity", I was thinking of ways to apply that to our creation of instructional Websites. The current website that I am working on is for educators...I probably need to add elements from the article to my site.

Week of March 31

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• I need to fix my pages so that they fit 100% of any browser page that is used to view it.
• I need to add my instructional pages
• Finish the shell of my website.
• Edit all text and links
• Create video for instruction
• Need to credit my sources
  

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

I made tremendous progress last night...7 pm - 12 am. I am feeling much better about the direction of my space. At first I was playing around with the themes and graphics in order make my space more novel. I decided it was probably better to make my site more functional, instead. I like the design. I am also happy that I have created much of the material in my space. I really am trying not to borrow much from other sites/people. I am still interested in using flash, I think it would help to tie things together. I really need to spend another 5 hour night putting in all of the details that are necessary for a quality site. I have really had to change my thinking on Websites. I am more of a blog/wiki guy. I enjoy the challenge. Plus I feel more professional...and that I can produce a professional product.


3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

I don't believe that we have had any readings for this week. However, I continue to read tutorials and discussion, in order to figure out some of the web elements.

Week of February 24

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• I need to rework my website to make it more functional and informative.
• I have created a new banner and theme. I need to get that worked into my site.
• I also need to continue to keep my blog up-to-date.
• I need to make some videos (screen casts) to add to my instructional portion of the website.
  

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

My biggest concern is having time to manage the projects. I do get some time at home to work, but get distracted with the realities of being a parent. I try to stay at school some days to get things done. My wife has been great about taking my son to run errands and to go to the park. So, I feel that I am getting some good quiet time to work. I also have to continue to work. Some times I get so involved with the thought process, that it takes a while to actually get some work done. I am always trying to accomplish things that are bigger than I have time or expertise on. On my website, I am simply creating content that is representative of the best I can do with the time I have.

3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

to my knowledge, we didn't have any readings for the week. However, I have been reading many tutorials on how to do things. Whenever I try to do something new I find a tutorial to help figure it out.

Photoshop Project

This is a copy of my Photoshop project. I used a gradient, Rubber stamp, Marquee, Text, layering, Blur.

This was funny. I laughed as I did it.













Here is an image that I am working on.

Week of March 17

First off, Kansas is a number 1 seed in the NCAA tourney. That makes me happy.

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• I need to get a template for my two websites
• I need to begin building the framework of my sites.
• I need to look over my peer's websites and critique them before I leave town on Easter break
• I want to start looking at ways to improve my webpage design by using a design guide.
• I need to read ahead all of the articles for the coming weeks.

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

I feel much better after attending the class with Dr. T. I feel more at ease about what is expected for the class. I need to continue to produce my webpages, even when I feel uninspired. I also need to stay away from making things so fancy that they lose their functionality. The biggest key is to take careful time reading the articles for class each week. I felt that I didn't cover the articles for this week thoroughly enough and took awhile to get on board with the discussion. I certainly want to stay involved with the discussion. I think I have plenty to learn from my colleagues.

3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

I really was impacted by creating a design guide. I usually don't set parameters for myself when designing, which means that things go way overboard in creativeness. So much so that it bogs things down and make my work messy. Also, considering my audience is a big deal. I am interested in how to generate traffic through a website. The Webdesign Principles site was helpful in that it gave several "how to's" as well as "how not to's". Great discussion on blackboard the other night.

My latest workshop slides

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Additional Post

I read the related articles in the syllabus this week. I realized that I already have or do several of the things that are listed. for instance, I have a Gmail account at shudson71@gmail.com. I also use a wiki for classroom projects. I have one at http://hudson224.pbwiki.com/ and http://mrhudsonsworld.wikispaces.com/ . I also have several blogs: http://ics.k12.il.us/blog/dc , http://ics.k12.il.us/blog/shudson , and http://webforinstruction.blogspot.com/. I also have a blog for home, but do not wish to give the URL. I have several examples of how I have used webconferencing in the classroom at http://ics.k12.il.us/blog/shudson/category/web-conferences/. I feel like I am on top of a bunch of the technologies that I need to be successful in a career of Instructional technology.



Because technology keeps evolving, I need to continue to read more articles.

I added instant messaging to my SIUE blog!!

Post for February 25 and March 3

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

Get my blogging journal up-to-date
Read all of the articles for March 3 and 10
I need to work on my two websites for the course
Continue the discussion on the discussion board


2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

At this point, I am trying to keep my blog up-to-date. I have been working on my website, making adjustments that will give it more functionality. I am sorry that I missed the chat discussion with my classmates. I have used a chat of sorts for my classroom. I have done several webconferences (using my webcam) with people from around the world. I have communicated with contacts in Ghana, China, Malaysia, Palestine, and Utah (not particularly international). I will add a chat feature to my website for fun, if I can pull it off. I seem to struggle with motivation for the class. I am not real clear of the expectations for the class. I guess we do weekly assignments, then our overall projects are the two websites (one instructional and one informational). I need to do the reading for this week, but should get some time today to accomplish it.


3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

This last articles I read involved various forms of communication with your viewers (chat, message boards, Listservs). I commented on the discussion board that I have used all forms of the communication listed and researched. I personally like the discussion board aspect to keep an ongoing discussion of a topic. Several years ago I was interested in the chats and chat rooms. But as I become more mature and have more responsibility, I can not tie up a huge chunk of time chatting.

Week of February 17

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• Read Articles for next week.
• I need to start building the template for my instructional blog.
• I also need to tweek my informational blog.
• I would like to explore Dreamweaver a lot more. I am barely scratching the surface of what it can do.
• keep my blog up-to-date.
  

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week.

First of, I entered the Technology twilight zone. I couldn't get my SIUE login to work on the campus computers. I used my laptop instead, but couldn't FTP anything from SIUE. I decided to come home and work on my website, but couldn't get things to work the way that I wanted. I did manage to finish the assignment for class...at 11:45 pm. I have all six pages done. I did add some complex html on the last six. I need to check the rubric to see if I did everything correctly. I am not real clear on the two websites and their due dates. I guess I will wait and see how that goes. I am sure that we will get the direction we need, when we need it. For now, I still need to work on learning new things. So far, so good. I am enjoying the class...just can't have another night of technology hell!!!

3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

I need to read the articles for next week. I look forward to discussing them.

Week of February 4

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• This week I plan to spend some time figuring out all of the nuances of Dreamweaver.
• I want to make the templates for my instructional website.
• I still plan on using .pdf files that I have created from my SmartBoard "Smart Notebook".
• I need to explore using frames and flash menus.
• keep my blog up-to-date.

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems. If class readings are assigned for the week:

I am glad that I have completed the first project. I exceeded all of the rubrics expectations. I still feel like I could do more to make my website more usuable and/or entertaining. I feel like I still need to push myself to learn all that I can prior to attempting my instructional site.


3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

At this point, I am not aware of any class readings or articles. I do try to read several magazines to find out all of the new topics or trends in technology.

Week of January 28

1. Journal contains bulleted list of “To Do” items for the week including an order of priority (i.e. which items will be completed first, second, etc.)

• Create the templates for my instructional website
• Find images and banners
• Create several PDF files to be accessed from the web site
• Have all links go to some page
• Make all pages connect
• need to update my blog (links to SIUE email, Link to teaching blog, links to frequently used sites)

2. Journal contains students’ thoughts, concerns, or struggles as he/she works to complete the work indicated. Journal also indicates a plan to resolve conflict or possible solutions to problems.
If class readings are assigned for the week:

For next week, I definately want to bring some material to work with. I will probably work on my project this week and leave only tweeking for next class period. I like the format of the class so far. I like being able to work while there is instruction going on. I do need to pay attention to certain things, but for now I am feeling more comfortable with FrontPage. I am probably going to try to toy with some Adobe Flash functions. I would like to make a banner and some interactive content. I wouldn't mind helping my classmates, if they need it.

3.Students will discuss the assigned class readings and indicate how the articles have impacted their web development.

At this point, I am not aware of any class readings or articles. However, there are several things that I read that impact my Web Development.

January 28 Class

Tonight we are discussing the creation of websites. I am anxious to get started. I know the basics of web design, but am looking forward to learning something new. I plan to keep up with all assignments in my class. To date, I have been checking blackboard and waiting to see what is next.

Adobe Premiere

I have been messing with Chroma Key in Adobe Premiere. Here is a video.

No Class on 1/21

I found out today that there is no class tonight on 1/21. I was disappointed and glad at the same time. I needed a little time to get some things done. I have been toying with the website using FrontPage. It's located at http://www.siue.edu/~schudso . I am sure that I can get most elements done. I am intrigued about how to make my website more instructional.

Web Design

I am excited to starting this new class. I am familiar with basic web design, but not DreamWeaver. I have been toying some with Adobe Flash and Adobe Premiere. I will probably do something for my project with video using Green Screen or Chroma Key. I will probably be at most classes.