A Strategy for Helping Faculty Create Course Web Pages

Fred Janzow and Larry Summary

Abstract

This paper summarizes a project to help faculty develop web pages for courses. Most faculty do not have the time or the expertise to learn principles of designing effective graphic images and efficient navigation systems for web pages. To assist faculty in
developing web pages, the CSTL created design teams consisting of undergraduate graphic design and computer science majors who work with the Center's staff and faculty members to design and create course web pages. A graphic design student and a computer science student work together to produce professional quality web pages that meet faculty's needs regarding content and interaction.

A Strategy for Helping Faculty Create Course Web Pages

In 1996 the Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning (CSTL) embarked on a
Technology Serving Learning project designed to help faculty learn how to integrate
information technology with courses in ways that effectively support student learning.
This project included purchasing hardware with the capacity to support significant
multimedia development work, offering seminars and workshops designed to introduce
faculty to using the World Wide Web (WWW) as an instructional tool, and developing a
system for helping faculty create course web sites with professional quality graphic
design and navigation. This presentation focuses on the implementation of the course
web sites project.

In implementing the project, the CSTL staff prepared by finding information about web
site design, examining many educational and commercial web sites, and then designing a
procedure for discussing with instructors courses they teach. Evaluation of commercial
and educational web sites showed that the quality of graphic design and navigation
varied greatly. Indeed many sites seemed not to meet good standards of effective graphic
design and navigation. From this we learned several principles of web site design that
became the basis the CSTL's approach to creating course web sites. These are
summarized below.

In considering how best to help faculty understand the ways in which a web site might
serve courses they teach, we developed an explanation that focused on three aspects of
the WWW environment. We explain to instructors that they must reexamine the
structure, content, and learning objectives of courses in light of the fact that the WWW
offers four major advantages to course delivery: multimedia delivery of info; access to
Internet information resources; increased opportunities for communication; convenience
of access. With the help of the CSTL staff, instructors consider how these advantages
might be incorporated into their courses in ways that will support the learning
experiences of students.

The procedure created to work with faculty includes several critical steps. In phase I ,
the CSTL staff meets several times with an instructor, who has expressed interest in
developing a course web site, to discuss the curricular role, academic content, learning
objectives, learning materials, typical in-class activities, range of assignments, and typical
evaluation tactics of the course. Usually, this step takes several meetings to insure that
the CSTL staff develops an accurate understanding of the course and its delivery.
During these discussions, the instructor as well develops insights about the course.
Indeed, one of the unexpected benefits of the web site project is that an instructor's
reexamination of the structure, content, and delivery of a course results in better
understanding of her or his philosophy about learning and approaches to teaching.

In phase II the CSTL staff and the instructor decide what objectives and components of a
course will be best served by a web site. At the outset, instructors often simply want to
scan the text and diagrammatic handouts they use in class and make them available for
reading or downloading. This, of course, is possible (barring copyright problems) but
does not take advantage of the real power of the WWW environment. In this
circumstance, the staff explains again the major advantages that a web site can offer,
emphasizing multimedia, communication, and convenience. For example, the staff and
instructor often talk about how it may be a more powerful learning experience to
reconsider how to use a reading by designing specific interactive learning experiences
which require the students to respond to a reading on-line by submitting questions
about the reading, by completing an assignment using a form that is submitted to the
instructor electronically, or by participating in an on-line chat or asynchronous listserve
discussion about the reading. These options help the instructor to think differently
about reading assignments and how one might design on-line experiences that better
support student learning. This usually leads to further reconsideration of much of the
content and delivery of a course. After finishing these discussions, some course materials
and activities are left in the traditional format and others are designated for inclusion in
the course web page. Finally, the CSTL and instructor spend time identifying other web
links that might be incorporated into the course web page to support assignments and
other course content.

In phase IV, the staff and instructor develop a map of the site. This is pen-and-paper
work done on a large flip chart. The underlying principle in developing this map is ease
of navigation through the pages of the web site. Components of the course are grouped
on the basis similarity of content or function, linked by lines, and then these are linked
to a main directory that will appear on the first screen of the home page. Once the map
is completed, it becomes the template for programming the course web page.

In phase V, the staff creates at least two alternative versions of the basic course web page.
These alternative versions usually differ in the graphic design and navigation system
used to present and use the web page. The instructor then meets with the design team to
evaluate the alternative versions and chooses one version or opts for combining
components of different versions into a single web page. The content of the course then
gradually is added to the selected basic framework for the course web page and
reevaluated several times for ongoing revision until the page is ready for publication on
the web.

To implement the course web sites project, the CSTL staff decided to hire advanced
undergraduate graphic design majors and computer science majors to form web page
design teams. The CSTL assigned one graphic design student, one computer science
student, and one or two CSTL staff members to each course web page project . Each
design team meets with an instructor, who wants to develop a course home page, and
discusses the course and appropriate graphic designs and navigation systems for the page
following the phases described above. The CSTL staff trains the student workers to act
professionally, to work towards specific graphic design and navigation standards, and to
remain sensitive to the fact that their task is to serve the best interests of the instructor
and students. Each student receives a written set of suggestions and standards for
creating a course home page:


Meeting With Faculty Member Clients

When you meet with a faculty member to discuss the design of a course web site, there
are several important principles to follow:

_ Know the faculty member's name and how to pronounce it, the location of her or
his office, and the academic department to which he or she belongs.

_ Be on time. Because faculty members have busy schedules and significant work
loads, we want them to know that we understand the value of their time. If for
some legitimate reason you must be late for or can not meet an appointment, call
the client and inform her or him about the situation.

_ At the first meeting, introduce yourself and spend a little time conversing with
clients to learn about them. This will give you a better sense of clients' expertise
with computers and comfort with developing a course web site.

_ Communicate in nontechnical language. Find words and ways to explain
technology simply and with metaphors referring to common things and
experiences. BUT, DO NOT speak down or condescendingly to a client. This
requires a careful approach to communication. It will help if you spend time in
your initial meetings assessing the client's familiarity with technical aspects of
graphic design, computer technology, and the World Wide Web.

_ Pace your explanations. Otherwise, because you are familiar with graphic design
and computer technology, you may go too quickly, assuming that the client
understands underlying concepts and ideas. Ask often if anything seems
confusing or if the client has any questions.

_ At the end of appointments, always thank clients for their willingness to work on
the course web page project and invite them to contact us if they need anything.
At the end of your first visit with clients, make sure you leave your name, email
address, and the CSTL campus extension (2298) with them.

_ Be a good listener. Your task is to listen carefully enough that you will
understand the client's needs and what they think is important. Your role is to
serve the client's needs.


Graphic design

_ Overall graphic presentation must be aesthetically pleasing, following sound
principles of graphic design.
_ Include an institutional logo bar at bottom of each page.
_ Develop a graphic theme consistent with course content and image.
_ The graphic theme should be present on the first screen of each section of a web
page.
_ Differentiate between graphics important for presenting a site and those
important for student learning.
_ Graphic symbols should support easy navigation through a course home page.
_ Use graphics only when they directly support presentation of the web page or
course content.
_ Keep graphic images to approximately 32-45K.
_ Remember that the campus standard for graphics is 256 colors.


Navigation

_ Make finding information about a course as simple and quick as possible.
_ Use graphics to let users know where they are in a site.
_ Every page should permit returning to main screen of a section or main "splash"
screen of the web page.
_ Use text instructions that are succinct and precise.
_ Make underlying source code for the navigation system efficient and easy to
modify.
_ Minimize the number of "clicks" or pages user must "turn" to get to a destination.
_ First screen of a web page must present graphic and text information without the
need to scroll down.
_ Always view work in several browsers to insure best visual presentation to the
most users.
_ Remember that users may be viewing the page on either a 640x480 screen or a
1024x768 screen setup.
_ Remember that the web site environment is not linear, but is a network; thus
users may enter a course web page at several entry points.

Using student expertise to help faculty learn to integrate information technology with
teaching and learning is not only economical, but also provides other substantial benefits
to both the instructors and the students. Instructors learn about information
technology in a relatively unthreatening way and at a pace that they determine. They
remain in control of the content of their course web page and are relieved of the burden
of having to understand principles of graphic design and html programming.
Instructors additionally have easier access to student help than they would to an already
overburdened professional staff in computer services.

The students gain as well. By working with a design team, they learn important
professional skills that can be applied in jobs they take after graduation. They also learn
ways to apply principles of graphic design and programming which had been somewhat
abstract before working with faculty clients who have specific needs and preferences
regarding the appearance and content of their course web pages.

For more information

Contact the authors at:

Fred Janzow Phone: (573)651-2298 E-mail: c409scb@semovm.semo.edu

Larry Summary Phone: (573)651-2807 E-mail: c297hut@semovm.semo.edu
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