Abstract
Helping Non-technical Faculty Build Their Own Web
Pages
Choice of software
Prerequisite Knowledge Faculty Must Have
Written and Online Documentation for Learners
Demonstration of Main Features of the Software
Authors
A hands-on presentation and overview of a successful approach to helping
non-
technical faculty design and build their own web pages: User-friendly software
(Microsoft FrontPage 97), good printed and on-line documentation, the
prerequisite knowledge faculty must have, demonstration of the main features
of the software, organization of the training session for faculty and follow-up
support. In the presentation, we include on-line demonstration and participation
and handouts.
As institutions strive to keep up with current instructional technology, faculty development in this area becomes critical. In a campus-wide needs assessment conducted by our Teaching and Learning Center in 1995, our faculty indicated that help with modern technology was their highest need. Since the fall of 1996, our Academic Technology Lab (ATLAB) has offered a steady series of training seminars on topics ranging from scanning images to using software such as PowerPoint, PhotoShop and Adobe Acrobat to teaching on the Internet. In calendar year 1997, we filled 781 seats in these seminars and, while the pattern of demand seems to be shifting to more advanced skills, it shows no sign of slacking.
Despite the demand for training from many faculty, many others are reluctant to learn modern technology, especially those skills that are seen as highly technical, very difficult, and/or time consuming. Constructing web pages is a skill that has been presented as (and initially truly was) complicated and arcane; however, various types of software are available that enable non-technical people, including very non-technical people, to design and build their own web pages. Our presentation is a hands-on demonstration of how we have taught non-technical faculty these skills.
? Why FrontPage 97/98? We are not interested in advertising FrontPage™. We did conclude that it is the best software for our purposes at present for the following reasons:
According to "PC Magazine," January 20, 1998, "FrontPage™ is the premier WYSIWYG [What You See Is What You Get] editor, giving you excellent control over creating a site with a consistent look and feel. Its site management features are the best in this roundup, including a graphical view of your site."
Most faculty do not have time to learn HTML, CGI, PERL, Java, Visual Basic,
Active Server Pages, and all the rest of the development programming languages
that are out there today. FrontPage allows an individual with no HTML experience
to write a web page as simply as writing a paper on a word processor.
FrontPage™ uses an editor that displays changes as they are made. The
user can see immediately what others browsing the web page
from the Internet will see.
For those who are not creative, this software has pre-designed web sites that can be customized. The user does not need to know CGI programming in order to use web page counters, guest books, or even a registration database of students or clients. He/she simply selects one from a list and puts it on the page.
Many other types of software on the market emulate FrontPage's ease of use with a WYSIWYG editor, including HomeSite, Hot Dog, and HTML Editor. What makes FrontPage unique is its ability to manage the web site as well. FrontPage includes an "Explorer," an integral part of the software. With Explorer the user can visually see links to web pages that are not correct, spell correct the entire web site, and upload web pages to a FrontPage web on his/her server.
B. Prerequisite Knowledge Faculty Must Have
If a faculty member knows how to turn on a computer, find a program, and start it up, he/she is ready for FrontPage™. Basic knowledge of how a mouse operates, how to use a scroll bar to scan down a page, and how to use a web browser would be nice, but even these skills are not absolutely required.
C. Written and Online Documentation for Learners
Conzett starts our presentation by passing out a Beginning Web Site Creation module disk that allows faculty to walk through the use of FrontPage™. This module takes participants from the very basics of creating a web site to more advanced areas such as creating forms and creating image hotspots.
Conzett has also placed an online tutorial at:
http://cmdserv.etsu-tn.edu/cmd/atl/tutorial/fpage/index.htm
Participants are walked through the basic mechanics of using the software so that they are very comfortable with it. Then, they will create their first web page and upload it to a server so it can be viewed on the Internet.
D. Demonstration of Main Features of the Software:
The following is an outline
of the workshop content and skills in the order presented to our faculty
participants:
1. Getting Started with FrontPage™
In this segment faculty learn:
In this segment participants take a look at the tools that make up FrontPage and begin working with the three main tools to get a sense of how these work together. We start with an overview of all the tools. Then we jump right in and get started with two activities that familiarize participants with the operation of the three main tools. In these two exercises we:
1. Create a new web
2. Create a new web page
Participants create a web from scratch - that is, starting with blank pages and adding elements as they go. Later, we show that FrontPage provides a variety of tools that can help create a more elaborate web more quickly. But for now, we want faculty to understand the fundamental concepts.
2. Text and Page Formatting
In this segment, faculty:
Now that participants have created a web page, they need to add content to it. The tool to add and edit content is the FrontPage Editor.
Using the FrontPage Editor is very similar to using a typical word processor: Participants can type in text, change the text style, add indentation, add horizontal lines, and even add pictures. In this lesson we look at all the text editing features and see how easy it is to work with the Editor. We start with the basics and then look at the other features one by one.
3. Working with Images
In this segment, faculty:
With FrontPage, users can add images to web pages and control the way these are laid out and displayed on the page. All images that a user adds to his/her pages need to be saved within the web. Once an image becomes a permanent part of a web, it can be reused by any page in the web. While FrontPage does not provide the facilities to create graphics, it can accept images in a variety of formats and make any necessary file conversions automatically to allow the images to be viewed easily on the Web.
4. Making it Interactive
In this segment, faculty learn:
So participants have created a web that now has two web pages. And they have used the Editor to create and format the content on those pages. But they could do that with a word processor. At this point, faculty are ready for hypertext.
Hypertext, and hyperlinks in general, are a part of what makes the Web so powerful and interactive. Any well-designed web will make effective use of hyperlinks. And that's the goal of the final segment.
5. Exploring the Explorer
In this segment, faculty:
By now, participants have created several pages in their webs. And there are several links to and from each page. The FrontPage Explorer helps keep track of all these pages and links.
Faculty learn three ways to view the structure of a web within the Explorer:
6. Let FrontPage Handle the Tough Jobs
In this segment faculty:
At this point, we've covered most of the fundamentals of FrontPage. Participants know how to create a simple web with a couple of pages. They have created hyperlinks between the two pages, and they have looked at their web from the Explorer.
E. Follow-up Assistance for Faculty
Faculty will need follow-up and support in finishing their webs. As many
of the following types of support as possible are desirable:
Norma MacRae
Director, Teaching and Learning Center
Box 70-353
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN 37614-0353
macraen@etsu.edu
Steve Conzett
Student Worker
Academic Technology Lab
Box 70-353
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN 37614-0353
twofus@thewebcorp.com