By far, the strongest growth in connected learning is in asynchronous modes, where the convenience of the students not able to be 'present' on an ordinary class schedule is paramount. Courses delivered via the web also have the distinct advantage of requiring the minimum in specialized equipment, especially on the student's end of the connection. With the growing number of households equipped with a computer and Internet connection, it is reasonable to assume that this growth will continue.
First, some of the on-line, distance learning skills used during this course included:
Second, the basic skills of a highly demanded computer language were taught. During the course, proper programming techniques were emphasized and the principles of structured programming languages were discussed. Students demonstrated the ability to design, construct, debug and maintain web pages.
Third, an essential part of any learning experience is the teaching of problem-solving skills. Other authors will use different terms for the steps in the problem-solving process. Some use 4 steps and others use 6 or 7. We just call them the 5-D's, they are:
A fourth objective of this material involves discussion of the effects of technology on society. We emphasized the effect of email on society, the digital divide, computer crime, viruses and other topics.
One benefit of taking an online course that requires the extensive use of email is that the student improves the written communication skill that is so necessary when sharing technical information.
An interesting phenomena is occurring in technology. As our society exhibits a voracious demand for IT (Information Technology) workers, the demand out strips the supply. Employers are looking to the global labor market to fill its needs. As a result, industry offers certain incentives to those who are interested in IT careers. Instead of earning college degrees, most IT workers earn credentials or certifications. Microsoft, A+, and Novell certifications are in great demand.
An ever present element in online courses is the technical difficulties that seem to arise at the most inopportune time. The ability to effectively deal with these major irritations is a skill that must be learned by those who will continue in any field that relies on technology.
Students generally like the flexibility of online courses. In fact, without this support, there would be no need for such courses. However, some students find that they need to develop the discipline that is required by such courses.
As we will look toward the future, we ask "Where do you go from here if you
want to write web pages?"
First of all, you now have a good understanding of
the overall web page design process. One of the next things that you will want
to investigate will be HTML editors.
In this course, we used HTML to introduce the concept of computer programming and to teach basic computer programming techniques. As you probably already know, there are easier ways to write web pages. Again, the primary purpose of this course was to teach the concepts of programming and, in the process, we used HTML as the language of choice. Since we have finished the course and some may want to continue writing web pages, then we want to give a list of the HTML editors that you may want to investigate.
We will start with the simplest - which you have already used - and that is
NOTEPAD. NOTEPAD is a simple ASCII text editor. You can not get any simpler than
that.
A step up from NOTEPAD is a word processing editor such as MS WORD or
WordPerfect. Converting a document to HTML is as easy as clicking on FILE in the
menu bar and selecting SAVE AS HTML.
In addition, there are many additional
tools:
GEOCITIES - as you have noticed, Geocities has several tools that will
help you to write a web page
NETSCAPE - if you use Netscape as your browser,
then you can use COMPOSER to create web pages. Netscape is freeware, it can be
downloaded from many sites.
FRONTPAGE EXPRESS - if you use Internet Explorer
as your browser, then FrontPage Express is included with that browser.
In general, these editors are adequate for most design and writing tasks, but they do not include all of the features which are available in commercial editors.
FRONTPAGE - the full version of FrontPage allows the writer/creator to do
much more than can be done with the EXPRESS version. Sometimes, these added
features are valuable and in other applications, they are not
needed.
DREAMWEAVER - this Macromedia product does an excellent job of
helping the webmaster to design, create and manage a Web site. Macromedia also
makes some additional Web tools which aid in the creation of FLASH programs.
As we conclude this course, we realize that this will be the last computer
science course for some of our students; we also realize that it will be one of
many courses for other students. However, it doesn't matter which group you are
in - for the rest of your life, you will need to be able to work with the
Internet. The Internet is composed of Web pages written and stored on millions
of Web sites. The knowledge, skills and experiences from this course will help
you as you work with (or cope with) this tremendous information source.
In
education, the term that is often used is "life-long learning". We hope that
this course has helped to prepare you for a life of learning.
In a rapidly changing world where information can quickly become obsolete, receiving up-to-date training can be difficult. Rather than having employees take time away from work to sit through traditional classroom courses, many companies are using technology-based, self-guided tutorials that allow users to obtain the information needed to perform specific tasks and solve problems as they crop up.
Just-in-time learning systems deliver training to workers when and where they need it. Rather than sitting through hours of traditional classroom training, users can tap into online courses, interactive CD-ROMs and other tools to zero in on the specific training that they need to solve problems, perform specific tasks or quickly update their skills.
The most important goals for any course are to:
Course Competencies
As we complete this course, the following list of course
competencies is given. Basically, these are the goals that we have for the
course. 1.0 To demonstrate competency in basic computer programming
terms and the programming process; the student should be able to:
2.0 To demonstrate competency in the use of elementary
programming concepts; the student should be able to: 3.0 To demonstrate competency in the use of computers; the
student should be able to: 4.0 To demonstrate competency in the effects of computers on
society; the student should be able to:
The competencies addressed in this course are:
1.1 Define basic computer programming terms
1.2 Explain the different
steps involved in the program development cycle
1.3 Create and execute
elementary programs or web pages
1.4 Participate in critical analyses of
programs written by others
2.1
Demonstrate proper instruction sequencing for web pages
2.2 Illustrate the
use of selection procedures by using decision options
2.3 Program tables on
web pages
2.4 Use basic programming statements for a commonly used
programming language
3.1 Use a simple text editor such as
NOTEPAD
3.2 Use email, including the attachment option
3.3 Use Search
Engines to find information
3.4 Upload and download files
4.1 Discuss the social,
ethical, security and professional issues in computing
4.2 List example of
how computers and computing devices are used in specific areas of society
4.3 Understand the importance of certification in computing careers
4.4
Understand the methods and techniques commonly used in on-line courses
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