Instructional Applications of the Internet - August 5

Today I got done the majority of the work done on my Instructional Website. I had a few speedbumps in the process that kept me from getting as much work done as I'd like to. Some of them include:

- Figuring out how to get a .swf "video" file created using Jing onto my website, which was created in iWeb. I finally figured out--by searching for it on the internet--how to edit a standard html code and paste it into iWeb to make it work. I am glad that I figured this out because it is a beneficial part of the page, making visiting the web site almost like sitting in a class--on your own time--rather than just reading words off of the page.

- Continued inconveniences with Hot Potatoes. While Hot Potatoes has been easy to use, I continued to have to spend a lot of time today typing in the quizzes, uploading pictures to my KSU FTP, then put them in the quiz, then preview the quiz, then copy the html code, then paste it into iWeb, then resize it to fit the page. It also was inconvenient that there were such limits to the sizes of the quizzes.

Overall, I am very very pleased with my web page. I intend to use it this school year with my students and to share it with the other 8th grade math teachers at my school to use if they'd like.

Instructional Applications of the Internet - August 4

Today I spent hours working on my web page. I spent the majority of the time working with Hot Potatoes in order to include some interactive elements in the page. If it could have been strictly informational, I believe that I would have had the page completed in a only few hours.


Hot Potatoes has some impressive abilities, but can be very inconvenient to use. I don't like that I am only able to have 3 questions in a JQuiz and only 5 matching elements in a JMatch. Because of this, I had to make one Quiz in 3 separate parts, because I had 9 questions to put into it. It's also a little inconvenient to use all around.

I had quite a bit of difficulty figuring out how to include pictures on my quizzes, but finally figured out that if I posted the pictures on my KSU FTP space, then added them to the quiz using the web links, it worked.

I figured out how to post the quizzes to my website by opening the htm files in Word to access the html code, then copying the code and pasting it in to an "HTML Snippet Widget" in iWeb. This is working out well, but could be much more convenient.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to spend very much time on actual informational content for the page today. Hot Potatoes took up most of my time.

Instructional Applications of the Internet - August 3

Today I moved on with the work on my Instructional Website. Up to this point I have spent the majority of my time posting information content and images onto the site. This part was easy for me and represented instant-gratification, because I was quickly able to see a lot of visible progress in the site.

Since interactive elements are required in the website, I spent a while today learning how to add quizzes to my site. After seeing it discussed a lot on our Vista discussion board I decided to use Hot Potatoes to create my quizzes. After downloading and installing the software, I spent quite a while watching tutorials about the programs and practicing how to use them. I am excited about the possibilities that it presents.

I ended the Hot Potatoes experience by attempting to add images to my first quiz that I planned to make, but couldn't figure out how to get them up there. I would add the images from off of my computer and it would say that it worked well. When you finish the pages, it saves them then gives you the "View in Your Browser" option, which is actually just viewing the file on your hard drive not on the internet. For some reason even in this instance the images do not show up. I figured that they would because the images are on the same harddrive. Unfortunately, it didn't work as htm files on the harddrive or when they were posted to the internet.

Tomorrow I will try to figure out how to get the images to work--I will try posting them to my KSU space and then using links--and will figure out how to get them included in my web site--hopefully I can include them in a manner other than just as links.

Instructional Applications of the Internet - August 2

Today I got into working on my website. I have enjoyed using iWeb to create the site so far. It is very capable with the adding of text and images in a manner that is visually-pleasing and fits good graphic design principles.

So far it has worked very conveniently and the site is looking great. I am really enjoying creating the site and am very pleased with its appearance so far. I am excited to see the finished product and share it with colleagues & students.

Soon I will start working on adding interactive elements to the site, such as the quizzes that I will add to assure that I am meeting those requirements for the site.

Instructional Applications of the Internet - August 1

Today I began using iWeb to figure out how to use it to create my Instructional Website. I watched numerous tutorials on its use for creating a website and began experimenting with its functions.

Along with the hour or so that I spent working on that I also spent some time getting all of my website resources (objectives table, storyboard, design flow-chart) ready to guide me through the process of the website creation.

I also read up on the website requirements and discussion postings on Vista to get me ready to go.

I am excited that it seems like a pretty straightforward assignment although there are no clear requirements listed anywhere on Vista.