Web Site Development
Web Site Development
Summary on
the subject: Web Site Development
Web Site Development
I propose to develop a web site for anyone in the sunglass,
contact lens, colored contact lens or laser vision correction market. The most
important features included in this site must be: savings, convenience and top
quality products. It is necessary to tie all aspects of the site together
smoothly. By this I mean the shopper must have the ability to purchase at any
point In the site, as well as the ability to get anywhere from anywhere. We
must outline our available products and services in such a way as to make it a
“No Brainer” for anyone. Our available products must be outlined from the
onset. If vendors need to be contacted to develop a wholesale relationship then
this must be taken care of as soon as possible. We must assess which products
will maximize our profit, which will maximize our marketability and which are
just of necessity to carry. We must develop a database of products and maintain
prices, additions and subtractions accordingly. One service I had in mind was
to develop a free service for anyone interested in laser vision correction. We
can develop an application where the patient inputs his/her doctor’s written Rx
or their contact lens box/bottle prescription, and we can take this information
and develop a sort of internet merge letter. By this I mean, we can send them
an email response as to their current eye condition, the best suited surgical
procedure for their condition, history of other’s w/ their Rx & results and
maybe even doctors in their area. I understand this might take away from the
promotion of INSIGHT, but remember, anything free – keeps em’ coming back!!
This will more marketing tool to draw people in, rather than a service. Also,
some production company or another could be contracted out to develop videos
which we could sell to candidates, doctors, surgeons, etc… Dr. Sopher could
develop a video directed to practicing optometrists interested in sales
techniques in the examination room.
We are standing on the precipice of a new culture? Sceptical,
questioning connected with the world, thirsting for information and change.
Technology is driving society at a pace unparalleled in history creating new
attitudes, interrelationships, and global awareness. A new consumer is
emerging, suspicious of traditional media sources, incredulous of advertising,
and contemptuous of the contrived the hyped, the false. This consumer is not
easily persuaded by clever graphics or manipulated by fads in design. In order to
integrate all aspects of a ‘brands’ presentation on a web-site, the designer
must move beyond form, colour and type and embrace the comprehensive impact of
design. Enhanced awareness of the world; deeper, broader thinking about
problems and opportunities; a respect for the historical roots of and formal
conventions of design; planning and diligent study are required to create
interesting global web-site designs. What? subject: Web site design on the
Internet Focus: Web site design in the future. Objectives: To identify web-site
designs that work, and to identify the reasons to why they work. Why? With the
increasing number of web-sites that are coming online daily, in order for them
to work, they are more dependent on good design for attracting readership than
print is. How? By examination of the most frequently visited web-sites, and
although a historical approach with reference to print in design. Section Two
Design is the Answer What? Web sites need to be far better designed than
anything in the print medium, due to the very interdisciplinary nature of the
web-site. Why? Because a magazine with even minimum design gets its information
across to the reader. You buy it because you care about the issues in its
headlines, if you want more you jump inside, ‘print’ by its nature is a tactile
phenonenom; touch, smell and accessibility, and it is for that reason it will
never die. But web-sites are purely visual and aural, one screen at a time.
Encouraging the viewer to go beyond the first layer, even learn where to go for
what is required is a common problem for designers. It is their job to bring
the viewer inside through the "Dance of the seven veils", and once
inside, guide them, not to confuse or frustrate them. How? Web-sites that work
are sites that do what you want it to do. They do not insult your intelligence,
but neither do they obfuscate. They must indicate the wealth of material lying
beneath the first page, but also offer you options and alternate means of
approach. The answer may lie in better selling of the ‘land’ – in urban
planning, to use a metaphor. The solutions to timeless internet problems –
navigation, access to information – will be provided by design. Good design
means; pertinent information, content, good ‘surfing’, exploring, and gathering.
The designer is the Web’s real pathfinder. How does the designer achieve this
goal? By drawing up an agenda for good web design. Section 3 and 4 Where does
good web design come from? I believe that the principles print informed quality
print design for hundreds of years and that these principles are equally valid
online. TEN RULES OF DESIGN FOR THE WEB 1. Put content on every page. Design
should not be decoration. It must convey information. Or entertainment. Content
should come to the surface on every single level. Avoid useless and confusing
icons, e.g. a navigation bar that has a? for help. Make sure the content is
easy to read quickly. Break the text into smaller segments. On the web people
are in a hurry. They want the information they are looking for quickly, like a
dictionary, that’s still what the web is really about. 2. The first colour is
white 3. The second colour is black 4. The third colour is red. This is a basic
rule that has been around for 500 years. In Print white is the absence of all colours.
White makes the best background. Black holds the highest contrast to white;
therefore it is the first choice for text. And red draws the viewer in, and
defines the image. 5. Never letterspace l o w e r c a s e When this is done the
natural rhythm of the letters, so carefully designed by font designer, is
ruined. In design if you look at what you do today, it should look like what
you want to do tomorrow. 6. Never set a lot of text IN ALL CAPS Fonts were not
intended to be all set in caps. They were intended to be upper and lowercase
and to have serifs and descenders and ascenders so that they are easier to
read. 7. A cover should be a poster A single image of a human being will sell
more magazines than multiple images or all type. Avoid the pitfalls of ‘fads’.
Design loses its power when it falls prey to what is popular now. 8. Use only
one or two typefaces There are thousands of fonts on offer, this does not mean
it is clever if the designer can use as many as possible at once, good design
is pulled together by one or two fonts. The best combination is one light and
one bold. (This seems to work with colours too). 9. Make everything as BIG as
possible Type looks good in big point sizes, a bad picture always looks better
bigger. 10. Get lumpy! The trouble with most web design is that it holds no
great surprise. 95% of web pages have beautiful graphic homepages, followed by
legions of pages that look like newsletters with stamps stapled to them. Vary
the content from page to page; don’t keep to the format of picture-and-story.
NINE RULES OF WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN DESIGNING WEB PAGES. 1. Don’t confuse the
viewer. Keep the site consistently designed. For different pages and sections
the navigation tools and graphics need to look the same throughout. Make sure the
viewer knows they are on the same site when surfing your web pages. 2. Be organized
with navigation. Make sure your buttons and navigational directions are simple
and clear. Be consistent in these from page to page. 3. Don’t make oversize
pages. Research shows that 50% of all computers used for the internet use
13" monitors, designers often use 17" – 21" monitors, ‘size
matters", keep to 480x640 pixels. 4. Don’t design pages that require
scrolling. This makes it painful and impossible to read in a hurry. Browsers
will never scroll, they are more likely to press a button and keep going.
Shorter pages break up content to bite size pieces this is more appealing to
the viewer. 5. Don’t use big, slow graphics. No one wants to wait a minute for
art or seven minutes for a video; the only acceptable delay when it comes to
the web is no delay. 6. Go monochromatic. Monochromatic pages frankly look
better and run faster. Web clutter is typified by free wheeling use of colour.
Use one or two colours, not all of them. 7. Don’t overdo text. Web browsers
skim and surf, if you don’t give them something quickly they absorb nothing. 8.
Don’t use tiny type. It is very hard to read small type on a computer, make
everything bigger than you would print. If you want to get noticed on the web
make it easy and clear to read. 9. Don’t navigate by type. Navigate by image,
it’s less confusing and never dull. Section 5. Conclusions What was the
question? What defines a well-designed web-site? The "wow" factor –
this is not cool buttons or fonts, or graphics, or audio or video, but clear,
easy to read information in bite size chunks, good content, and easy to follow
consist navigation. ent How do we plan a web-site that work’s? Step 1. Client
requirements and Goals The Brief Strategic planning, and engineering. Step 2.
Response and Refinement Trial Pages Design, Content, and marketing. Step 3.
Approval The Prototype Final design testing and coding Step 4. Launch The
Launch Style book, training, and quality tests. What’s it all about? Content;
The internet means nothing without good stories, personalities and good
direction.
Web Influence
The Internet will greatly alter the structure and operation of all
industries. For the management of any existing business the central question is
not whether the Internet will be relevant to your business, but rather what
will we need to do to profit from that change (“The Internet”). The Internet is
evolving many aspects of business and it creates many new business
opportunities. It is developing what is called the “New Business Environment”,
because it changes the way products are developed, distributed, marketed, sold,
and serviced (“Business on the”). In theory, doing business over the Internet
with consumers should be ideal however, many people are not comfortable with it
yet. It will take a little while before most people are completely at ease and
order products. First off, the Internet will provide many capabilities that
will be very beneficial to a business. Some of the benefits include E-mail, Mailing
Lists, UseNet, Telnet, FTP, Gopher, and of course the World Wide Web. All of
these are a way to keep you informed and in touch with business associates and
customers anywhere in the world (“What can the”). With an Intranet in place
you’ve got an infrastructure for group applications, you don’t need to install
software on everyone’s PC, they can just use their Web browser and while the
main costs are in employee time, the cost of software has dropped significantly
(“Put Your Own”). The effects of the Internet will take a decade or more to
generally replace existing patterns of business. The Internet and its strategic
impact are not technological issues, they are business ones (“The Internet”).
Executives are likely to carry responsibility for whether their organization
ultimately prospers or perishes in an Internet impacted world. The particular
impact will differ between industries, so you need to identify the likely form
of impact it will have on your industry and adopt appropriate strategies. A few
threats are when using the Internet, competitors become relatively more
effective, e.g. reducing costs, improving service and increasing sales impact.
Also, some important customers or suppliers may have migrated exclusively to
the Internet and are inaccessible in any other way. Some firms redefine the
industry in a very fundamental way that threatens all existing competitors (“The
Internet”). With the advent of the Internet, it has dramatically improved
operational and sales effectiveness in numerous different applications. A few
such areas are, on-line stockbrokers: such as E*Trade and Ceres, on-line travel
agents, banks and other financial services: such as on-line banking systems,
and insurance and fund management. Right now, there are many companies whose outreach
is global such as Amazon.com and CD Now, soon all of the above areas will be
global (Daring). Another area of the business environment that will be
significantly changed due to the Internet are small firms, especially ones who
wish to export. The Internet can relatively easily give small firms access to
international markets, and engage in electric commerce (Cragg). However, not
much is known about the use of the Internet by small firms, mainly because it
is such a new method. An example of such an idea was taken advantage of by
Elizabeth Botham & Sons Bakery. The bakery is located in a small town
called Whitby in North Yorkshire and business is tough because it is
geographically restricting and it is based in a very seasonable town. In order to
do business and keep their staff hired year around the manager, Mike Jarman
turned to the Internet. He found a company called Octagon Ltd., which helped
him get started. Since going on the Web in 1995, the company has had over
25,000 potential customers visit the site and receives a dozen hefty orders a
week (“Yorkshire Bakery”). The Web is a great distribution tool, the
information you place on your Web site can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. The Web can save you time and money in information distribution over
traditional mail and printing methods (Daring). Rather than reading a static
advertisement, your customers can go directly to their areas of interest and
see an intriguing web page. They can get detailed information on your staff and
services, browse your product lines, and get up to date information on what is
happening in your company. One of the benefits of a web site is that your
customer can respond to you directly (Shaw). Even though the Internet has many
benefits, there is still a few drawbacks to this technology. First of all,
communicating with clients and customers via E-mail only goes so far. It is
pretty difficult to market a product over a computer, basically whatever a
customer sees they get. Also, empowerment is being transferred from sellers to
buyers. The Internet is decreasing the importance of a merchant’s locale and
information about competing products is readily available (“Business on”).
Customers cannot be swayed by a salesperson over the Internet. A benefit as
well as a side effect of the Internet, is it is knocking down market entry
barriers, the Internet has no borders and the company’s market is global. A
small company can be just as easily found on the Internet as a large one. The
biggest problem that the Internet is going to have to overcome is the fact that
people are still very skeptical about making purchases over the Internet. You
could get scammed and not even know it. This will change eventually when people
can be comfortable with the services that it provides, but this will take some
time. With the incorporation of the Internet, business have undergone many
changes in the past few years. They have become more in touch with many
overseas company’s and even company’s here in the US. Many industries have
realized that if they don’t adjust and incorporate the Internet in some way,
they may not be around for much longer. Businesses are going to be on the
Internet because it represents an additional and inexpensive resource for
finding customers because they can market directly with less advertising and a
smaller work force (Dearth). The bottom line is that the Internet needs to
focus on growing existing accounts, extending to new markets and new customers,
providing better customer service, and providing a higher level of customer
satisfaction. Even though this may take some time, it is going to eventually
happen and I think that most people who take a chance will be very satisfied
with the outcomes.
How to Go From Class-Room to Web-Room as Painlessly as Possible
1.0 ABSTRACT Getting your course onto the World Wide Web (WWW) is
best done using a systematic approach. There are a number of steps that need to
be taken prior to starting any of the actual web work. Meetings should be held
with various groups within your institution. Once the actual coursework is
begun, there are some essential components and some optional components. There
are specific skills and talents that you either need to acquire or you need to
access. Each web-based course is unique, but they often have many components in
common. Some are essential, others may be optional. Resources can be found on
your campus, from the many web companies and from the web itself.
2.0 KEY WORDS World Wide Web, WWW, Distance Education, HTML,
Web-Based Instruction
3.0 INTRODUCTION The number of degree credit courses available on
the World Wide Web (WWW) has increased at the same astonishing rate as other
activities on the WWW. There are some specific steps that can be taken that
will help to transport the professor from the idea stage to the delivery of a
course over the WWW. Also, just like any other educational technology,
web-based instruction works better for some situations than others. Web-based
instruction is useful when you want to create a virtual environment which is
not easily or, perhaps, safely accessible. An example is sending learners to a
virtual nuclear lab or on a "virtual tour" of the Louver in Paris.
4.0 WEB BASED INSTRUCTION Web-based instruction it allows learners
to gain knowledge and skill more effectively than traditional methods. Simply
transferring material such as lecture notes to the web is not using the
technology to its best advantage. Lengthy text such as lecture notes are, in
fact, best printed because most learners experience eye strain and sensory
disinterest reading long passages of text on a screen. Some specific situations
tend to lend themselves to web-based instruction. 4.1 Encouraging Communication
You want to encourage communication through conferencing. Through internet
conferencing learners may participate in discussions or group work with one
another with or without the participation of the instructor. Role plays,
simulations of historical events and debates are also examples of how learning
can be facilitated through the conferencing option. 4.2 Accessing Source
Documents You want learners to use "source documents" to complete
assignments such as conducting an analysis or designing a project. These source
documents may not be readily available to learners or perhaps, based on the assignment,
will not be equally significant to all the learners. For example, you may ask
learners to research and analyze issues pertaining to Canadian elections. To
complete the assignment, various learners may access archived information such
as newspaper and journal articles which specifically relate to their particular
interest or point of view. One example is a site operated by the University of
Victoria (http://web.uvic.ca/history robinson/index.html) which contains
letters, maps, biographies and newspaper articles about the murder of William
Robinson committed on Saltspring Island in 1868. The information at the site
allows learners and the public to pursue their research as they please and to
access original documents which are not generally available. Individuals are
free to interpret the meaning of the documents and reach their own conclusions.
4.3 Flexibility of Learning You want to provide maximum flexibility to allow
learners to undertake learning and research in the order which best suits them.
Because the web allows learners to "move around" at will, they do not
need to follow a structured hierarchy. Generally learners need and want some
direction but the web allows a more flexible approach. 4.4 Further Study You
want learners to pool data and/or analysis to find patterns and trends or to
undertake further study.
5.0 ASSUMPTIONS For a starting point and to keep us on track in
this paper, I will discuss degree credit courses delivered by the University of
New Brunswick. I will assume that for your case there is ready WWW web access
for the professor as well as web access for students. Again, for consistency, I
expect my students to have at least Netscape 3 (or its equivalent), their own
internet service provider (ISP), and the skills necessary to access the WWW.
These are my starting points - but most concepts discussed will transfer across
institutional lines.
6.0 BEFORE YOU START YOUR COMPUTER 6.1 Steps to Take There a
number of things that you should do before you begin to do any coding, contracting
or late night computer hacking. There are meetings to setup, there is paper
work to be done and decisions to be made. Then, and only then, do you get to
"play" with the computer. 6.2 Meetings I would advise that you
consider the following meetings as part of your endeavors. They will help you
set the ground rules, help you avoid some of the mine-fields, and start you off
on a working relationship with groups that can be either wonderful allies or
formidable combatants, and hopefully help keep you on track as you work towards
a finished product. 6.2.1 Your initial meeting with your own department I feel
it is imperative for any relationship you and your delivering agency
(Department of Extension, Continuing Education or "University of the World")
to start with a good relationship with your own department. In this meeting you
may need to get the approval of the supervisors of your department to be able
to deliver in something other than the traditional face to face, on campus
mode. Those in authority may have to guarantee the academic support for some
period after the first start of delivery of the course (at UNB, the period is
three years). At the University of New Brunswick, instructors delivering
courses through the Department of Extension are recommended by the faculties.
This is something you might also wish to discuss with your own department at
this time. It is often assumed that the person(s) developing a course will be
the one(s) that wish to teach the course and the one(s) that the faculty will appoint
to teach the course. This is not always the case. You should also discuss
possible sources of help for the development of your course. There are times
when stipend relief may be available from various sources. There may also be
funds available from other agencies. 6.2.2 Your first meeting with your
delivering agency Having gained the approval of your faculty, you should next
meet with your delivering agency. In this meeting, you should discuss the ways
that they can help you in the development of your course. They may also share
with you what they know about possible funding sources. As Web-based learning
is different from regular face-to-face lecture learning, they will want you to
make use of good instructional design methodologies. This is often an area
where they can help. Here are some items you may wish to discuss at that
meeting: a. possible methods of web-based delivery for your course, b. method
of payment to the instructor, c. ancillary support materials and their delivery
to the students, d. how the materials, assignments, marks and communications
flow between parties e. liaisons with the libraries f. liaisons with Computer
Services g. on-going checkpoint meetings with your delivering agency. At
regularly scheduled intervals, you should meet with your delivering agency as
they will wish to monitor the development of the course. Your delivering agency
should be checking with you to: * keep abreast of your time lines. They need
this to be able to best market your course and to see that it receives the
coverage it deserves, * ensure the consistency of an Academia "look and
feel" * ensure the consistency of any standards for web-based courseware
development (for an example, please see
http://www.unb.ca/home/webinfo/guide.html) * keep abreast of your needs and
successes. These meetings are intended to insure the standards and formats
consistent with the delivery of your institute's courses, and should in no way
be an attempt to interfere with your teaching.
7.0 NOW YOU MAY START YOUR COMPUTER There is an ongoing debate as
to whether one should do all or some of the web work oneself, or if the work
should be jobbed out. I enjoy working with the web, I have instructional design
training and have been involved in courseware development for quite a few years
and so, as long as I have more time than financial resources, I will do the
work myself. There are many very good professional agencies that can be
contracted to produce courseware for you. These agencies can be contracted to
do a wide range of the jobs necessary to complete any type of web-based
application. There are probably agencies within your institution who specialize
in instructional design and courseware development. These units should be
consulted. For certain areas of the development that you do yourself, you will
need some specific skills. 7.1 Skills and Talents 7.1.1 Essential Skills
(Talents) You will need to be very familiar with these or will need access to
people who are and can do these aspects of the job for you. 7.1.1.1 HyperText
Markup Language - HTML Stands for HyperText Markup Language, and on a scale of
one to ten, learning the basics of HTML is about a three. The web is a great
resource (see the Resource list below), and there are a plethora of good books
on the subject. I keep the most current version of Teach Yourself Web
Publishing with HTML in a Week by Laura Lemay near my computer. As with all
aspects of the WWW, the print support is changing constantly, but the most
recent edition is usually the best. 7.1.1.2 Instructional Design Again, there a
large number of excellent resources and my favorite is Jerry Kemp's The
Instructional Design Process (New York: Harper & Row, 1985). It is however,
out of print, and this is one case where I do think the next edition was not as
good as the first. Another good choice is, Robert Branch's Common Instructional
Design Practices Employed by Secondary School Teachers, Educational Technology,
34, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1995). 7.1.2
Optional Skills (Talents) 7.1.1.2.1 More HTML The more familiar you become with
HTML, the more you will be able to enhance your course's web site. This can be
a good thing, and it can also be not so good. Adding components and extra
"bells and whistles" to your web site should be done as a conscious
choice to support your educational objectives and not just because the
"bells and whistles" are there. 7.1.1.2.2 CGI Stands for Common
Gateway Interface and is the coding that allows the information collected from
forms on webs sites to be manipulated. This can be as simple as allowing
students to send specific assignments to you, or can be as elaborate as on-line
registration. 7.2 Components of the Web Course Every Web-delivered course will
have a number of components. These will vary depending upon your needs, your
style and the degree of interactivity in the course. There are some components
that should be part of your site, in order to make the course appealing to your
customer. I feel that some components of a web-based course are essential and
others are optional. 7.2.1 Essential Components These can be divided into
static and dynamic. 7.2.1.1 Static Components These components change very
little. They can be put on your web site and only updated as needed. 7.2.1.1.1
The Course Description This will often come directly from your University
calendar. 7.2.1.1.2 The Professor This can be as informal or as formal as you
like. What kind of first impression do you wish to make? How much do you wish
to add? Do you wish to link to your own personal Web site (if you have one)?
7.2.1.1.3 Prerequisites Again, this can often come from your university
calendar. It is always a good point to specify any particular computing
hardware, software or skills that will be required for students to be able to take
your course. 7.2.1.1.4 The Text Here is a nice place to put a scanned cover of
the text - along with the ISBN, the publisher and all of the information needed
for your potential students to acquire this text. Here is a good place to put a
link to your institute's bookstore - assuming it has a web site. 7.2.1.1.5
Communications This is where you put as much information as you can about how
students can reach you. Will you have office hours? Virtual office hours? Can
they reach you via Email? How do they reach each other? Is there a listserv, a
secure server? 7.2.1.1.6 Grading Students all seem to want to know what they
have to do to get a mark. This is a good place to tell them about assignments,
quizzes, mid-terms and finals, and any other expectations you have of them.
7.2.1.2 Dynamic Components These components may change often. They might be
updated, or supplemented once a week or every few days. 7.2.1.2.1 Bulletin
Board This gets used much more in the first part of the class. As the class
gets "into it" this seems to be used less frequently. 7.2.1.2.2
Assignments These can be placed on the web site before the class begins for all
assignments, or can become readable at given times or as new assignments are
given. 7.2.1.2.3 Communications Options These are the actual components of the
web site that allow interactivity in the course. The real power of the WWW is
global communication. And this is what makes web-based courses so exciting.
Your course's communications may include any number of the following: 7.2.1.2.4
Closed Listservs These use standard Email to allow all members of the class to
send and receive messages from any other member of the class, including the
instructor. Messages are automatically sent to all of the individual's personal
Email addresses. 7.2.1.2.5 Web Forums These are places where people can
interact. Student-to-student, student-to-teacher and teacher-to-student or
teacher to the entire class. These are sections on the web that students go to
and are able to read messages and participate in on-line, asynchronous
'conversations.' 7.2.1.2.6 Interactive 'real time' two-way audio or video There
are numerous pieces of software available now that allow desktop two-way video
and audio. These tend to require very high bandwidth, and because they are
'real-time' they require the participating parties to all be on the web at the
same time. 7.2.1.2.7 Marks This is a place where your marking scheme can be
listed. It is also a place where you can post marks or assignments in (if you
have a secure server that only your class can access). 7.2.1.2.8 Class Notes As
each week progresses, or just prior to each week's work, students may need to
have the equivalent of lecture notes to supplement what is covered in the text
book, or what has been assigned on the web. Some web software will allow you to
put the all the notes on the web site - and as certain dates arrive, students
then have access to the notes. 7.2.2 Optional Components These may be
essential, depending upon your requirements. 7.2.2.1 Audio clips These may be
as sound files (.WAV or.AU), audio streaming (Real Audio, Soundstream,
Shockwave) or MIDI files. 7.2.2.2 Animations These may be as animated.GIFs,
QuickTime, Shockwave or Java applications. 7.2.2.3 Quizzes, especially
"self-correcting" quizzes These may be as part of a web educational
software (WebCT) or can be developed by yourself or your institution. 7.2.2.4
Case studies These may be as included as text pages or may be referenced to
other sites. This is one area where copyright can really come into play. The
cost of clearing copyright on a set of Harvard business case studies can be out
of the question. 7.2.2.5 Video clips These may be as QuickTime© video or may be
done with the new Real Video that allows real-time video streaming. 7.2.2.6 Web
Database Sites These will allow you to maintain and provide access to databases
over the web. 7.2.2.7 Web Tutoring Sessions These may be as simple as
step-by-step instructions for any topic with branching provided to additional
sites. They can also be we intelligent tutorials with on-line interactive
testing. 7.3 Points to Ponder 7.3.1 Open Server An "open server" will
allow anyone, anywhere on the web to access your information. 7.3.2 Secure
Server A "secure server" will only allow persons with some type of
authorization code to access your information.
8.0 RESOURCES (This list does not constitute an endorsement on
anyone's part. These resources are a jumping off points to help you get your
course on the web.) Please do not overlook the many resources on your own
campus. 8.1 My resources page This site has links to courses, resources, helper
sites that aid you in choosing which type and format of media to use, sites
that check your HTML for errors or idiosyncrasies, and much more.
http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/resources.html 8.2 Conferences, on-line or
face-to-face NAWeb '98 - The Virtual Campus (October 3-6, 1998). This
international conference is in its fourth year. It is intended solely for those
developing courseware for delivery on the WWW or for those delivering
courseware over the WWW. http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/naweb98/ 8.3 Books,
listservs and associations Badrul Khan's Web-Based Instruction (Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1997) is quite good. I host
the WWWDEV listserv. This listserv hosts the NAWeb conferences, and has 1400
members from around the world - developing for delivery over the WWW or
actually delivering courseware over the WWW. http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/ The
DEOSNEWS listserv is involved in all aspects of distance education. You can
join that one by sending this message SUBSCRIBE DEOSNEWS your name to
LISTSERV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU This is who and what they are: DEOS-L is a service
provided to the Distance Education community by The American Center for the Study
of Distance Education, The Pennsylvania State University. Opinions expressed
are those of DEOS-L subscribers, and do not constitute endorsement of any
opinion, product, or service by ACSDE or Penn State. The Canadian Association
for Distance Education (CADE) can often help http://www.cade-aced.ca/ The
Association for Media and Technology in Education - Canada (AMTEC) is another
favorite of mine. http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~amtec/ Use every and any resource
you can. Join groups for support, and support others in similar projects. This
is a rapidly emerging field, and it is evolving and growing just as fast as it
is emerging. 8.4 Other Here is where you add ideas you pick up at the
conference.
"Beam me up, Scottie." This popular line from Star Trek
was a demonstration of the advanced technology of the future. Though it was a
fictional story, Star Trek became the universal vision of the future. As always
reality tends to mimic fiction. Though our society has not quite resulted to
living in space, we have made life easier with technology. Economic survival
has become more dependent upon information and communications bringing forth
new technology of which was never thought possible. Just a mere thirty years
ago a computer occupied a whole room compared today’s palm sized computers,
which are faster and perform more functions. Cellular phones, now light and
compact, were bulky just ten years ago. The most incredible invention, the
Internet, is bringing infinite amount of information to your desktop. In the
world of the of the Internet there exist a world blind to skin color and other
physical appearances. The Internet while still young in age has grown rapidly,
spreading to countries world wide and connecting 50 million users. With its
popularity, it is incumbent upon our society to recognize how the Internet
works and to be aware of its advantages as well as disadvantages. While
seemingly high tech the Internet concept is rather simple. Computers speak to
one another and send information. This is accomplished by sending and receiving
electronic impulse, and then decoding them into a message. In order to
communicate with one another they are linked up in a network. They are then
able to access information from thousands of other computers. The network acts
like one large computer storing information in various places, rather than in
one physical structure. Users tap into the Internet to access or provide
information. Internet technology allows one to surf the World Wide Web or send
e-mail. The vision of the Internet that would revolutionize the computer and
communications belonged to JCR Licklider of MIT (Leiner n. page). In August of
1962 he envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers which would allow
everyone to quickly access data and programs (Leiner n. page). A government
sponsored project at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started
in October (Leiner n. page). The race for discovery of such technology raged
between the Soviet Union and The United States of America. Both countries
wanted control of the possibly powerful tool. Then in 1968, The National
Physical Laboratory in Great Britain set up the first test network, which
prompted the Pentagon’s ARPA to fund a larger project in the USA. (Sterling n.
page) However the race was not limited to just nations but also companies. In
1965, working with Thomas Merrill, Lawrence G. Roberts created the first
wide-area computer ever built. These experiments proved that computers could
work together running programs and retrieving data as necessary on remote
machines. Roberts put together his plan for ARPANET, published in 1966. At that
time he learned of Donald Davies and Roger Scantlebury of NPL and Paul Baron
and others at RAND. Research at MIT (1961-1967), RAND (1962-1965) and NPL
(1964-1967) while parallel had no knowledge of one another. In August of 1968
an RFQ, a refined model of ARPANET was released for the development of one of
the key components, the packet switches Interface Message Processors (IMP).
Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) installed the first IMP at UCLA and the first
host computer was connected. By the end of 1969 four host computers were
connected together into the initial ARPANET and the Internet was off the
ground. In 1977, electronic mail was introduced. (Leiner n. page) As the Internet
quickly grew, changes were necessary. The Internet’s decentralized structure
made it easy to expand but its NCP did not have the ability to address networks
further down stream than the destination IMP. Bob Kahn decided to develop a new
version of the protocol which eventually became known as the Transmission
Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Compared to the NCP which acted
as a device driver, the new protocol was more like a communication protocol. In
order to make it easier to use, Host were then assigned names, replacing
numbers. A group of scientist then set out to show that a compact and simple
implementation of TCP was possible. They succeeded, allowing it to run on
desktop computers. (Leiner n. page). Original uses of the Internet included
government communications and a forum for scientist to share ideas and help one
another in research. In the 1980’s the Internet grew beyond its primarily
research roots to include a broad user community and increased commercial
activity. In present day it has become a tool for conducting research and
finding information, as well as communications with others. Electronic mail,
amazingly popular, with chat rooms and discussion groups makes the Internet a
popular place for meeting new people. (Leiner n. page). Perhaps the largest
shift is in the profile of Internet users. In the beginning users were
scientist and government officials: those highly educated and well trained.
However today’s 50 million users are all ages and from all backgrounds (Why use
the Internet? n. page). Access to the Internet is no longer limited and can be
found just about everywhere including schools, colleges, libraries, and at
home. In 1992 the Internet had a growth of twenty percent every month (Why use
the Internet? n.page). A developer of the Internet said, "If the Internet
stumbles, it will not be because we lack for technology, vision, or motivation.
It will be because we cannot set a direction and march collectively into the
future." (Leiner n. page) Clearly the Internet has brought many
conveniences. Businesses and students benefit from the technology as well as
those who use the Internet for personal uses. Over 50 million people used the
Internet in 1995 and by the year 2000 the number is predicted to be over 150
million (Why your company should be on the Internet n. page). Fortune Magazine
said, "The Internet is the biggest and earliest manifestation of the way
business is going to be conducted from now on." Companies are embracing
the Internet and those who do not will be left behind (Why use the Internet? n.
page). The Internet opens a wider audience to companies providing customers
valuable information via mailing lists. Space on the Internet is inexpensive
compared to paper, radio and television advertisements, therefore companies
reach a broader community with little cost (Why use the Internet? n. page).
Most web users are well educated Americans with professional or technical jobs
with median annual salary of $69,000, making them a prime target group. Opening
a storefront online gives the advantage of always being open. The Internet is a
fair playing field for large and small companies alike. Computer networks track
inventory and consumer demand resulting in increased profits (Why Minnesota
Students Need Access to the Internet n. page). Remote video conferencing and
Internet phones allow companies to conduct live chat sessions with clients
around the world. Data bases are available for public or private uses.
Companies can transfer files, bulletins or e-mail via the Internet, and it is
all very affordable.(Why use the Web? n.page) Students as well as commerce is
benefiting from the Internet. Students need more information than is offered by
school libraries. The Internet gives students access to resources from around the
world. They are also more willing to sit and browse the Internet then to use
the library. Information can be found, selected and retrieved faster on the
Internet. Entire books can be transferred in minutes (Sterling n.page).
Students find the Internet to be a viable educational tool which makes them
aware of the globalism of the world rather than sheltered in the realm of the
classroom. They have the option of writing to pen pals in other countries and
getting to know other cultures. (MRP-Discussion n. page) The Internet also
serves as a preparation tool for the future. The world is moving towards
electronics: in today’s market being competitive means knowing how to get
information, and more and more, it is traveling by wires. The Internet allows
children to get hands on experience, and helps them develop intellectual skills
and problem solving. It allows children to research information that interest
them. For example, a child interested in baseball can find information on the
latest statistics and read about the history of the sport. By educating
themselves it opens their minds to technology. (Why Minnesota Students need
access to the Internet n.page) The Internet is a popular place to socialize.
Exchanging information with those far away take only seconds using the
Internet. While postal mail can take days, electronic mail, or e-mail, takes
seconds. Many companies offer e-mail services for free to those with access to
computer with a modem. Unlike phone system and postal system there are no
charges for long distance service or communication with foreign countries.
E-mail and instant messages (found in programs such as America Online and ICQ)
can be used to send images and software. (Sterling n. page) Internet technology
has gone as far as to allow people to make new friends without any physical
contact. One way to meet new people is to join an Internet discussion group. In
such a group people with a common interest ask and receive advice and exchange
information. Another opportunity to meet new people is in Internet chat rooms.
In such rooms one can speak freely to anyone as if they were at a party.
America Online users refer to relations charter though the sever as "AOL
luv". Those in discussion groups and chat rooms are not limited to just
Americans but open to people all around the world. The Internet is a world wide
tool filled with many cultures, and different people. In this world, race is
not a factor since there is no physical contact. Everyone is equal and has the
freedom to express oneself. It is an institution that resists
institutionalization. It belongs to everyone and yet no one, everyone sort of
pitches in and it evolves on its own. There are no censors, bosses, board of
directors or stockholders. The Internet is unregulated and uncensored. However,
the Internet being so free and uncensored presents many problems.
Acknowledgment of children using the Internet has fueled a fight for
regulation. Parents can not always monitor their children, therefore the
Internet needs to be a safe place for the children. Children have access to the
Internet in schools, libraries, and just about everywhere. In schools it is
nearly impossible for a teacher to watch all the children, and in libraries it
is not the librarian’s job to monitor them. Computers and the Internet are for
everyone, including children, thus it has become an immense problem. Access to
pornography has been one of the greatest concerns among parents. Surprisingly,
pornography is easy to access and children will. Children are naturally curious
and love to explore. Minors are also targeted by advertisers. Just like on
television advertisers try to lure children in with pictures and web sites
which include games and chat rooms. However the biggest danger is not what they
find on the Internet but who they find. The information they access is not as
dangerous as the people they meet. There have been many cases of molesters and
kidnappers searching for pray on-line. Nicknames are used to protect the
identity of the children but can also be used to mask adults. They enter
children’s chat rooms and coax the children to trust them. Nonetheless, denying
the children access to the Internet is not the solution, perhaps software is.
However software limiting children’s access to web pages have not been
successful. In some case the software does not filter out all inappropriate
pages but filters out non-objectionable pages. (Should children be kept
off-line? n.page) Molesters and kidnappers are not the only people with access
to the Internet we should fear. Those mischievous thinkers also pose a threat.
Known as hackers or crackers, they search for vulnerable computer systems then
strike. Businesses can lose trade secrets, and the damages can be a disaster.
In 1996 Dan Framer, a security consultant, tested 2,000 computers networks, and
of those 65% had security holes large enough for an intruder to enter (Freedman
280). Government computers are just a vulnerable as teenagers have recently
demonstrated. Teenagers working out of their home with guidance from a 18 year
old broke into government classified information. Though they were caught, it
bought alarm to the possible dangers of information leaks. The United States’
enemies could have access to military codes and top secret files. Although the
average person is not targeted by hackers they are in danger of fraud and
con-artists. Stolen credit card numbers have been rumored to be a major
problem. The chances of it happening are not as great as the media makes it to
be, but nevertheless it is a problem. The criminals easily get away with such a
crime. They get the number of a credit card and charge ridiculous bills, but by
the time the bill comes they have moved on to the next victim. Many schemes
come in the form of junk mail. They offer deals that sound too good to be true
and chances are they fake. They only ask for a small sum of money up front,
next they cash the check and move on. (Anarchy Online 98) Secure passwords can
prevent hackers from accessing computers. Passwords should consist of numbers,
letters and symbols: an example "P11++69." No matter how secure and
high tech the computer security system, all it takes is a simple, stupid
password like "hello" to render the whole system worthless. (Freedman
279) Though the Internet has its advantages it also has disadvantages,
therefore users should educate oneself on the revolutionary tool. With over 50
million users the Internet is rapidly growing and is to the ‘90’s what the
personal computer was to the 70’s. New usage’s are springing up everyday,
making it impossible to predict the future of the Internet. One thing certain
is that the Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications.
"The Internet is a world wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for
collaboration and interaction between individuals without regard to geographic
location."
Bibliography
1. The Virtual Campus
(October 3-6, 1998). This international conference is in its fourth year. It is
intended solely for those developing courseware for delivery on the WWW
Association for Distance Education (CADE) / The Association for Media and
Technology in Education - Canada (AMTEC).
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