Week
8
To-Do List
- Read the Design Documents of your classmates.
- Continue learning Flash. Try the sample Flash files I posted.
- Work with Dreamweaver according to your level of interest.
- Work on your CBI flowchart.
- Read about open source and open content.
- Read about copyright.
- Post a review about a copyright resource as described below.
Fun
The Internet Movie Database. If you are a movie fan like I am, this is a great resource--a massive searchable database of films and anyone credited in them from actors to crew. And of course we must have lists of the best movies of all time-- from Cinepad, Mr. Showbiz, and American Film Institute.
Speaking of movies , I would be glad to know what your favorite movies are. If you want to take the time, on our wiki post a list of your favorite movies. Here are some of mine, in various categories (I had a good time putting this list together).
Links
Here's a collection of books to read in instructional design and technology, broken down into a few sub-disciplines (see the links near the top left). This is larger view of the site we saw last week with the "top 10" lists from various authors.
Dreamweaver Trial
Last week I introduced Dreamweaver (DW) as a professional level HTML tool, and a good tool to be familiar with.
The option to spend more time learning to use DW is entirely up to you, depending on your level of interest in DW. There is a tutorial included in the DW trial download, if you are interested in going further.
Allow me to highlight an advanced feature of DW, using this course site as an example.
When I designed this course site I employed DW "templates". Templates allow the web designer to set some elements of a web page to appear on every page of a site. The advantage of using DW templates is that if I want to change the content or the interface for my site, I only have to modify one file (the template) and the change will automatically be reflected throughout the site. For me this feature alone made learning DW worthwhile. I also appreciated that it had a built-in FTP client, and good site management features, which you will discover if you are into learning DW.
So as I said, spend as much time with DW this week as your interest dictates. Please post any helpful links on the wiki.
Open Source and Open Content
The open source "movement" has significant ramifications in the world of online teaching and learning. First, some background. Read these two articles from George Siemens. Part One, about open source software, and then Part Two, Open Source Content in Education, on why this is important to education.
Read the Regina Declaration: a commentary/manifesto from Stephen Downes about open content in education. Downes is a researcher in online learning.
Finally, here's the Wikipedia collection on Open Content.
(Optional): If you are interested in open source software in schools, read "Why should open source software be used in schools?". This article has a nice collection of links following it.
(Optional): Here's a reading list about open content and social software, from FLOSSE.
Copyright
There are so many issues related to copyright, that I scarcely know where to start. This is such an important issue now for educators and instructional designers, and will be increasingly important in the coming years.
To begin, read this quite hilarious fictional story about Disney exploiting copyright. It's no stretch to say that copyright has been extended to "70 years after the holder's death" to satisfy corporations such as Disney.
Next read the text of this keynote address entitled Free Culture, by Larry Lessig, professor of law at Stanford, and expert on digital copyright law. I had the opportunity to meet him and Stephen Downes at a Utah State IT conference.
Copyright resources:
- Benedict.com: including a basic overview of copyright law.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: a non-profit advocacy group for digital rights.
- 10 Myths about copyright law, from Brad Templeton, Internet guru and chairman of the EFF.
- Creative Commons, a non-profit organization creating tools and licenses for distributing content.
Choose one of these resources above, or choose another high-quality resource related to copyright. Write a review of at least 300 words about your chosen copyright resource. Write with a scholarly tone, with correct spelling and grammar. Post your review as an HTML document and link it to your Launch Page. Also place a link to your copyright review on our wiki.
The End
Remember, you can always contact me via phone, IM, or email if anything is unclear. Have a great week,
Dr. M.
