August 10, 2005
Website Update
Since this is being read, it goes without saying that the course website is coming together, with nearly three weeks to go before the semester begins...amazing. OK, there are a few things missing yet. I'm still working on the initial tutorials. They are my first attempt at screencasting, and I'm interested in seeing how they will work out.
I'm also still giving thought to the course readings. Relying on the web to provide readings for the course is obviously risky, but it strikes me as necessary as well. Of course, some foundational material will also need to be employed, along with the latest news and commentary available online.
This just in. It's hot in Cortland! Can anyone really be expected to type and sweat at the same time?
Anyway, I've two main hopes for this course. I don't expect students to become expert, or even proficient, web designers. However, I do hope the course will give them an introduction to web design and the confidence to realize they can become proficient or expert if they choose.
My second hope is that students will come to see the value in having an online life. Of course I don't want them to become "addicted" to the internet. However, there's plenty of room for a more healthy use of networked communication, just as there might be "healthy" amounts of phone usage, television viewing, or reading and writing print. Specifically, I'd like to see students use the opportunities of blogging, podcasting, and the like to develop an identity for themselves in an online community, just as they might use academic writing to establish an academic identity in their classes or other pop cultural and local discourses to establish an identity among their friends and peers.
Posted by Alex Reid at August 10, 2005 3:39 PM