Final Project: Instructional Re-design and Expansion of Web 1.0 Content
Wiki Content Areas:
SECTION 0.0: ESSENTIAL QUESTION and ORIENTING MATERIAL FOR STUDENTS
Essential Question:
How do you think you will be able to cope with the technology needs of a developing country? By virtue of being "on the ground" you will be considered the subject matter expert. Your failures will only be looked at with the expectation that you can eventually make things right. Your successes will be looked at with respect and curiosity.
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Compare and contrast the networking benefits and drawbacks of major operating systems when deciding which systems to build or support
- Define the 7 layers of a computer network and the functionality of each
- Design and Troubleshoot the physical layer of a network
- Build and test ethernet cables up to 100 meters in length
- Identify common computer hardware inside a PC and troubleshoot hardware installation
- Network two Windows machines together and share resources (files and printers) between them
- Connect a local area network to the internet using a DSL or Cable Modem and a router
- Employ best practices in troubleshooting methadology, network security, and password strength.
In learnig this material, you must actively participate in the wiki!
Revise:
Does a slide diagram not make sense? Comment on it at the bottom of the lesson!
Does a photograph on the hardware lesson seem unclearly marked? Upload your own in it's place!
Reflect:
After each class, use the wiki to reflect on the instructional objectives and orienting questions at the top of the lesson. Did the class meet the stated objectes? Did you learn anything (in other words, do you feel confident in performing work associated with that week's lecture content? Why or why not? What could be improved overall?
SECTION 0.1: ORIENTING MATERIAL FOR INSTRUCTORS
Instructors of the GIIP Computer Networking course should be able to:
- Use the instructional material I have created to facilitate a class about computer networking, hardware, and troubleshooting techniques.
- Take advantage of the collaborative nature of the instructional material on the wiki to both annotate the existing information and to create assignments involving the students’ input and participation with the instructional material.
- Understand the instructional material presented to them and how it is used to support computer networking efforts in developing countries.
In support of the above instructional objectives, instructors should demonstrate their ability to:
- Effectively troubleshoot a computer hardware issue.
- Effectively troubleshoot a computer software issue.
- Wire, patch, and provide network connectivity in a building so that several computers are connected to a single network.
- Install and troubleshoot a broadband connection.
- Have a clear understanding of the generic troubleshooting process, both with the use of online resources and also with limited internet connectivity at hand.
- Recite security and contract work best practices, including password strength and mnemonics and proper work documentation.
- Utilize the collaborative nature of the wiki to annotate the instruction, comment on the clarity of material, and suggest improvements to the course content after each weekly class.
SECTION 0.3: CONTENT STANDARDS ALLIGNMENT (from http://eev2.liu.edu/westburyII/JG/assignments/iste_chart.htm)
| 1 Basic operations and concepts |
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> Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems. Lecture 5: Computer Hardware
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> Students are proficient in the use of technology. Lecture 4: Building Ethernet Cables
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| 2 Social, ethical, and human issues |
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> Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology. Lecture 8: Best Practices, Lecture 9: Wrap-up and Final Throughts
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> Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software. Lecture 8: Best Practices |
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> Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity. Lecture 2: Networking is a Piece of Cake
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| 3 Technology productivity tools |
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> Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. Lecture 8: Best Practices
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> Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works. Web 2 point 0 final project
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| 4 Technology communications tools |
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> Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences. Lecture 7: The Internet
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> Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. Lecture 5: Computer Hardware
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| 5 Technology research tools |
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> Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Lecture 8: Best Practices
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> Students use technology tools to process data and report results. Lecture 8: Best Practices
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> Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks. Lecture 6: Windows Networking |
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| 6 Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools |
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> Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions. Lecture 8: Troubleshooting and Best Practices
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> Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world. Lecture 8: Troubleshooting and Best Practices |
SECTION 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Project Overview
This instructional re-design of Web 1.0 content will draw together instructional content from several disparate forms of media: Static web pages, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and Word documents. This content will be converted to a PBWiki compatible format, uploaded, expanded, and clarified with instructional objectives for the instructors administering the course.
Purpose
The instructional content being converted to wiki format was originally created in 2004 to facilitate the teaching of a Networking for Non-profits class at UC Santa Cruz. As the course progressed, I created new content each week appropriate to the discussions I wanted to hold in class and instructional objectives I wanted to achieve. As a result, the content was valuable to instruction, but in its previous form was also disorganized.
Significance
This spring, I will not be teaching the Computer Networking class for the GIIP program. Instead, I will be donating my instructional material to another instructor. To this end, I want to re-design and re-orient my material so that the new instructor does not have to re-create material to teach the class. In its current form, the material lacks explicit instructional objectives. By uploading all of my content to PBWiki, expanding existing material, creating instructional objectives and most importantly encouraging the instructor and the students to annotate the material as the course progresses, I feel that the material will expand and essentially take on a life of its own as the quarter progresses.
SECTION 2: ANALYSIS
Literature Review
Adopting a wiki system to facilitate course instruction has many practical and technical challenges; however, the payoff of having instructors and students fully adopt and understand the benefits of a wiki is potentially large, both in time saved developing and administering instruction, and also in the quality and organization of instruction.
Several qualitative studies have already been conducted to better understand the experience of instructors adopting a wiki. West, Waddoups, and Graham (2007) discussed instructor experience both in terms of how the wiki system was adopted to fulfill specific instructional objectives, and whether the technology was embraced fully, partially, or eventually discarded. The progression of adopting a course to be taught fully within the wiki system relied heavily upon an instructor’s past experience with instructional technology. Most instructors did not have a vast amount of experience in developing and administering a course using this technology, and so they chose to slowly incorporate features of the system into their teaching repertoire over time. For example, an instructor would choose to upload his PowerPoint presentations to the class website during the first semester. During the second semester, he would then use the wiki system to keep track of student grades. Teachers with more technological expertise would choose to do both simultaneously, and would also serve to lead by example for other teachers who were considering what next adopting step to take. A study by Samarawickrema and Stacey (2007) came to similar conclusions. Though previous technological experience also played a role in the speed at which a wiki system was implemented, socially supportive environments, where instructors were comfortable conversing with fellow faculty about their experiences with adapting their course to a wiki also influenced the speed of adoption. This study also highlighted the changing roles that instructors played when re-developing material for a wiki-based course. As one interviewee stated “You become an administrator and a teacher and a multimedia developer and you are a researcher and whatever else that I’ve left out” (Samarawickrema & Stacey, 2007, p. 10).
Several studies have looked at the challenges of wiki system from a viewpoint of technical problems an instructor might encounter. Bongalos et al. (2006) detailed specific inhibiting factors an instructor might encounter while developing and administering a course, such as forgotten passwords for students and teachers, availability of the system during class hours, and overall difficulty of navigation. Prior technical experience was generally helpful in figuring out password issues and navigational concepts, just as West et al. (2007) has found about the speed and ease of transition. Another interesting subject of discussion that merits interest is the students’ effect on teachers adopting a wiki-based course system. In an actor-network perspective, both Samarawickrema and Stacey (2007) and West et al. (2007) found that student demand for lecture materials to be accessible online and well-organized drove instructor adoption of a learning management system. In both studies it was the most frequently cited reason for adoption after pressure by the administration to adapt web 1.0 courses to an online system. Several studies were seeking to answer one of the bigger-picture questions regarding the adoption of wiki systems: can a wiki system ultimately save instructors time in course development and administration? The most common conclusion was that, in the short-term, wikis required a significant investment of time to learn skills and then develop course material. In the long-term, wikis could save significant amounts of time because of the ability to reuse previous online material for the following semester without having to physically prepare and reproduce new material. West et al. (2007) heard a common refrain from instructors they interviewed: not only was the previous semester’s course material available again for the next semester, but additional material that was still in traditional web 1.0 static form could be slowly filtered in over time to supplement the older material.
Baudry et al. (2005) suggested both a standardized format for creating lessons, and clearly defined roles for both producers and administrators of instructional material so that not only could an online course be reused by the same instructor, but could be built upon by a colleague. Baudry et al. (2005) proposed that the original creator of the content be called the composer, and the person actually teaching the material be called the publisher. Using a construction metaphor, individual lessons would be considered bricks, and a model would be presented to demonstrate what these bricks would eventually build. The lessons, however, would have meta-data attached to them describing what the individual lesson sought to accomplish so that they could be used as separate modules. Similar to the SCORM system adaptations to course management systems proposed by Barker (2004), these suggestions to develop content in a unified manner could ultimately save the instructor time in teaching online material without having to develop it from scratch or convert all of it from a web 1.0 based course.
Needs Assessment
Goal statement:
1. Future instructors for the GIIP program at UCSC will be able to effectively administer a course on computer networking, including annotating and expanding on existing course material contained within the wiki.
2. Students will be able to effectively perform basic computer networking skills upon completing this course. Students will also feel comfortable commenting on instructional material and annotating it where appropriate.
Performance Gap Analysis
Students enrolled in the GIIP source at social science majors with little to no technical background. This course aims to raise students’ technical proficiency to a level equal to that of a junior network administrator with a set list of daily responsibilities, being closely supervised by a journey-level network administrator.
Scope of Instructional Materials
The scope of the instructional materials will be broad: computer hardware, computer software, basic networking terminology, and broadband.
Context Analysis
The goal of the instructional context is to transfer theoretical skills learned in the classroom to real-world troubleshooting and building of infrastructure in the field. The performance context is generally a developing country with a limited amount of tools and resources, limited internet connectivity, limited power, limited climate control capabilities, and bureaucratic resistance and corruption in relation to NGOs working within its borders. The instructional material is intentionally broad rather then deep and all inclusive, because it is more important for learners to develop a methodology rather then a straight-line technique of dealing with potential problems.
Learner Analysis
Instructors
Instructors in the GIIP program are recruited on a volunteer basis and are considered a heterogeneous group in terms of both teaching and technology skills. Some are accomplished teachers. Given the instructional content provided on the wiki has clear instructional objectives, they would be able to instruct and then assess the effectiveness of the material. They might not, however, feel comfortable in modifying the instruction using the collaborative nature of the wiki, nor would they be used to allowing the students modify and annotate the instruction, unless they had previous experience teaching a course with Web 2.0 tools. Some GIIP instructors, such as the one teaching the networking course this coming spring, are highly technically proficient, and would not have any trouble both annotating the existing material, but also encouraging students to annotate it. The only concern in this case is a relative lack of teaching experience. Even with clearly defined objectives, could this technically proficient instructor effectively convey the instructional material and accurately assess whether or not learning has occurred?
Students
Students, by contrast, that take the GIIP networking course, are a fairly homogenous group of individuals: namely philanthropic social science majors that want to learn more about using technology to enable developing countries to compete economically with the developed world. To this extent their initial knowledge of computers in general is limited to Web browsing and Microsoft Word. The vast majority of students taking this course have no technical background. Also important to note is that their social science classes are generally not Web 2.0 enabled. Thus, using a wiki like the one I’ve created for this course would be a new educational experience for most of them.
Goals and Objectives
Instructors
Instructors of the GIIP Computer Networking course should be able to:
1. Use the instructional material I have created to facilitate a class about computer networking, hardware, and troubleshooting techniques.
2. Take advantage of the collaborative nature of the instructional material on the wiki to both annotate the existing information and to create assignments involving the students’ input and participation with the instructional material.
Students
Students at the end of the GIIP Computer Networking course should be able to:
1. Understand the instructional material presented to them and how it is used to support computer networking efforts in developing countries.
2. In support of the above objective, students should demonstrate their ability to:
a. Effectively troubleshoot a computer hardware issue.
b. Effectively troubleshoot a computer software issue.
c. Wire, patch, and provide network connectivity in a building so that several computers are connected to a single network.
d. Install and troubleshoot a broadband connection.
e. Have a clear understanding of the generic troubleshooting process, both with the use of online resources and also with limited internet connectivity at hand.
f. Recite security and contract work best practices, including password strength and mnemonics and proper work documentation.
3. Utilize the collaborative nature of the wiki to annotate the instruction, comment on the clarity of material presented to them, and suggest improvements to the course content after each weekly class.
Instructional Sequencing Strategies
Entry Behaviors
Students enrolled in the GIIP Computer Networking class are assumed to have basic computer proficiency limited to web browsing and basic familiarity with the Microsoft Office suite of applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). The subsequent modules begin with specific hands-on instruction and photographs. After specific instruction, students are introduced to more abstract concepts like troubleshooting and security to enhance their skills with professional habits and mannerisms.
Computer Hardware Walkthrough
Students are introduced to the basic hardware inside a Windows-based computer. Diagrams are annotated with arrows, labels, and captions to clarify the photographs.
Site Wiring Walkthrough
Students are visually taken through a medium-sized business and introduced to data and telephone terminology and wiring, including schematics, specialized tools, and color-coded wiring.
High-Speed Networking Walkthrough
After the site-wiring walkthrough introduces students how to provide internet connectivity within a building or structure, this module introduces the concept of high speed networking: both in how to physically connect your inside network to the rest of the world, and, just as importantly, how to determine who has ultimate responsibility when the network fails. This module uses SDSL, or residential DSL, as an example of high-speed networking, but the lessons are intentionally generic and can apply to setting up an internal network to access the internet using cable, satellite, T1, or ISDN as well.
Troubleshooting Walkthrough
Troubleshooting is introduced as both a mental exercise in the process of elimination by working backwards to find the root of the problem, and also as an exercise in using concise, specific search terminology in Google or a manufacturer’s knowledgebase to diagnose the problem and take steps towards a resolution.
Best Practices Walkthrough
This module covers overall best techniques when working in a computer networking capacity, whether as an employee, contractor, or volunteer. Topics discussed include networking and physical premise security, backup techniques, and proper work documentation.
Media Selection
All instructional material is contained on the PBWiki website. PBWiki has been selected because the instructional content can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. In addition, PBWiki is relatively reliable, so material for the course should be available during instructional time periods throughout the semester. In addition, the material is still downloadable in its original Web 1.0 format should somebody need to make an offline copy available or take it to a remote location where there is no internet access available. PBWiki is also free and does not require any administrative overhead to maintain, unlike a personal website or school-based learning management website.
SECTION 3: INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Screen Design
The instructional material follows a standard template provided by PBWiki. On the left-hand side is a hierarchical navigation of the different instructional modules. The entry page for the course also contains the hierarchy as well as brief descriptions of content within the instructional modules. The right-hand side provides meta-information about the wiki: who has edited the page and what have they added, modified, or removed.
Information Design
Information has been organized according to topic headings: Computer hardware, computer networking, broadband connectivity, site wiring, and historical information regarding security and computing best practices. All topics have clearly stated instructional objectives. Each main topic has sub-topics, in which instructional goals are stated that together will support the instructional objective of the main topic. In addition to the instructional goals and objectives, some topics will also have question prompts to elicit interactivity from the students while the content is being taught.
Interaction Design
Instructors
Each quarter that this Computer Networking course is taught for the GIIP program, it is likely that a different instructor or team of instructors will teach this class. I have set up the wiki so that each instructor can annotate the existing material and see the dates in which the original material was modified in a “change log”. This is a good way to keep track of how the material is modified and augmented from quarter to quarter.
Students
At the discretion and preference of the instructor, students will be able to comment on, and in some cases, annotate the existing instruction on the wiki. A change log, similar to the one for instructor modifications, will note what and how each student has changed or added to material on the wiki. This will allow students to see each other’s work and comments on the material, and also allow the instructor to give credit for participation in the online portion of the class.
SECTION 4: REFLECTION
The process of adapting PowerPoint slides, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and Web 1.0 content, generally static webpages, was a tedious one. It took most of my time to simply convert all of the material over to the wiki and upload the pictures. After that, it was easy to organize the content and write instructional objectives for each of the modules. When I originally created the content, I had never taught a class, and every week I would spend several hours creating material I thought was relevant. With this redevelopment process, I was able to look at the course at a whole to make sure all major computer networking topics were covered. Just as importantly, this content is now easily editable by future instructors of the course. I have encouraged the current instructor to take full advantage of the wiki format by having the students respond on the wiki after each class if they need any segment of the instruction clarified, and also if they found any pieces of information particularly helpful. I will be using a wiki again in my current position at the Exploratorium to increase collaboration in exhibit design. I found that this final project was the perfect first step in exploring the capabilities of PBWiki.
SECTION 5: REFERENCES
Barker, B. (2004). Adopting SCORM 1.2 Standards in a Courseware Production Environment. International Journal on E-Learning, 3(3), 21-24.
Baudry, A., Bungenstock, M., & Mertsching, B. (2005). An E-Learning System for Standard Compatible and Uniform Course Development. International Journal on E-Learning, 4(4), 385-408.
Bongalos, Y. Q., Bulaon, D. D. R., Celedonio, L. P., de Guzman, A. B., & Ogarte, C. J. F. (2006). University Teachers' Experiences in Courseware Development. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(5), 695-704.
Samarawickrema, G., & Stacey, E. (2007). Adopting Web-Based Learning and Teaching: A Case Study in Higher Education. Distance Education, 28(3), 313-333.
West, R. E., Waddoups, G., & Graham, C. R. (2007). Understanding the Experiences of Instructors as They Adopt a Course Management System. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55(1), 1-26.
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