Course Description: Develops knowledge and skills in instruction and training functions for library and information settings. Issues and strategies for learning and teaching. Design, development, and evaluation of information and technology literacy programs. Addresses the needs of users when designing and delivering instruction.
Instructional Presentation: Add Web Content with a CMS Tool
I extended the class assignment to create a 5-minute web-based presentation teaching some task. First, I created a demo using screen capture software to show how to add a web page within a content management environment. I then embedded that presentation within a web page that provided brief context for the task demonstrated, along with comment boxes where users could respond and a link to a sample page where they could actually try out the technique for themselves. This configuration demonstrates my understanding of the many ways in which different people learn — visually, auditorally, socially, and kinesthetically. My product provides a complete context for task instruction, beyond the simple solution of throwing a video demo onto the web.
Demo page (Flash video deprecated) – Category: Information Use & Users – All Coursework
Instruction Design
I envisioned the presentation on CMS use as a complete package of instructional content helping editors and publishers of small local and regional newspapers to understand the need to publish their content online. Readers expect that access both for convenient reading and for search-based access. Advertisers know the readers will be there, so they want their messages delivered. That combination makes web publishing a sort of obligation for a newspaper, but also an opportunity. Revenue from advertising, specialized subscriptions, and other business models comes at very low marginal cost, once a system for managing the site is established. Some sort of content management technology is necessary, but few support systems are available to help staff of a small newspaper, typically operating under severe cost constraints, to meet this need.
My course outline covers the complete range of this activity at a general level, with specific slide-by-slide documentation for a selected subset. This product demonstrates an ability to envision and address needs at a detailed task level while simultaneously fitting that material into a consistent, thoughtfully structured conceptual scheme.
Complete document (.docx, 355k) – Category: Information Use & Users – All Coursework