17 replies to this topic

[Richard Drew]

as another beginner in the world of the internet (almost 30 days now, my dreamweaver 30 day free trial is running out soon!!!), i thought i'd just add my experiences so far.

www.thinkhistory.btinternet.co.uk has been up and running for nearly a month and has gone through a huge transformation in that short time as i have taught myself how the technology works.

as many others have said i started with the idea of allowing my pupils access to materials when they want them, the buzz of getting the site up and running was an added bonus.

i timed my site to coincide with getting broadband, and was able to get 50Mb of webspace on bt openworld for only an extra £3 per month. a search of the internet found me a free 30 day Terrapin FTP trial and a free 30 day trial of Dreamweaver, thus keeping the cost very low.

much of my content so far is adapted versions of OHPs and handouts, but as much of it is for A-Level this is OK. when it comes to lower down the school i'll need more interactivity, but by then i'll have learnt a lot more about the software and it's capabilities.

my advice would be this - start simple and cheap, have a very clear vision about what the purpose of the site is and don't worry about making mistakes or rubbish pages, they can be replaced/amended in an instant

Edited by Richard Drew, 06 October 2003 - 08:24 PM.

[Ben Collinge]

Good point Andrew. I had completely forgotten about the possibility of going through your LEA and its well worth it. If you would rather be less accountable to your employer you can always try smiling very sweetly at your bursar as I did and getting them to pay for it!! (cheeky I know)

One more thing. Does anyone know where and if there are any training courses run for people who are not really web designers but are pretty good and would like to take their knowledge further i.e learning how to use java etc (to create things like the marvelous penalty shoot out game - that truely is an awesome idea, but the goalies are just to good!)

Kindest regards to you all,

Ben

[Dan Moorhouse]

At the HA conference in Lincoln, Andrew Field and myself ran 2 workshops for beginners on creating an online lesson. The resources look at structure of an online lesson and provide a selection of already available resources that can be used. For the absolute beginner there is a guide showing how web pages can be created and linked together. These were then used to create (very quickly) an online lesson about the Norman Conquest.

The resources, which will be developed a little over the coming weeks, can be accessed from this starting point. All parts of the training can be accessed from this page. Currenelty the guide shows people how to use word to create websites, a Dreamweaver version will be online shortly.

Andy Walker also ran a workshop about creating a website. I'm sure his resources will be online soon, if they aren't already.