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You don’t have to surf the Internet very long before you realize that some Web pages are better to use and easier to understand than others. What exactly makes a good Web page "good" and how does the purpose of a Web page impact its design. Explore some of the links under Web design tips to get a sense of features to include and those to avoid. Afterwards, reflect upon the intent of your Web site to determine its possible layouts.

bullet.gif (699 bytes)Web Design

bullet.gif (699 bytes)What are your primary objectives in using the Internet for your course?

a. to provide remedial or study guide service
b. to deliver course materials on-line
c. to extend the classroom experience to encourage student-driven exploration

bullet.gif (699 bytes)Linear Page Design

Though not exclusively for this purpose, the linear design is well suited to providing remedial or study guide service. This MATLAB Tutorial serves as an example of a linear page, in which students begin with a specified page, continue through the lessons as directed, and conclude (hopefully) with the desired outcome. Web pages often contain a Next and Back button to permit review of prior material or skipping ahead to the next topic. The underlying premise in a linear design is that the content of the entire Web site is viewed in context to provide a better tutorial instrument.

The Web site you are currently viewing is also of a linear type, leading you from your point of origin through the topics in a predetermined manner.

bullet.gif (699 bytes)Open Page Design

Students do not follow a linear path when nagivating the open page structures of Example 1 and Example 2. Instead, students can switch between topics in an arbitrary manner. Example 1 is a straight-forward style that might prove best for a first try at delivering course materials via the Web. In Example 2, the open styling is accomplished by using a frame structure so that the navigational buttons are always on-screen. The most important general course information is contained on the home page including: course contact information (instructor's name, office, email link, etc.) and course objectives and policies. The other pages are grouped by commonly used categories: help and resources, grades, homework, announcements, test solutions.

Specifics on Web Page Construction for Example 2:

bullet.gif (699 bytes)Web Courseware Template Generators

Developing a Web site that truely extends the classroom requires time. If you have a collection of good and currently active Web pages readily available, it will shorten your research time looking for appropriate links to place on your course pages. These advanced course pages can certainly be created manually, but an alternative to creating your own Web course site from scratch is to use the templates generated by one of several Web courseware packages. The WebCT example shown here contains the images of the WebCT Web pages instead of links to the actual pages since those require an account for login. The homepage for WebCT allows people to download a version of WebCT for trial that enables them to play with it, but does not allow student access.

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