Artifact Number 1fitoa.jpg
Website for Instructors and Students
http://womenrunners.com/fitoa/
ED TECH 541
Standard - Communication: Communicate clearly to achieve professional goals using visual and verbal modes to explain and persuade.

Project Description
As part of EDTECH 541, I created a website which creates enables communication between students, teachers and faculty of San Diego Continuing Education. The website uses a variety of communication methods including print, video, audio, interactive lessons, and more. A key feature of the site is the ability to add individual pages for instructors, where they can house information for their students, as well as personal information to build a learning community. It has a central calendar, and provides important resources for students and instructors. The site was designed using effective web design principles (Williams & Tollett, 2006).


Outcomes
This website uses both visual and verbal modes of delivery. It uses video to describe the screening process, as well as print material which summarizes the requirements. This component of the site was used to assist in the hiring of new faculty. The site also offers a calendar, which has been used by faculty and students to reflect important dates and events. It is now a central location for instructor resources and general communication. As faculty become more aware of the potential (via in-service events and online tutorials), this website can evolve to become a key tool for student/faculty interaction.

Challenges
The main challenge to this website was a site which would be easy to manipulate for beginners, but which would be robust enough for the purposes of the audience. It took several attempts with student judges to find the ultimate design which is currently used today. An ongoing challenge, like many aspects of current technology, is to encourage participation among students and faculty. Finally, the creation of new material, if this is to be sustained, must be shared among all, and this is sometimes a challenge as well.

Growth
Although I had designed websites before, the principle of ADDIE encouraged me to start from the beginning and work beyond. The analysis provided the type of structure which would be most understood by the target audience, the design would include aspects of web design which are intuitive to use and with a strong but simple design. The development included rapid prototyping and changes, until I came across the model which would become the final site. Ultimately, it was this emphasis on planning and careful work which would lead my efforts throughout the program.

Williams, R. & Tollett, J. (2006). The Non-Designer's Web Book, Third Edition. Berkeley: Peachpit Press