Tag Archives: Week 4

Some assumptions for Lenora

My estimate for Lenora would be no, she should not use a website. However, this is solely based on a few assumptions. The case study says nothing about the interactivity of the pro-d environment that Lenora wants to create. So I question as to why she would need to create a website when she can just provide the appropriate materials for the development session as static documents (i.e. PDFs, Word documents, etc)? Having static documents also allows her to cut down on the network bandwidth issue that she has. Although, to be fair, yes, she does technically need some sort of site to host the documents. So for dissemination purposes of whatever content she ends up creating (documents, video, online discussions, blog, website, etc) if she wants people to be able to access this information, she will need a place to store it on the Internet.

My rationale for this response is mostly due to the writings of Tony Bates’ Teaching in a Digital Age, Chapter 8 (2014). His SECTIONS model makes you look at the availability and affordances of various aspects of utilizing technology for instructional purposes. Here is my line of thinking then… if Lenora has no web design experience, very limited bandwidth availability, and no need for user interactivity, she really should go for the easiest possible model of relaying information. That comes down to a document, perhaps even a presentation.

Now, if she does want to build out a community of people focused around this development issue, then yes, she must have a website. In fact there are some very easy ways to make that happen based on her schedule, location, and skill level. For instance, Google Sites is a quick and easy way to create a fully functional website. Using Google Gears also allows Lenora to work in offline mode so that she is able to create the content she needs while at home. Once she goes to work, she can simply sync the changes necessary. So really, it isn`t as big of an issue as the case study makes it out to be. I think it comes down to knowledge about certain toolsets. Google Apps is one as I`m sure there are many others that could fulfill her requirements as well.

 

Bates, J. (2014). Teaching in digital age, Chapter 8. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/