Molly+McDuffie

My name is Molly McDuffie and I grew up in Wichita, Kansas. I moved to Lawrence after graduating from Maize High School in 2002, and I can be contacted at Mollzjhawkgirl@hotmail.com (my primary e-mail address) or Mollz@ku.edu.

My major is secondary history and government education, and I hope to work primarily with upper classmen. I have yet to decide where I'd like to move after graduating, but for now, I have tentative plans to look for a job on the east coast so I can spend more time with my family.

I have some background in technology as my high school emphasized its use and I took several courses; however, its been a few years since I've been required to use anything other than Word or PowerPoint so I'm a little bit rusty. I am interested in learning how to manage a webpage, as I have yet to embark into the worlds of myspace or facebook.

I think technology in the classroom is very important; using technology, whether it be through the use of computer presentations, video, or audio, will only enhance the learning experience of your students.

**Web Exemplar Project**
http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/columbus.html BAD Site: I found this website by typing "Christopher Columbus" into google's search engine. I expected this website to be impressive and age appropriate for secondary students as it indicated it was written by "Thomas C. Tirado, Ph.D."; however, I found this page to be excrutiating. If I were a seventeen or eighteen year old high school student and my teacher told me to connect to this webpage and read the information, I would be thoroughly overwhelmed by the amount of text and complete lack of anything of visual interest. This website does not contain a single graphic; not a picture, not a map, nothing aesthetically appealing. There is no way a teacher could expect this web page to hold the interest of their students long enough for them to get through all the material. When scrolling through it, it looks very daunting and very, very dry and boring. For example, the text states, "One of Columbus’ first stops in Spain was the monastery La Rábida at Palos de la Frontera", if I am a student taking in new information (even as a teacher trying to prepare a stimulating lesson plan), I read that and I think, "Where the heck is that? I see that it is in Spain, but where in Spain? What does it look like?" All of this is left entirely to the imagination; it would be advantageous to utilize technology to the fullest extent by accompanying the text with graphic representations of the information.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/btt/columbus/ GOOD Site: I also found this website by typing "Christopher Columbus" into google's search engine, and I was pleased by what I found. Unlike the site above, this web site does not underestimate the importance of something as simple as adding a little bit of color. Another great feature of this website is that it breaks the material down into more manageable sections which can be accessed through the provided links; while there is still a great deal of text and information to get through, breaking it down into small sections not only allows students to jump to their area of interest more easily (i.e., "I want to access maps of Columbus's voyage", or "I want to access a timeline of Columbus's accomplishments"), but it also provides a sense of accomplishment for the student similar to finishing a chapter in a book, "I finished the first section, now I can move on to section two." Another fantastic feature of this website is the ability to utilize "Online Tutorial Questions", located under the section entitled "Columbus's Voyage Timeline", which are pop questions that can be answered and e-mailed to the teacher and used for something as simple as participation points to ensure that the students are actually taking in the material and not browsing through facebook or reading their e-mail instead.

Process: Google is by far the easiest search engine to use; however it is problematic in that it can be difficult to discern whether a source is credible or not. While Google provides a wealth of information, it is important to realize it provides the bad along with the good, and in some cases it can be helpful to narrow your search to scholarly sources by using the "Google Scholar" search engine instead.

06/07/2007 - Web Exempler - Molly McDuffie
There are several things to look for when trying to distinguish between good and bad websites for instructional use: 1. Websites should be easy to navigate and should not be cluttered with distracting advertisements 2. Websites should be from credible, reliable sources to ensure accurate, appropriate information 3. Websites can be educational and still be attractive; they should be well-organized and incorporate a variety of media; it is great if they incorporate interactive material (i.e., quiz questions which can be answered and e-mailed to the teacher to ensure students are staying on track) 4. Websites should include well-placed, meaningful graphics which enhance the students understanding of the information 5. Websites should be consistent; using red for links on one page and blue for links on the next page will confuse users and is not consistent with typical web browsing

I think that the website Meaghan chose as a good example had some positive features as she discussed, but the links which went to entirely different subject matter were problematic; as far as her bad example goes, I think she was on target - this would not be an ideal website for instructional use.

06/14/07 - Site Maps - Molly McDuffie
There are several things to look for in a good site map: 1. When making a site map, you should include your contact information on your home page. 2. When you are creating a side bar for your home page, you should limit the number of categories to five or six so you do not overwhelm the user. 3. When creating a site map, try to eliminate repetition and unnecessary steps in the navigation process. 4. Be sure to make the Help section easily accessible from the home page.

I think that Meaghan's site map is good overall, I like the use of color and the detailed design of the website; however, I also think that it may be a little too much information (there is some repetition, "syllabus" is located under two different sections, as is "contact the teacher"). This site map would be great with just a few small changes.