Doesn't look like anyone has started on this Wiki. With everyone's permission, I would like to change the name to "Best Practices of Instructional Websites" and begin working on this. Not sure if there is a project leader; if not, I can get us going with a "sign up" of responsibilities specific to best practice topics. Please advise. Thanks!

That sounds good, Mari, thanks! If you want some help with the outline, email me and we can work on it together. mswisshe@kent.edu

Mari,
Here are some ideas that I have put together as a possible outline for our instructional website wiki. Please don't worry if you don't use them. They are just suggestions.
Instructional website wiki possible main page ideas:

Definition and explanation
Good examples
Key Features of instructional websites (may be divided into several sub-pages)
Pros and Cons of instructional websites (could be two different pages)

Thank you Megan for your input - those are great suggestions. Hope we are not stepping on anyone's toes, but I know everyone has tons of projects to complete and I want to contribute to as much as I can.

Me too! Thanks for getting us going, Mari!

I like the topics so far. Do we want to split them up amongst the class so we can divide and conquer and then come back together to be sure they all fit relevantly together? The topics are clear enough to know where to go with each. Megan & Mari - let me know your thoughts and I will continue to move forward with what you two think will work. Thanks!

I figured we would just do our own pages for now (check the sign-up page). I'm not sure how many people are in this class. We may have enough people to allow two people per page/topic to split the workload a little.
Maybe in the last week (when it said "finish wiki as a class" on the schedule) we could look over other pages and make comments (and changes to our own pages) for better cohesion. What do you guys think?

I am off to a rough start! Now that I can actually get in here and edit, I took a look at the tasks page and tried to enter my name and it is not allowing me to do so. I'm not sure if it is locked by someone else who may be editing or if I am just doing something wrong. I would like to work on the "Key Features" section of the wiki. I see that Megan has signed up for this as well. Megan, should we work on separate pages or try merging our information on the same page? Suggestions? Preferences? I see that you have started a page. Is there a direction you would like for me to take? Thanks! Shannon

There are lots of pages to choose from. If there are enough people to do two per page, I would be willing to split the work. There may be other topics, though, that would be better suited for two people if there aren't enough people in class for two people per page. Like you said, I have already started on the page I signed up for. Sorry!

Mari,
Thanks for setting everything up. It is much appreciated. Do you think that we should specifically share the wiki with everyone else in the class? I think people are looking on the discussion board for information...however, people are now talking in here. If I can figure out how to share it, I will.

I believe that Dr. Ingram already made available the wiki with everyone - once they get their approval and their username/password, they will be able to view and edit. Regarding discussion, I recommend using the Wiki discussion area posted on Learn. Multiple people can sign up for each of the topics as needed. As long as we cover all the topics, it'll be fine. With all the projects we are doing, it is very overwhelming for a lot of people. My suggestion is to contribute to the topic of your choosing and move on :-) So much to do and so little time.

Thank-you all for taking the initiative to begin our Wiki. It is appreciated!

I think we need a short paragraph explaining what our goals and objectives are for the classroom wiki. I would do it, but I'm not good at that sort of thing. (I'll do something else for the good of the group.) Anyone else good at succinctly organizing an opening statement?

Visual as in GUI design, MaryAnne? I was thinking of a task about the user interface and accessibility.

User interface and accessibility are huge. So yes. I was also talking about looking nice. Sometimes they go hand in hand. I know you have looked at websites with black backgrounds and yellow text. They aren't even readable, especially for the sight impaired. And it is important that the interaction design principles. In other words, it is important when setting up an instructional web site that the user understands the visual cues. Do you think this is a topic for a wiki. I am happy about the accessibility. I try hard to make my work accessible.

I was thinking more of the overall topic of Instructional Websites, rather than this wiki. And yes, we can work on the issues together.

Wow! Totally new world to me. I'll do my best.

How about this as a draft introduction paragraph:

The purpose of this wiki is to provide an overview of instructional design for educational professionals, including faculty, administrators, and staff. We will outline the purpose, key features, advantages and best practices of instructional websites; as well as software development options, and the overall design, outline, and navigation of the website. Disadvantages and limitations of an instructional website will also be presented.
Learning objectives:
(I think it would make sense for each group to develop a learning objective for each of their sections that we can list on the home page with a link to each specific page).
This is just a draft, but I thought I would get the ball rolling…
Amanda

Has everyone had an opportunity to sign up for a section of this Wiki? If so, I will delete the "Software Development Options".

I can work on the software development options. I had not had a chance to sign up for anything.

Hey All! Megan H., Tricia, and I have been working on the "Purpose" page for our wiki. We have found it to be challenging in finding research on instructional websites. However, we do have a basic description of the purpose of instructional websites. If some of you would be willing to look at our page and provide suggestions, we would appreciate it. Thanks!