Hi Megan,
You're off to a great start! In looking at what you have here, I am thinking that I may consult a different source or sources to see what I can find on the subject. That way we can build from there - look for convergent and divergent ideas, etc. Your thoughts? I am open to suggestions...
Thanks,
Shannon

Hi Megan,
I just went back to the main page and caught your comment at the bottom. I see that you mentioned each of us making our own page. That works for me. As I mentioned in my previous post here, I will consult a different source or sources and develop the page based on what I find. Then, we can look across the sources to make comparisons.
Thanks,
Shannon

Shannon,
I meant that we each worked on one topic, not one page. I think it would be quite redundant of us to make two pages on the same topic. What would you like to do? Since I made the outline, would you like to find some sources and quotes? Then, we can divide up the outline and write something out?

I hate to ask this, but I am going on vacation in nine days. Is there anyway we can knock this out by NEXT weekend? Maybe just get it done and move on?

Hi Megan,
Yes, I can find additional sources and quotes. I started reading some articles last night and I plan to do some more reading and note-taking this weekend.
And yes, I am all for finishing it by next weekend so that you can enjoy your vacation. I will try to get my stuff together and posted on here by the beginning of the week and then we can work on pulling it all together by mid week and finish it by the weekend. Looking forward to working with you. :)

Key Features could also mean things like: quizzes, introduction, interactives, etc. I think that based on these headings, there will be A LOT of overlap with the information presented. We can go in that different direction if you want. I noticed there was already a steps/components page, which may be better suited for things like "quizzes, introduction, interactives, etc". hmmm....

The best practices site looks just like ours...uh oh! I'm going to leave what we already had, but add more on a new direction. You look at it, see what you like, and delete which one you think better suits our topic.

May I work with you guys on this? I'm a little late signing up for a topic b/c of my vacation last week. I like the idea of each of us taking a topic/feature and expanding on it. What part do we still need to expand on? I'm not sure what you girls are working on in the background. Let me know what's left, and I'll get on it ASAP.

Ok, we need to start deleting some things. Am I ok to delete the old page that I had set up? I think it sounds like we agree it needs to be like the newer one. I will delete, and if anyone has an objection, we can go back to the old. Also, the portion at the top is similar to the Best Practices page. I'm going to find more resources to go with the key features.

Hi Megan,
You are on the right track. We are focusing on the Key Elements of an Instructional Website - the features that make a WEBSITE instructional versus informational - the key being the features of the website. The Best Practices would be getting more into the practices of the instructor designing the website - best practices in developing an instructional website. Key elements focuses on the website and best practices focuses on the instructor. Don't second guess yourself, Megan! :)
I am still reading and pulling together my thoughts. I will be adding more to our site soon.

So are we good now, or do you want to go back to the old version? I added a few more things. I thought that if I found the sites and made the outline, Shannon could put in a few research resources, and Erikka could do the same, then we should be pretty much finished. I have looked for some articles but they are few and far between!!

Hello Megan and Erica,
I had promised Megan that I would get some work posted here at the beginning of the week. I added some information with lots of links below the horizontal line. I didn't want to go in and start moving/editing things until you had a chance to look at what I have so far. I see how it can be incorporated with what is already here by moving, merging, etc. Take a look and let me know what you think, and I can move and merge if everything looks okay to you.

As far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever you like up there! It looks like you have some great resources! It looks like we may be almost finished when you get that all merged together. I'm still not sure about the usability, learnability, tech functionality at the top. Aren't we repeating information from below? **Let me know what you guys think as far as being finished with the content.** I saw someone wanted to post learning goals and things so we will have to keep an eye on that if it pans out so we can post a goal and link it to the goal table on the main page.

Shannon,
I tried to move all of your topics up to the top like you wanted (to save you some work), but now I'm not sure how to fill in the categories you had at the bottom. So, I put the categories and the small paragraph about instr website key features at the top. Please feel free to go back to a previous version if you don't like it. Also, several of the links at the bottom need to be put into text ( I think it looks neater that way). Finally, I'm not sure what to do with the Three Aspects of Instructional Websites portion at the top. It doesn't really fit here. We could delete it, or we could put it at the bottom and change it into a conclusion. It's up to whoever wrote it, but I just don't think it fits where it is now!
I think we are mostly finished. If we finish the points I made above, I think it will be done!! Thanks for your hard work, girls! It has been really great working with you both!

Let me know if anything else needs fleshed out and I'll keep searching. I added some more sites and a few articles, as well as the library stds. I wanted to add sporcle.com to games, which is a quiz site that covers a variety of topics, many of which would fit well in school. Check it out and see if you want me to add it as a game resource. I wanted to ask you guys before I added it.

I have a few more articles I could add if you guys want me to. Just say the word and I'll keep adding. :)

Ok, I made a comment before that for some reason didn't post--crazy thing.Let's try it again: I added the 3 aspects part b/c when I was researching "key features of instructional websites", that came up in 3 or 4 places, so I added it. I went ahead and moved it to the bottom as a summarizing thing. I think it's important to have, because it sets up nice guidelines for selecting the other features (quiz sites, blogs, and such), but it can definitely fit at the bottom rather than the top--I don't mind. :) Any place else that's lacking?

Go ahead and add the sporcle.com site- it looks pretty good. Go ahead and add all of the Key Features related articles that you have. I think the site looks awesome. Do we want any graphics? It's a lot of text. If you happen to add images, please make sure to cite them at the bottom. I will look also. I was thinking one at the top, one at the beginning of the body of text (middle) and one right about Erikka's summary at the bottom (by the way, I'm going to write "Summary" at the bottom for that).
Let me know if we need anymore, Shannon or Erikka! I think we are almost done!

I wrote "conclusion" instead of summary on your section at the bottom of Erikka's "Three Aspects of Instructional Websites". If you don't like the wording, please feel free to change it!!

I definitely think a few images would be good. I added some add'l articles and 2 more sites.

Quick question: under collaborative tools like wikis, it says "find and cite some sites". Is that an instruction for creating wikis, or a placeholder for us to do something?

Also, should we, at the end, include a few examples of good instructional websites? To give an idea of what a "good" site looks like?

never mind on the examples--i saw that there is a pg of them. oops! :)

should we add a table of contents (there's an option at the top) that drops down to each major point? And if so, what will we consider to be our major points?

Our page is pretty big and browsers may want to be able to drop down to a concept w/o sorting through everything.

I don't mind doing the leg work if you guys give me the OK and help me decide on what level we should organize at.

I took the "find and cite some sites" line out. I was thinking about us putting some links for popular wikis in there, but I think we have enough.
I think a table of contents would be great if you wouldn't mind doing it, Erikka. Maybe links for the intro, body and conclusion. If you want more, thats fine too!
Did you find any images for the page?

FYI, ladies, I will be out of the country starting Friday evening (gone for about a week). I probably won't get on to check here so anything after tomorrow is pretty much finalized on my end! Thanks for all of your hard work!!

Just learned something new about wikis--you can't edit while someone else is editing. A happy accident that taught me something new. :)

Hi Ladies,
I reorganized the site to try to eliminate the repetition and make everything flow better. Please look it over to be sure that it looks okay to you. If not, feel free to revert back to the old version or make any other changes that you think will improve it. Erica, the Table of Contents sounds like a great idea! Hopefully the reorganized structure will make that easier to set it up.
Thanks,
Shannon

The reorganized structure was perfect for the TOC! Made my job 100x easier!

Do you want me to go one level deeper and include the various parts on the table, or is this granular enough? I think it's fine the way it is now, but I wanted to ask first. :)

I think it looks great, ladies!

Just in case, by one level deeper I mean headings for synchronous and asynchronous, and clickables for each of the 7 main categories under features. It's an easy task, so let me know if you think that will look better/ease browsing.

Love the reorganization! Erikka, the TOC looks FINE to me! I think we are done, Ladies! Thanks for all of your hard work!!

I was just looking over this page...as a reader, I think people would not like that this page is very long. Does anyone think that this page should be broken down into 3 wiki pages? There is just so much information here. I think people would not read the entire page. Just a suggestion. It doesn't have to change.

That's what I was hoping the TOC would alleviate. It is super long, but then again, so are some wikipedia pages. I think offering them the info at the beginning (the intro) that says what elements are on the page and a general intro to inst. websites is enough to keep people "hooked" to the end. I agree, though, it is a long page. Full of info! :)

Hi Ladies,
I like it! The TOC is there for people to navigate to a specific section if desired and all of the content is organized and flows nicely in a coherent manner. It's very thorough with not only the information but also the active links for people to explore. Woo hoo! :)