Well, the semester is almost over and I am looking forward to a break! The 3D learning Ning discussion allowed me to vent a little. I really think that Second Life is a waste of students' time. I tried to access it in a previous class but couldn't even thougy my video card was on the "approved" list. That was the final straw for me!
What is being done with SMART technology is exciting, however. The use of multiple SMART Boards is a great way to "immerse" students into the learning activity. This technology is ideal for kinesthetic learner, especially younger students with less developed small motor skills.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Cascading Style Sheets.
Cascading Style Sheets.
I. What is CSS
CSS, Cascading Style Sheets, are first of all style sheets. They are designed to control the style of a web page. HTML can be used to identify the elements of a web page, but the current thought is to separate the content of the page from the presentation. HTML tags such as <H1>, <UL>,<TABLE>, and <P> can indicate a heading, bulleted list, table, or paragraph but should not be utilized to indicate how those elements should be displayed. The additional challenge is displaying a single page in different media – computer monitor, handheld device, or print. The World Wide Web Consortium, W3C, created CSS to provide an solution to these problems.
The “cascading” portion of the name is an indication of the hierarchy and inheritance in CSS. For all documents there is a default style sheet provided by the browser. These style settings are applied to any element, or element property, without a explicit style definition. The next level up from the default settings are those in an external style sheet. An external style sheet is coded outside the HTML file and referenced in the <HEAD> area of the HTML document. There can also be an internal style sheet defined within the <HEAD> of an HTML document. The internal style sheet will take precedence over the external style sheet unless the external style sheet link appears after the internally coded style sheet. Style elements can also be coded directly with the applicable element within the HTML code. These inline styles take priority over all other style sheets.
II. The relationship between CSS and ADA
CSS is used extensively to meet the requirements for ADA. Three media types have been created specifically for ADA –
· aural for speech synthesizers.
· braille for braille tactile feedback devices.
· embossed for braille printers.
III. Why use CSS
CSS is an easy and effective way to create a consistent web “look and feel”. Daniel Frommelt, the Web Coordinator for University of Wisconsin - Platteville, requires all websites to use the CSS files that he creates. Using this policy, the look of the entire university website can be updated by changing a single file or very limited number of files.
In the past web designers relied on tables to format and position information on the page. This outdated method weakens the power of most search engines to capture the essence of a web site. Tables should only be used for tabular information not for formatting. Formatting can all be done using CSS and the appropriate classes within the HTML document.
IV. Three examples based on your html page assignment
I made use of CSS in my multipage website for formatting the various elements. First of all I used the CSS template provided by Daniel Frommelt at the 2008 HELIX Conference to create a two-column presentation. Another example from Daniel’s example that I use frequently is the formatting of navigation tabs from unordered lists. I also try to include a print style sheet with each HTML file that “hides” the left-hand menu, banner heading, and footer.
V. Is there any disadvantages of CSS?
One of the disadvantages of applying any style to an HTML document is the lack of standardization among browsers. Some formatting is handled differently by IE and FireFox. This requires that the web site be tested with all operational browsers.
VI. Other info about CSS
I did learn some new tricks while browsing the CSS tutorial, www.w3schools.com/css.
· The z-index can be very useful to overlay an image with text. The z-index defines the “layer” when multiple elements are co-located on the webpage.
· The “Fixed” value for the position attribute can cause an element do remain fixed on the screen while scrolling up and down the page.
· I had never used “opacity” before and this is a great attribute for controlling images
· Using “overflow: scroll” within explicitly defined area can save “real estate” on the screen.
Monday, April 6, 2009
HTML Continued
This week we delved a little deeper into HTML. I decided to convert some of the work that I have done on the Semantic web into web pages. I used the PowerPoint presentation last Friday for the College-to-College (C2C) Spring Forum. This year they decided to try a video conference format. There were 5 sites including, Ft. Hays State, KU - Edwards, K-State, Washburn, and UCM. The VC was not well attended. Only a half-a-dozen or so at each site.
I used some of the CSS techniques on my site that I learned from Daniel Frommelt at last year's HELIX conference. You can take a look at the site on my student web page - Semantic Web
I used some of the CSS techniques on my site that I learned from Daniel Frommelt at last year's HELIX conference. You can take a look at the site on my student web page - Semantic Web
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
HTML
The next two week I expect to be less stressful. I have completed my two in-person presentations at TechNet and HELIX and the next one is a teleconference and I plan to use my presentation materials from the TechNet conference.
In addition, I am very comfortable with HTML as I use it most every day in my work.
Here's what I created for the Week 10 Assignment
Send me an email.
Link to the UCM website.
Link to my blog site.
In addition, I am very comfortable with HTML as I use it most every day in my work.
Here's what I created for the Week 10 Assignment
INST 5400 HTML Project
Three paragraphs
Paragraph one is Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Paragraph two is Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Paragraph three is Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
An email and a regular link
Email link
Send me an email.
Regular Link
Link to the UCM website.
Link to my blog site.
An ordered and an unordered list
Ordered List
- Item one in an ordered list
- Item two in an ordered list
- Item three in an ordered list
- Item four in an ordered list
Unordered List
- Item one in an unordered list
- Item two in an unordered list
- Item three in an unordered list
- Item four in an unordered list
Comments
Comments are created by surrounding the comment text with
"<!--" and "-->"
Special Characters
Some characters have special meaning in HTML and must be encoded to display properly on a web page. This can be done using the ASCII code or HTML recognized literals. In either case the code or literal are prefixed with an ampersand (&) and suffixed with a semi-colon (;)
| Special Character | HTML Code |
|---|---|
| < - Less than | < or < |
| > - Greater than | > or > |
| & - Ampersand | & |
| ; - Semi-colon | ; |
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
PowerPoint Slide Masters Tutorial
I found it a little rushed to try and fit in all of Master Slides into just 5 minutes.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Darn it anyway
Well I missed the part about adding my del.icio.us tags to my blog! But I've added them now. I guess I need to remember to read the fine print.
Anyway, this PhotoStory assignment is going to require some thought. I guess I could use the pictures that I took in Quebec a year ago and do a sort of "walking tour". That seems a little lame though.
I started becoming active with my Facebook account this week. I set up an account months ago, but never did anything with it. I now have as "friends" all my in-laws in New Hampshire, my daughter in Germany, and some friends both here on campus and back in New Jersey. I'm still waiting to see the benefit, however.
Anyway, this PhotoStory assignment is going to require some thought. I guess I could use the pictures that I took in Quebec a year ago and do a sort of "walking tour". That seems a little lame though.
I started becoming active with my Facebook account this week. I set up an account months ago, but never did anything with it. I now have as "friends" all my in-laws in New Hampshire, my daughter in Germany, and some friends both here on campus and back in New Jersey. I'm still waiting to see the benefit, however.
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