Transcript Student-Centred Intranets

Student-Centred
Intranets
by Stuart Hasic
What is an Intranet?
An internal computer network that uses the
same tools and protocols as the IntERnet
• Any number of networked computers can make
up an IntRAnet in your school. They can be
linked by any standard network cabling system
• A server (which can be any computer on the
network) is the host for HTML webpages created
and used in your school
• Workstations access webpages on the server
using an internet browser like Netscape or IE
•
What’s in a Typical
School Intranet?
Many schools have already setup a School Intranet
 Usually only one (or two) teachers manage the
whole intranet site
 Content usually includes:
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School policies, newsletters, staff lists, calendars,
timetables, library info, sport info, teacher
programs, links to useful internet sites,
homework/project tasks, Principal’s page, faculty
info, “whacked” internet sites and class pages
with some examples of good student work
Typical School Intranets
 Documents
are submitted by other
staff to the “Webmaster” so they can
be placed on the school’s intranet
 “Exemplary” student work is converted
by the Webmaster and made to fit into
the intranet – mainly for “show off”
purposes
 There is usually very little educational
value for students in existing intranets
Typical School Intranets
 Most
intranets are setup merely to
automate existing processes at school
or to make information easier to find
 Updating the intranet content is
usually a difficult and/or time
consuming procedure
 Many existing intranets have passed
their use-by date
Let’s Think Differently
About School Intranets
Why restrict the school’s intranet to just
one or two webmasters?
 Website design skills are very useful and
should be developed at school
 How can we use the intranet more with our
students?
 How do you integrate the intranet into the
curriculum?
 Let’s informate – not just automate

What is a StudentCentred Intranet?
An intranet based on student content
 All students publish their own work
 Students are encouraged to add to & update
their pages
 Student webpages relate to their work in class
 Students are responsible for what gets
published
 The intranet becomes a new medium for
student output

Advantages of a StudentCentred Intranet
Extended life of student work
 Higher quality content and presentation by
students in their work
 Increased information skills
 Website design skills and ownership
 Sharing of ideas and skills among students
 Integration of various technologies:
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Photos & scanning, word processing, Powerpoint,
HyperStudio, video, sound, animation, internet links
Hang on a sec…
We’re just teachers. How can we teach
website design when we can’t do it ourselves?
 What’s the structure of this student-centred
intranet look like? It sounds huge!
 How are we supposed to build & maintain it?
 Where do we even start?
 What grades does it really apply to?
 How do you monitor what gets published?

Some of the Answers:
Tools like FrontPage and Dreamweaver make
website design as easy as word processing
 It’s not inconceivable that Kindergarten
students could create webpages
 All schools should have publishing guidelines
linked to the discipline policy that stipulate
what is acceptable and what isn’t
 …EduWeb.

What’s EduWeb?
EduWeb is a software tool that builds a
student-centred intranet automatically!
 It extracts all student names, grades and
classes from OASIS quickly and easily
 It then asks you to choose which grades
you want to include in the school’s EduWeb
 You have a choice of colour schemes
 It’s totally free of charge.

EduWeb System
Requirements
EduWeb is a Microsoft Windows application
 But the intranet structure it creates is totally
platform-independent
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i.e. Yes, the end-product works with Macs

The created EduWeb is transferred to a server of
some type:
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Windows NT, 2000, Peer-to-Peer, Novell Netware,
AppleShare IP, Linux, whatever
Networked workstations need a browser and a
Webpage editor of some kind
How to Get
EduWeb
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Go to the EduWeb Website:
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http://www.stgeorged.det.nsw.edu.au/eduweb
The EduWeb website contains:
Information about what EduWeb is
 A downloadable copy of this PPT slideshow
 Complete instructions for running EduWeb
 Frequently Asked Questions (…and Answers)
 The EduWeb program itself available for
download

Any Questions?
…Thank you for your attendance