Need for Speed: Web 2.0 freeware for designing online courses

This web poster will give you a feel for tools you can use to create online course content faster! cheaper! better!

Creating engaging instructional materials for distance learning is never straight-forward.  But Web 2.0 technologies have greatly reduced both the cost and the “time-to-learn” over traditional development cycles. The rapid deployment tools we are showcasing will you allow you to tailor web-based content without dependence on technical staff.

These tools are easy to use, both for instructors and learners.  These low-threshold technologies will allow you to:

• Develop web pages in the form of blogs
• Create/integrate graphics and multimedia into your newly-created web page
• Construct interactive exercises
• Produce podcasts and streaming media
• Develop collaborative Wiki environments

Navigation

Besides the Home page (where you are currently), our session has two additional content pages: ‘Sample Course: Galveston 101’ and ‘Tools & Tips’.  The sample course was developed using the tools we discuss on the Tools & Tips page. Check out ‘Galveston 101’ to see what can be done, and ‘Tools & Tips’ to see how to do it.

Web 2.0

There are many definitions—and just as many disagreements—for the term Web 2.0.  But no matter what the pundits have to say, and no matter which side of the debate you prefer, the one common theme shared by all viewpoints is that Web 2.0 means “using the web the way it was meant to be used”, aka democratically. Web 2.0 technologies and applications are providing amateurs with the tools to surpass professionals. Non-techies can now claim the web as their own, publishing and distributing content with neither technical support nor expensive and cryptic software. The web is finally for you and for me. We can own it and we can customize it.

Web 2.0 and Education

So, what’s Web 2.0 doing for me, you say? Well. The post Bubble era, or the democratic web, has websites that are in a race to figure how to provide you stuff for free. Google, Yahoo, Craigslist, iTunes, Skype—the list is endless. Serving web pages doesn’t cost much. Bandwidth is cheap. Hosting costs are ever decreasing, and web-based advertising continues to grow phenomenally. And if you are teaching online or have web-based components in your teaching, and you have a tight budget (and who doesn’t?), “free” sounds pretty good, right?

So, rather than waiting for the go signal from IT or purchasing, your virtual class can be up and running in no time. Equipped with the tools you need to facilitate online learning, you are in the driver’s seat.

Madhuri Kumar mkumar3@uh.edu  & Shari Mauthner smauthner@uh.edu

For  questions and comments, please email us or add to the comment box below.  We prefer the later, so an open discussion can begin and continue.

Enter Tools & Tips …

Caveat: We are not in anyway endorsing the tools listed on this poster.  Like any other selection process, time spent researching the pros and cons of various platforms and vendors is time well spent, before making the decision to go with one tool over the other.

If you know of any applications that you have good experience with, we would love to hear about it.  Please make sure to leave a comment on the Tools & Tips page.