Images in web page

Images speak louder than words in conveying messages to the web users. Images tries to illustrate relevant technical part to the web users. So care must always be taken when selecting suitable images to insert in a web page. There are many images you can search on the internet but when choosing the best image to use, think of copyright law. During working on the digital teaching module, I have looked at images from flickr, picasawebalbums and googleimages.

Google sites

I have a task of coming up with a digital teaching module this Autumn 2012. Am supposed to make it attractive to the web users and it should be available on the web to be accessed by whoever has a link. In this teaching module, I should have different web pages; embed documents, links, videos and photos. The name of this teaching module is concrete technology  trying to explain the basics of concrete but targeting web users.  I tried to use Google document but it looked like printed paper document. So when I used Google sites got the results I wanted. You can look at the link of concrete teaching module and comment. Using Google sites has helped me a lot because it’s user friendly, free, it’s simple, just login using my gmail account, can be edited at any time.

Googlesites is a free structured web page creation tool offered by Google. The digital teaching module has been prepared using Google site, it is very simple, easy and affordable. It only requires you to open up an account with Google (gmail).  The moment you have your gmail account just open sites.google.com and you will be able to login into the site and start creating pages. With digital teaching module I created using Google sites, I can control who to view it either public to be seen by everyone or provide a link. Much as it has some limitations but people can use it to publish web pages such that when they upgrade can overcome such limitations. There are other free web hosting services like webnode, webs, edicy and others.

In the google site web pages you can embed documents, links, videos, and photos.

The video below briefly explains how to create a Google site

I found google sites, Mary Fran’s Google Sites Tutorial and Radford University Video Tutorials on YouTube very helpful.

Concrete digital teaching module

This is a preparation of digital learning material to be used by internet users. Many people may say that digital teaching modules are similar to eportfolios but am seeing a very big difference and at the end the module am designing, I will be able to blog the difference. The main focus is to make concrete basics known to anyone who can access the internet especially those, new to this field of civil engineering like students in upper secondary schools or vocational institutes or universities or any interested party. I can say this is an informal education on the web. When this becomes successful, then I can create more digital learning modules in different subjects of my specialization and interest. You can even keeping on checking it as am editing the concrete teaching module. Also many educators who are interested in joining the digital technology world can have a starting point.  The main aim is to make this internet based module user friendly by keeping web pages as brief as possible, inserting in photos, photo stories, videos, power point presentations, reference documents and audios; but bringing out the real meaning of concrete. I strive to make webpages shorter but sweeter and attractive to my audience. One of the interesting part is that I made for myself a photo story on types of concrete and a video on the uses of concrete. I hear amateur videos and photo story telling  but what matters is to pass on my ideas to the audience. As an educator I can pass on the message I want to convey to my audience. As I design the web pages of this teaching module, I work on the laptop and cross check with the iPhone and iPad to see how it will look like.

The language of communication is simplified such that people who are not familiar with civil engineering terminologies can follow and understand what concrete is all about. The main idea is to simplify the language such that all people are catered for globally. To many, English is not their first or second language of communication. As google translator is becoming better and better I anticipate that this module will be read in so many languages. If you have google chrome installed on your computer you can read this module in any language of your choice. Some of the words which are so technical and may not have a simplified word to replace them, I had to use a footnote and try to explain them. You can check at the the end of this webpage and see how I dealt with the term admixture. I inserted a link in the footnote such that someone who is interested in further knowing admixture can click on the link and read further.

Words are helpful in putting across a message you would like the web users to read. It’s very important to note that the words we use in the message we are putting forward should be short, attractive and in simple language. This should be taken very serious because you may find that over 50% of the web users who visit your webpage are not familiar with your profession but would like to know something. The style of delivering messages to the web users should change, it should mainly focus on solving problems and not going deeper into philosophy. Web users are more interested in learning concepts, basic principles and facts.

In this knowledge based economy we see that using internet or keeping information in the cloud is becoming more and more part of our daily routine. The sharing of information and using the same material by many users throughout the globe is one of the best achievements in the knowledge economy. Printing of tonnes and tonnes of materials on paper and placing them in libraries for people to read is becoming less and less. This is good news to environmental conservatives like me because forests are going to be spared, creating a friendly environment. Not forgetting removing mountains of printed documents from libraries; and replacing them with discussion tables and computers.

I read digital portfolios training module and found it useful; also eportfolio mash up with Google Apps  and eportfolios with Google Apps.

Latina internship

During Latina summer course 2012, I developed an interest of going deeper into digital technology. Thanks to Tord and Helge who gave me a chance to stay at the latina lab. This autumn of 2012 am delighted to be part of latina staff working as a trainee from August to December 2012. Am going to be working for at least 2 to 3 days per week in the latina laboratory being supervised by Helge and Tord.

In this internship am working on1:

• digital teaching module,
• ebook,
• video,
• photo story,
• mind map,

Latina summer course 2012

In summer 2012, attended latina summer course organised by latina lab, HIOA.  LATINA stands for learning and teaching in a digital world. Latina is part of Oslo and Akershus University College of applied sciences. This program was organised for  three (3) weeks and attended by 20 participants.  Participants mainly came from China, Canada, Netherlands, Morocco, Slovenia and Uganda. From Uganda it was me and my other 2 colleagues (Gilbert and Wycliff). What helped us to attend this summer course is that we were already here in Norway working. Otherwise it would be  very expensive to come from Uganda to attend such important courses. This course has been so beneficial to me in that it has opened to me another world (digital technology). The knowledge I got just in 3 weeks, is so valuable to me in that am using it now and going to keep on using it for the rest of my life. The deeper I go into digital technology the interesting it becomes. Could digital world be the world flowing with milk and honey? In this knowledge economy I recommend everyone to go deeper in understanding digital technology. Latina summer course is just an eye opener beyond it lies vast knowledge.  After attending this course I now realize that we perish due to lack of knowledge. What makes people smarter is the knowledge they hold. Learning how to use smartphones, iPad, iPod, computers, smart-boards in teaching and learning was new to me.

Topics covered included among others:-

• digital photo story
• movie making
• online resources
• making ebooks using grabmybook and sigil
• photo editing using picasa
• mind map