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Prospective Student Questions

Western Illinois University

IDT 516

 

What do you learn in 516?

 

The course title for 516 is "Internet Resources for Teachers and Trainers" and according to the syllabus provided on Western Online, "This course focuses on developing skills in utilizing resources on the World Wide Web to locate, evaluate and integrate internet resources into educational or training situations" (Western Online, 2007). IDT 516 teaches the best ways to search for information on the web, including advanced research techniques and searching the invisible web. The course also includes how to evaluate the quality of the web sites found in web searches. Other internet resources explored in 516 include wikis and blogs, parts of Web 2.0.

 

When taking the class, the learner will soon realize they have used many of the resources prior to the course, and that Web 2.0 is full of familiar features. However, even if some of these features may be familiar, most students will learn more and better ways to do things they may already being doing such as how to refine search techniques and use new search engines.

 

Why should I take 516?

 

The most valuable reasons to take 516 are to learn navigation of Web 2.0 and advanced searching of internet and database resources to achieve the most beneficial results. It is recommended to take this course early in your coursework if you are in the IDT Masters program, as it is vital for continued study in this program and is used throughout your tenure.

 

Also, in taking IDT 516, you will see a well developed presentation and use of the Western Illinois University Blackboard system. This learning environment is well utilized by the instructor and is essential to online students at Western Illinois University. Current teachers in K-12 can see this tool applied in a real-life/live situation which can be a source of great stimulus and wellspring of ideas for using in their instrucitonal environments. Trainers can see this tool applied and find resources helpful to training situations in the workplace.

 

Many students of IDT 516 have in the past searched the web for research purposes, not knowing that there is much more out there then the searches the Yahoo, google, or msn may bring up. There are many more sites out there, many of which are very informative. The class gives you the skills you need to search the internet correctly, to find information that is reliable and true. There are many skills that can be developed by taking this class, and one who may believe they know a lot about the internet and computers will hopefully be suprised.

 

I've never taken an online course in any way shape or form, is this a good class to begin with and why?

 

As a new student in the IDT Masters program at WIU, I found this class to be a useful beginning to my degree. The course covers topics like advanced searching that will be useful in all future courses, whether in the IDT program or not. Also, as a student is beginning his/her degree plan, this course provides information and tools in an easily understood manner that will build skills and confidence for the new student going forward.

 

This class also offers insight into the tools used to assist graduate students in preparing a portfolio or research thesis. It is also a helpful prerequisite to classes such as the required EIS 500 Research Methods. One of the final project options for this class can be used as a basis for assignments in that class.

 

One challenging aspects of taking an online course is getting to know the tools the teacher is using and how the content is organized. This class class uses a variety of different online tools. Also this class is a good example of how content should be organized. It is very easy to know what is due and when you should have it turned in.

 

Are the students enrolled in this class at the same point in the IDT Masters program, and have they all had the same previous coursework?

 

There is no prerequisite for IDT 516, so it is possible for students to be at any point in their graduate program while enrolled in this class. I know that some of my classmates will graduate this year and I have just started my coursework.

 

The students are all at different times in their degree track. For example, I am also taking IDT 600 for my applied project to graduate this semester and at the same time enrolled in IDT 516 to finish my courses. You can take 516 at any time but it is recommended to take it early because it teaches the student many things that will be useful for future IDT classes.

 

As a graphic designer with an interest in designing instructional materials for the workplace, how will this course benefit me?

 

It will provide you with a greater insight into and improve your level of understanding and use of the internet as a tool in your daily work. It will also provide you with tools and techniques that can make your work more effective and efficient. Some of these tools include; database searching, website evaluation skills, blogs, and wikis, evaluation rubrics, to name a few.

 

In the Welcome section for 516, you will find details about the design and various aspects of the course and its utilization of the World Wide Web and other internet resources supporting education and training. In fact, the course is divided into three instructional tracks--instead of a one-size fits all. Those tracks are:

 

• PreK-12
• Elearning and Training
• Higher Education

 

Is it better to print out the course content, or should I download it to my computer?

 

There are several points to consider with regard to your question:

 

• Printing out information from the course content provides you with a hardcopy of the content
• Any changes to course content will require a reprint of documents
• Some people prefer to read hardcopy rather than from a computer screen.
• It's always good to have multiple backups of digital information saved to your computer's desktop, a cd- or dvd-rom, and/or printed out.
• Having multiple backups is a form of "preventive medicine" in the event the WIU Blackboard system, your internet connection, or electricity fails.
• A hardcopy (printed) form of the course content can be carried to and studied in places where you don't have a computer.
• A backup saved to your computer will allow for study on your own should your internet connection fail or, if you have a laptop, you are in a location where there is no internet connectivity.
• Content areas, such as discussions, change often and are impractical to print at each change

 

Another advantage to printing or saving course content is that many of the IDT courses are interelated and much of the information can be used in other classes. It is also a good reference for the future in your employment or personal areas of interest.

 

How long does the content stay live on the site?

 

It appears the content stays live on the site for the duration of the class. This is the case and this is something the instructor designates to the Distance Learning department.

 

What is the purpose in evaluating web sites?

 

Evaluating web sites allows you to identify if the information on the web site is authoritative. It also allows you to determine if the information available is useful, and whether or not it is well documented. Evaluation will help you to determine if the sight is reliable and if the information you are getting is something you can trust. You can also determine if the web site provides you with information in a timely manner. Web site evaluations also allow you to identify who the information on that particular web site is intended for.

 

The future is upon us, much of the worlds information is being switched from books, to online sources. The question remains who is putting this information onto the internet, and is the information reliable. Many college students focus mainly on using information that is on the internet for reports, again can the information be reliable. Evaluating web sites can be used not only for students, but for everyone that wants to read and study information from the internet and make sure the content is reliable.

 

What is the "invisible web?"

 

Sources of information that are hard to find because they are not found or "indexed" by a search engine, make up what is known as the "invisible web." One of the things you learn in IDT 516 is that a search enginedoes not search web documents much further than 2 or 3 clicks into a web document. Another term for the "invisible web" is the "deep web." IDT 516 provides instruction and practice in how to find these "treasures" on the "invisible web" (Overview of Using Internet Resources, Module 3, IDT 516).

 

The "visible web" is what you see in the results pages from general web search engines. It's also what you see in almost all subject directories. The "invisible web" is what you cannot retrieve ("see") in the search results and other links contained in these types of tools.

The first version of this web page written in 2000, when this topic was new and baffling to many web searchers. Since then, search engines crawlers and indexing programs have overcome many of the technical barriers that made it impossible for them to find and provide invisible web pages. These types of pages used to be invisible but can now be found in most search engine results:

 

• Pages in non-HTML formats (pdf, Word, Excel, Corell suite, etc.) are "translated" into HTML now in most search engines and can be "seen" in search results.
• Script-based pages, whose links contain a ? or other script coding, no longer cause most search engines to exclude them.
• Pages generated dynamically by other types of database software (e.g., Active Server Pages, Cold Fusion) can be indexed if there is a stable URL somewhere that search engine spiders can find. Once these were largely shunned by search engines. There are now many types of dynamically generated pages like these that are found in most general web search engines. There must a stable link to the page somewhere; see the next section.

 

Why is it important to know about the "invisible web?"

 

There are still some hurdles search engine spiders cannot leap, and these still create a HUGE set of web pages not found in general search engines. If access to a web pages requires typing, web crawlers encounter a barrier they cannot go beyond. They cannot search our online catalogs and they cannot enter a password or login.

 

Most of the invisible -- or deep -- web is made up of the contents of thousands of specialized searchable databases made available via the web. When you type a search in one of these databases, the search results are delivered to you in web pages that are generated just for the purpose of answering to your search. Rarely are such pages stored anywhere: it is easier and cheaper to dynamically generate the answer page for each query than to store all the possible pages containing all the possible answers to all the possible queries people could make to the database.

 

The invisible web also includes a collection of citations with links to publishers or other sources where one can try to access the publication in full text. In many academic libraries (and some others), Google Scholar is providing convenient links to the online holdings of those libraries, purchased for exclusive use of their constituents. If you search Google Scholar, you find a lot of journal article references. Google Scholar is only able to provide citations to journal contents for which its crawlers can find stable links. It cannot construct searches or enter passwords to go into passworded, copyright-protected articles in many publishers' databases. In some experiments conducted at UC Berkeley, it is estimated that Google Scholar accesses about 10% of all subscriptions for our students, faculty, staff, and users present on campus. Think about the millions of articles in Lexis/Nexis, the many thousands of articles indexed in privately licensed databases libraries buy the rights for their users to read (e.g., Sociological Abstracts, ERIC, PscyhInfo, JSTOR, INSPEC). Berkeley subscribes to about 200 of these.

 

There are some types of pages that search engine companies exclude by policy. There is no technical reason they could not include them if they wanted. It's a matter of selecting what and what not to include in databases that are already huge, expensive to operate, and whose search function is a low revenue producer. Think of the billions of possible web pages that can be generated by all the people who have looked for books in online catalogs. Each of them is creating a results page in response to their specific need. Search engines do not want all of these pages in their web databases. They would be clutter, of little interest to anyone.

 

There are many thousands of public-record, official, and special-purpose databases containing government, financial, logistical, and other types of information that is needed to answer very specific inquiries of interest to very few people. Even if stable links existed to such pages, search engines would not want them. More clutter.

 

Do I need any pre-requisite before signing up for IDT 516?

 

There are no pre-requisite courses for this class. You only need an appreciable knowledge of the world wide web. This course is a great one to be able to begin in the IDT program. It gives you vital resources to use in much of your research that is required for many of the courses for the degree. It's also a great course for those outside the IDT program who will be required to utilize the web and the resources it providees in the future.

 

What does Web 2.0 have to do with resources for teachers and trainers?

 

Web 2.0 encompasses a series of tools that allow users to be active participants in web content development, rather than passive consumers of material that someone else posts. An interesting comparison of initial web tools and web 2.0 tools may be found in this definition of Web 2.0. Teachers and trainers, who are trying to impart information to a group of learners, may have learned through study that students tend to retain information they actively create far better than information that is passively fed to through (through lecture, for example). A simplified illustration of these principles, based on the work of Edgar Dale, suggests retention rates vary based on interactivity with course material. By incorporating Web 2.0 tools, such as wikis or blogs, into a curriculum, teachers or trainers can encourage their students to think more critically about topic material as they move into the base of the cone. To create meaningful content, learners must analyze their topics, organize their thoughts, design, and finally create, a solution that will be shared with the balance of the class. By reading and critiquing the work of others, students exchange knowledge with each other in ways that are meaningful to them.

 

An additional benefit of using Web 2.0 tools is that students become more comfortable with technology tools they are likely to encounter in the workforce.

 

What is the most effective way to incorporate Web 2.0 into the K-12 classroom?

 

 

If I enroll and take the IDT516 course, do I need to log in to the class each day and if so approximately how much time do I need to spend at my computer per session?

 

It is usually not necessary to log into the class every day, but it is helpful to at least check in every couple of days. The amount of time spent per session is completely up to you. You can spend anywhere from 5 minutes to hours on the site at a time! The class is divided into Modules, and time commitments vary, depending upon the assignments for each Module. The class is very flexible, assignments are posted at least one week before the due date, thus allowing plenty of time to plan ahead in order to complete the assigned work.

 

As part of IDT 516 students are asked to take part in discussions by posting and responding. Reading the various posts by other students gives you valuable insight and a variety of perspectives on the various discussion topics. I believe that taking a few minutes each day develops a more complete picture and clearer meaning of the specific topic or task involved. There is no specific time table--but building rapport with your classmates and sharing thoughts makes other aspects of the class easier.  There is also a rubric provided to give you specific guidelines for your postings.

 

Do I have to be enrolled in the IDT program to take IDT516? I am working on my MS in EIS (Educational & Interdisciplinary Studies) and I was wondering how the course would benefit me?

 

You do not have to be an IDT major to enroll in IDT 516. In fact, this course is required or one of the options of the requirements within other majors. I am an ELED major and it is a required class for our department. This course if full of many opportunities and there are also different tracks for students studying different areas. As a student, you learn about webquests, how to evaluate websites, create a web portal, take part in wikis within groups, use blogs, and many more. You also learn basic computer/website terminology and how to use the internet to your liking whether it be to research or to teach with.

 

I would recommend the course to anyone who must/will use the internet in their professional career. There are so much more to the internet than most people realize and this course will help unveil the multitude of resources available within the net.

 

If you are a k-12 teacher and you want to work before or after school on this course work, will you be able do your work for IDT 516 from a school site? Will the sites needed to be accessed be available from a public school system?

 

The site, westernonline.wiu.edu, should be available from any Internet connected location as long as you have a broadband connection. A bigger concern is would your employer approve of you working on your school work rather than preparing for the classes that you are teaching yourself? Most .edu domains are not blocked by schools but in the rare occurence westernonline.wiu.edu is blocked, you may have to contact your school's network administrator to have him or her unblock the site for you.

 

Some of the Web 2.0 sites most likely could be blocked by your school however. MySpace.com and YouTube.com are two sites that seem to cause issues both socially and with bandwidth in schools so these may be blocked.

 

Are there group projects required in IDT 516?

 

There is one group project required in IDT 516, it is not a challenging project. The project consists of several students coming together researching a certain topic and as a whole developing a single paper. The only concerns with the project is, there are so many people taking internet classes with many different schedules it is hard to unite group members all at the same time, one member may have a completely different schedule then you. If everyone communicates and sets out an outline, and if everyone does their share, then there is absolutely no problems with online group projects. There is a good amount of time to work on the required project in IDT 516.

 

What is the turn-around time to hear back from the instructor if I have questions?

 

The has been great communication this past semester between the instructor and the class. Any questions are addressed no longer then a day after if you were to send an email to the professor. If a student has a problem, or if there is a problem with the class, the instructor will address the problem either by email to all students or display a announcement to the class. The instructor seems to check the class and the westernonline, and WIU email each day, and send emails immediately after checking the IDT 516 and emails. To correctly answer your question, the good news is the turn-around time I would say if a day or less, and two days at the absolute most. The instructor is very considerate of students different schedules and seems to try to check westernonline very fequently.

 

I'm not very computer literate. Will I have difficulties in this class?

 

I also before this class was not very computer literate, the professor gives a great explanation of all assignments and shows you exactly step by step on how to accomplish the task on each assignment. It is a very well set up class that is a lot easier to do because it is presented in 4 easy to understand modules. If you have any questions the professor encourages the students to email him, or contact him in his office. This is a very well organized class for anyone to take, even with very minimal computer skills.

 

I'm a very busy person. How many hours per week should I expect to spend on this course?

 

It is good to check this class around every two days. I believe to achieve a good grade, which most students want, they need to spend atleast 4 hours a week on this website, studying, reading the discussion boards, and keeping up on assignments date to the course schedule. I believe if one spends around 3-4 hours weekly doing this they will pass the class with an A. There are 4 modules in this class, once the assignments are completed there is not much to do other then read the discussion boards, and keep up to date on that information. If one spends a good amount of time and completes a module, they may have free time for the weeks ahead, its all about how someone's schedule is set up. But it is important to atleast check the site every so many days to check for changes or new information.

 

What text books are required for IDT 516?

 

Good news! There are no required textbooks for this course. All required readings will be available online either through the course instructor's postings in Westernonline or through internet links provided within each module.

 

I have a 56K dial-up Internet connection. Is this adequate speed for this course?

 For most interactions with Western Online and the Blackboard internet classroom, a 56k dialup connection to the internet should be adequate for a patient user.  Most of the reading assignments or other material on Western Online are text-based and should not prove challenging for a 56k user.  But the nature of internet courses also require the uploading of assignment files and browsing other sites on the internet, which may require a faster connection.  This would not necessarily be impossible from a 56k connection, but might be difficult.    

 

What Internet Browser should I use for this class?

 

 

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