Computer Instruction Modules
General categories linked to detailed listings:
Instructors: You may link to this file or to the individual modules in your Web-based materials.Students: you may make a copy of the modules for your personal use.All other uses: contact the author of the individual modules, or Laurence J. Krieg for permission. |
These instructional modules originated when a number of students in my
introductory computer class suggested that I photocopy my overheads and
make them available as notes. The number of photocopied notes grew, and
I used a word processor increasingly to make them "presentable".
Before long, I needed some kind of system to keep track of the subject
matter and order of presentation, and being a systems-oriented person,
I came up with a classification intended to cover most of computer instruction
in the CIS Department at Washtenaw Community College. It could easily
be extended, but at the present it is mainly an outline: many of the modules
listed have not actually been written.
As of this writing, the vast majority of modules are written by one person: me. The exceptions are a few modules produced by WCC research librarians and a part-time instructor. During the years when paper handouts and acetate overheads were the practical way of producing material for students, collaboration was a big challenge. Now, the World Wide Web provides a much richer way of presenting information to students, and it also makes collaboration more practical.
My hope is that other faculty members who want to use the World Wide
Web as a presentation tool will consider making their instructional materials
available in a similar way. Hypermedia makes it possible to be very flexible,
use many styles, and avoid the tidy categorization of libraries. It also
puts disorder, chaos, and anarchy at everyone's fingertips. But I would
cordially invite any faculty member who is moderately comfortable with
this sort of instructional plan using the WWW to drop
me an email so we can discuss cross-linking, information sharing,
and cross-fertilization (intellectual, or course...).
The goal is to have each module consist of:
- Objectives, expressed as student outcomes.
- Prerequisites
- Lesson plans for each set of objectives.
- Presentation materials, including:
- Multimedia for classroom presentation or individual student review
- Printable student materials.
- Computerized test bank for each conceptual module.
Each module has a designation code based on its category, sequence, and whether it is a conceptual (lecture, discussion, reading) or hands-on (lab) module. For example, S03c is the third Spreadsheet module, and is conceptual (lecture); T02h is the second Text processing module and requires hand-on (lab) work.
- The initial letter(s) of the module gives its general subject category, as shown in the table above.
- The number of the designation suggests the order in which the modules should be taken by students. However, some of the modules may be skipped, and each should list specific background expectations and pre-requisites in an "Audience" section.
- The final letter is often c for conceptual (lecture) or h for hands-on (lab). In categories that have grown rapidly, I have pressed other letters into service simply as a means of distinuishing modules. I've generally used the letters c through f for conceptual modules, and letters following h for hands-on activities and exercises.
Note that the distinction between "concepts" and "hands-on"
activities is becoming blurred. It originated in teaching classes where
computers were not available to students. I'm no longer teaching in those
environments, and have tried in recent modules to intersperse hands-on
learning exercises with the concepts.
Some of the modules have been used for several years, complete with objectives, student handouts, overheads, and computerized test bank. Other have some of these features, and some have none at all.
Some modules were written as early as 1986 and have not been updated since. Some of these older modules are badly in need of revision, and most could use some review. Most were written using the PC Write word processor from Quicksoft (R.I.P.); some are in MS Word 6.0, and a few are in MS Works or MS PowerPoint format. But since November of 1995, I have been coding all new modules for HTML, and I've converted most of the ones I currently use in classes. The only exceptions are a few modules which don't make sense in HTML (such as how to start the computer), or which discuss proprietary systems whose sensitive nature rules out Web publication.
I look at these modules and their classification system as a starting
place. I'd like to keep the system flexible while preserving backward
compatibility with older modules as much as possible. The modules themselves
are ripe for the addition of sound, graphics, motion, and interactivity
through Java, JavaScript, Flash, PHP, and other Web-based technologies.
The possibilities are endless, subject only to the limitations of our
imagination. Oh yes...and the limitations of time. *Sigh*
If you'd like to contribute modules, or just use the some page designs,
Web page templates can be a help. I've got several, which are linked here
if you're interested. Enjoy!
- Basic HTML templates (no CSS):
- Text-only page with headings and document information
- Exercise page template (pink "silk" background image with reverse-color for major sections)
- Parchment lesson page, screen-width
- Parchment lesson page, table arrangement with space for headings on the left
- Parchment lesson page with reverse-color section headings
- Blue marbled lesson page with reverse-color section headings
- Templates based on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS):
- Primary style sheet
- Parchment beige (like this page) for concepts
- Blue color theme for concepts
- Grey/purple color theme for hands-on
- Pink color theme for hands-on
Anyone care to jump in?
Revised 24 April 2003 (L. Krieg)