So You Want a Web Presence?

1. So You Want a Web Presence? Choosing the right Tufts tools for the job.

2. David Grogan edtech@tufts.edu 7-2859

3. Goals of this Session At this end of this session you should know: • What Tufts tools are available to you for web-based publication, communication, and collaboration • The main features of each of the tools. • Where to go for support and help.

4. Outline • A look at the tools • Case studies - how others at Tufts are using them • Your projects – enough about me, let’s talk about you! • Ask questions at ANY time!

5. The Tools • Spark WordPress (http://spark.uit.tufts.edu) • Spark Wikis (http://spark.uit.tufts.edu) • Trunk Project Sites (http://trunk.tufts.edu) • Spark Podcasts (http://spark.uit.tufts.edu) • iTunes U (http://go.tufts.edu/itunesu)

6. What all the tools have in common? • Supported by UIT-ESTS • Available at no cost to everyone with a Tufts Username • Content can be made private, or group accessible, or completely public. With the exception of iTunesU (for now) • Provide access for content creation and collaboration to non-Tufts users.

7. What all the tools have in common? • They all provide for rapid development of a web presence in some form. Quick and easy. If you know the basics. • They all do SOME things REALLY well. • They all do SOME things NOT SO well. • They can ALL work together!

8. WordPress • Is a content publishing tool for the web. Originally designed as a “blogging” tool, it is now a fully featured, custom website, creation tool. • Is good for: • Rapid development of and attractive, easy to use, publicly accessible web sites. • Mixing blog content with static content for an informative and up-to-date “news” type web site.

9. WordPress – Tufts Examples

10. WordPress – Best Features • Gallery of pre-designed, but customizable themes. From very basic to advanced. • Easily create and manage your site’s menu of pages. • Widgets and plugins that extend your site’s functionality. • And of course, blogging!

11. WordPress – Not So Good At • Mixing public and private content in an easy to use manner for site owners.

12. Wikis (Confluence) • A wiki is a web-based tool that allows groups of individuals to easily collaborate on the creation of content. • Very good for: • Creation of departmental knowledge-bases. • Collaborating on course design. • Student group writing assignments. • Evolving document repositories.

13. Wikis – Tufts Examples

14. Wikis – Best Features • Shines as an internal document creation and management tool. • Great for mixing public and private content. • Great for access control to various pages (e.g. only allow some individuals into certain sections). • Asynchronous content creation tools. Keeps track of who changed what and allows you to revert back to older versions. • Email notification of when changes are made.

15. Wikis – Not So Good At • Custom designed web-sites. The themes are few and simple. • You can create a custom theme but it’s a difficult to use tool.

16. Trunk Project Sites • Designed to facilitate online collaboration. • Can be used to support a wide variety of activities, from students working on class projects or clubs to scientists collaborating on grant proposals, faculty participating in a search or tenure committees, or administrators revising the undergraduate curriculum. • Good for managing a the activities of a group who interact with each other around a common set of tasks or subjects.

17. Trunk Project Sites - Examples

18. Trunk Project Sites – Best Features • Specific tools for communication amongst group members e.g. forums, messaging, announcements. • Specific tools for group organization e.g. calendar, resource repository • Very easy to manage users. • Only select the tools you need!

19. Trunk Project Sites – Not so good at • Fixed look and feel. Beyond changing your site description and logo you cannot change the colors and positioning of site elements. It is what is it!

20. Spark Podcasts • A tool for publishing an episodic series of audio or video files. • People can “subscribe” to a podcast using a number of different kinds of multimedia players such as iTunes, WinAmp, etc. • Very good for: • Publishing a series of recorded lectures. • Publishing a series of student created digital stories. • Publishing marketing videos for a department.

21. Podcasts – Tufts Examples

22. Spark Podcasts – Best Features • People who subscribe to your podcast automatically receive new content as soon as it is made available. • Your materials will be iTunes U ready (if you are thinking of doing that). • Super easy to use once you’ve set up your podcast channel. Just upload new episodes and your podcast feed automatically updates. • People can “embed” your podcast feed in their own web site.

23. Spark Podcasts– Not so good at • It’s a one trick pony! That’s all folks.

24. iTunes U (New Service!) • iTunes U delivers free educational content to the world via Apple’s iTunes Store. By publishing content to the Tufts iTunes U site you will be serving a global audience of lifelong learners and contributing to the open education movement alongside many other institutions. • Very good for (same as Spark Podcasts): • Publishing a series of recorded lectures. • Publishing a series of student created digital stories. • Publishing marketing videos for a department. • Publishing to a global audience!

25. iTunes U – Tufts Examples

26. iTunes U – Best Features • Content placed on iTunes U will be mobile-device friendly. • Worldwide audience can “discover” your content.

27. iTunes U – Not so good at. • Like Spark Podcasts, it does one thing. Disseminate episodic content. • However, we are also exploring iTunes U courses and iTunes U private collections for inclusion in the Trunk course sites.

28. Tool Re-Cap • WordPress – good for public sites that really need to look good and are easy to navigate. • Wikis – good for collaborating on content creation and mixing private and public content. • Trunk Project Sites – good for creating an online gathering place to manage people working together. • Spark Podcasts – good for disseminating episodic, multimedia content . • iTunes U – good for disseminating the same content to the world.

29. Case Studies • Learning Community Institute – a network of professionals researching and improving medical school education. • Needed a web presence to market the organization. • Needed a private community to allow members and working groups to collaborate with one another on.

30. Case Studies • STOMP - Program partnering Tufts students with K-12 educators to create engineering curriculum. • Needed a site that would allow their student to collaborate on lesson plans. • Needed a way to keep track of members and archive materials.

31. Case Studies • Islam on the Indian Ocean Rim – Tufts History Course • Needed a site to market the course to prospective students. • Needed a place to collate possible course materials before publishing to the course site. • Needed a way to disseminate pre-recorded audio lectures to wide audience.

32. Case Studies YOUR PROJECTS AND QUESTIONS edtech@tufts.edu