--> The workshop went better than was originally expected. I suspect that most people got at least some idea about some of the new technologies for presenting information.
My personal opinion, echoed by others, was that a clearer focus to the workshop was needed. Initially, there was some confusion about whether the workshop was going to concentrate on satellite meteorology, pedagogy or HTML/Web page design. The final set of presentations on Friday were not as much revelation about satellite meteorology (could not be presented in the time alloted), nor pedagogy (since the aim was not to teach ourselves) but actually uses of Web page design to aid in presenting the other two. This meant that the final presentations were somewhat of a competition to see who could put together the most flashy web pages given the limited amount of time. Since much of the time on Monday through Wednesday was spent on concepts not directly related to web design, it made it difficult to develop any detailed, complete projects short of modifying existing templates.
In general, most of the day was lost to learning what could be done with HTML and HTML editors and determining the best course their project should take. The first topic could have been tackled prior to the workshop or presented on the first day so that Thursday could have been spent doing more pedagogy and implementation of satellite meteological concepts. The second topic is more trial and error. Obviously, you cannot create a perfect page on the first try but due to the time constraints, most participants were only given one try. In a sense, much of these problems would have been solved by moving the HTML lectures and tutorials up to the first day. Then nighttime sessions would be more useful for participants to play around and learn HTML.
--> See above.
--> Each of the three groups took a different approach to how their web pages were designed. This gave everyone a different feel on how these types of pages could be designed. One group used the web to design course outline pages. In other words, a HTML syllabus. Another group used the COMET templates to put together small Web based lessons or tutorials. [The third group's work escapes me since the workshop materials don't seem to be available on the COMET web page].
In general, the COMET templates were too complex to be useful (without a HTML editor of some nature to hide the complexity). The idea behind the course syllabus was a good one in that it focuses the pedagogy but more needs to be done in order to present the actual material using HTML. In a sense, the effort to assess needs and objectives could have been visualized in a HTML based syllabus on the first or second day. Then time could have been given to the development of HTML based learning modules and tutorials.
Possible to have more time in evening for access to lab?
--> Early introduction of HTML would have allowed participants to start working on materials in the evenings. Since HTML was not discussed until Wednesday, this made the evening session irrelevant.
Question: Breadth OK? Too focused? Adequate exposure?
--> The breadth of material was just about right for the workshop. Alot of interesting information, techniques and data were presented during the course of the sit down lectures and in the lab session. Everyone seemed to enjoy the content and the wide range of materials, even though it came close to overwhelming some, kept most of the participants interested throughout.
The lab session were a success because the expertise was there to help out those who had problems. Having two to four HTML experts in each section really helped in that there was rarely a situation where someone went without help. Also, the aim of completing an exercise was critical in order to make sure the participants realized that HTML web design was possible and that productive materials could be produced.
Daniel Vietor INTERNET devo@eas.purdue.edu Dept of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences TITLE Senior Project Specialist Purdue University WXP Developer West Lafayette IN 47907 WXP http://wxp.eas.purdue.edu PH 765-494-3292 FAX 765-496-1210 EAS http://www.eas.purdue.edu