How the World Wide Web Changed Humanity
I have a deep love for Open Educational Resources (OER) and I try to make course projects that are not only a benefit for me but also for others. To that end, I have created this resource to have multiple purposes. It will be a great resource for my introductory coding class at Lethbridge College and it can be shared at large for other to use! One of the things I mention in one of the videos is how education and rich-media applications are some of the things I love about the web so I am happy I am able to contribute to this landscape.
In this project, I really wanted to focus on not only the technology of the web and how it evolved but more importantly how that technology has changed our communication, culture, and knowledge. |
Technologies
To enhance this unique experience, I wanted to make it extremely multi-modal. So I used a variety of technologies to engage the viewer. I have outlined some of the technologies and assets below in case you want to take some of it to your own practice.
Coding
As I was doing my research for this project I was really thinking about how visually boring the web has gotten in a time where we have more capabilities than ever. We have democratized the tools for making functional websites, which I believe has made people under value unique web-based experiences, opting for templated solutions. They are easier for all to create but everything ends up looking the same. The other big challenge was ensuring that this website would display correctly on all devices so I employed responsive CSS media queries and did a ton of testing.
With that in mind, I decided to hand-coded my final project entirely from scratch with the help of a Javascript library called Reveal.js. I hadn't previously used this library so it took some trail and error to get everything to display the way I wanted and learn the new CSS classes, etc.
As I was doing my research for this project I was really thinking about how visually boring the web has gotten in a time where we have more capabilities than ever. We have democratized the tools for making functional websites, which I believe has made people under value unique web-based experiences, opting for templated solutions. They are easier for all to create but everything ends up looking the same. The other big challenge was ensuring that this website would display correctly on all devices so I employed responsive CSS media queries and did a ton of testing.
With that in mind, I decided to hand-coded my final project entirely from scratch with the help of a Javascript library called Reveal.js. I hadn't previously used this library so it took some trail and error to get everything to display the way I wanted and learn the new CSS classes, etc.
Graphics
I also created the majority of the graphics in Illustrator, including the variety of background images. By doing this, I was able to create a visually engaging and consistent website with all assets aesthetically fitting the presentation. This did take extra work but I am extremely happy with the outcome. I created the graphics in Adobe Illustrator and exported them as SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) so that they can perfectly fit any device size.
I also created the majority of the graphics in Illustrator, including the variety of background images. By doing this, I was able to create a visually engaging and consistent website with all assets aesthetically fitting the presentation. This did take extra work but I am extremely happy with the outcome. I created the graphics in Adobe Illustrator and exported them as SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) so that they can perfectly fit any device size.
Videos
For the videos I created a home studio of sorts. I recorded the videos on an iPad that was mounted to a tripod. The I downloaded a free teleprompter app called PromptSmart Lite that has GREAT speech recognition so it scrolls the text as you are reading it. Amazing! It will also pause if you go off script and recognize if you change a word here or there. Big Recommend for people recording their lectures this fall!
Side Note: My daughter loved the set-up too and started recording funny videos and ones about climate change. Interesting that she jumped right into that without being prompted. Give this generation the tools and they instantly pivot to being creators.
For the videos I created a home studio of sorts. I recorded the videos on an iPad that was mounted to a tripod. The I downloaded a free teleprompter app called PromptSmart Lite that has GREAT speech recognition so it scrolls the text as you are reading it. Amazing! It will also pause if you go off script and recognize if you change a word here or there. Big Recommend for people recording their lectures this fall!
Side Note: My daughter loved the set-up too and started recording funny videos and ones about climate change. Interesting that she jumped right into that without being prompted. Give this generation the tools and they instantly pivot to being creators.
Thank you so much for spending time with me!