Using New Media
by Clara Chung-wai Shih and David E. Weekly
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction (Home)
Preface
1) Distribute print media electronically
2) Use CD/DVD
3) Use Internet media
4) Encourage reading on computer monitors
5) Select appropriate materials using proven methods
6) If possible, teach computer use
7) The trend is in technology's favor
8) Conclusions
Glossary
References
About the International Academy of Education
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Use Internet Media
Enable easily updatable, scalable, customized information exchange with an Internet website
Research findings
Internet distribution solutions can be said to
use a "client-server model". Content providers offer files and web
pages from a central "server", and web browsers on users' computers
act as "clients" to browse and download selected information from
the server. For users with Internet access, this model is a very
fast and cheap way to obtain content.
Using the Internet for distribution not only
makes it easy to update information and publish to a wide audience,
but this information can be customized to individual users' tastes -
users can even be permitted to publish their own information,
letting them post comments on materials or add new material to the
server. Updates are simple because the organization responsible for
the website can make changes once on the server and clients that
access it can see the change. Websites can be customized to detect a
user's country and region, allowing a user automatically receive
information in the appropriate language. With print media and CDs,
information is "broadcast" in one direction: from the content
provider to the recipient. The Internet, on the other hand, enables
immediate, two-way interaction; websites can be designed to respond
in certain ways based on what users type or click.
Practical applications
Although many potential users do not yet have
Internet access, those that do can benefit from a robust and
well-designed websites that are accessible to users with slow
Internet connections, but also have enriched materials for those
with high-speed Internet connections.
There are three important
considerations in providing a website:
- Sensitivity to low-speed connections
When storage is a limiting factor, use universal formats that have
small file sizes, namely TXT and HTML. The HTML format in particular
affords a rich set of fonts, backgrounds, and colors while requiring
minimal storage space; it is the building block of most Internet
pages. Portable document format (PDF) is more appropriate for
situations requiring texts and images layouts or arrangements to be
preserved in the document.
- User Interface
Once content has been determined, employ experienced Web interface
designers who follow accepted design practices such as minimal
clutter, intuitive operation, and feedback.
- Hosting
Typically, organizations will employ Web designers to build a
website to satisfaction, then transfer the Web files that have been
created to a third-party hosting service to maintain servers that
remain on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to "serve up" the
Website whenever someone wants to access it from anywhere around the
world. Websites are referenced by a unique "universal resource
locator", or URL. Domain names (such as http://www.learntoread.com)
can be leased for one or two-year intervals.
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