Planning your class requires consideration of many interrelated
factors, including software and hardware students will be using,
the quality of network connections, server capabilities, student attitudes and
student skills.
Do your students have experience doing academic work using computers? Do they feel reasonably in control of what they are doing when they work on a computer? What is the range of experience levels and the variety of attitudes present in your class? Sometimes, it is useful to survey student attitudes early in the course.
Do your students have existing skills using the hardware and software necessary to participate in the course? Do your students have experience conceptualizing and navigating a web of interconnected information?
What hardware and software do you assume your students will be using? What are the minimum hardware and software requirements for students to participate in your class?
How reliable and fast are the internet connections students will be using? Are there "crunch times" when student access might be unavailable or slow?
What resources (storage, software) will you have on your server? Does your server give you the access controls you need? Does your server handle the programs (CGI, Java, etc.) that you intend to use? Is your server configured to handle properly the kinds of files you intend to link to your Web pages?
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