Composer Module Teaching Guide

Home	Starting	Text	Tables	Images	Links

Select Composer section... ----- HOME >>Teacher's Guide >>Sample Classroom Site ----- GETTING STARTED - PC GETTING STARTED - MAC ----- TEXT (Editing Fonts) >>Text 2 (Background Color) ----- TABLES (Creating Tables) >>Tables 2 (Size of Table & Cells) >>Tables 3 (Editing Cell Color & Border) >>Tables 4 (Size of Cell) ----- SAVING-PC SAVING-MAC ----- IMAGES (Overview) >>Images 2 (Saving) >>Images 3 (Inserting Images) >>Images 4 (Editing Images) >>Images 5 (Background Images) ----- LINKS (Overview) >>Links 2 (Navigation Bar) >>Links 3 (Inserting Links) >>Links 4 (Targets) ----- PUBLISHING >>Publishing 2 >>Publishing 3

This is the Teacher's Guide. This is the section that is supposed to help the mentors teach the class and help the students understand what the lesson is all about. You be the judge.

I want you to come out of the unit knowing more about Composer and how to build a web page than you did when you started it. I want you to be able to take the knowledge gleaned from this unit and build a classroom web site of your own. Most importantly, I want you to enjoy yourself while you make your way through the longest and most tortuous days of your life. (moohahaha! Moohahaha!)

Technology is here to stay and it's up to you, the teacher and the administrator, to make sure our children are up to speed. Although you could make yourself believe that you need to learn how to build web pages for yourself, you really need to learn it for the kids' sake.

You're going to learn every aspect of building a web page with Composer except how to publish. The subject matter is meant to be conversational and easy to understand. If it is not, then it is your own fault. :-) <--this thingie, called an "emoticon," is supposed to tell you "I'm kidding....chill out!"

Teachers, any age, any amount of experience. Administrators looking for ways to help their teachers . Anyone interested in technology.

Upon completion of this unit you should be able to create a web site with multiple web pages. The pages could include tables, images, text, and links. More specifically, you will work toward the completion of a classroom web site by creating a classroom homepage.

To complete this module you will need an Internet-connected computer with Netscape Communicator installed

The time to complete this module varies with each person depending on previous knowledge of Composer, but should take less than a week.

Throughout the module I have provided you with additional resources to refer to if you need more help.

There is a printable handout about publishing from Composer.

Although this module could be a self-paced tutorial, I believe that it is best utilized if the instructor demonstrates the tasks first, then the students follow by duplicating the task until the completion of the unit.

Success can be measured by how closely your web page resembles the sample classroom site but, probably more importantly, how much you use Composer after the class has finished to integrate technology into your own classroom. Why in the world would you spend 5 agonizing weeks of your life learning to do something, never to touch it again?!

Do you know more after finishing the Composer module than you did when you started? Was it like pulling teeth or was the unit clear and concise? Did you enjoy yourself? Email me, the author, at stuart@cuip.uchicago.edu with any questions or comments. If you are concerned about the mental health of said author please keep it to yourself, we don't want the secret to get out.

Alternatively, you can use the Feedback form on the WIT 2001 web site.

This module was created by me, Stuart Vanorny, a CUIP TRA (Technology Resource Advisor) who worked the 2000-2001 academic year mainly at Wadsworth, McCosh, Ray, and Ariel where I was beloved by all, er, by many, er, by some. Okay, okay, I think at least one teacher "beloved" me. Please forward any hate mail to the email address above.

I have to thank Jason Jones, the 5th grade teacher in Kansas whose web site I so blatantly pilfered for ideas about how to build my sample web site. Here is Jason's web site if anyone wants to check it out:

Indian Hills Elementary 5th Grade Classroom Web Site

Unless otherwise noted, all images are taken from Corel Print & Photo House. That being said, all of the screen shots were made by the author and remain property of the Graham School of General Studies. No famous characters on this site endorse CUIP or WIT.

One more thing. I would like to apologize in advance for any failed attempts at humor inside the module. If anyone asks, I'll simply refer them to Better Off Dead for more bad humor. "I want my $2!"