Journal #4- Project Plan

Site title - Community Based English Tutoring Program-Inland Career Education Center 

Developer - Linda Ju-Ong 

Rational or focus - The content and goals for the site is to inform and educate the community about the Community Based Tutoring Program that is offered by the Inland Career Education Center (SBCUSD).  

Statement of purpose- CBET (Community Based English Tutoring) is s an English language program for adults with the goal of raising the English level of the entire community. Children do better in school when parents read to them, help them with school work, and talk with them about school. 

Main Objectives-To inform and promote the Community Based English Tutoring Program

1.     Main Page

2.     Meet Out Teachers

3.     Sites and Class Schedules

4.     Inland Career Education Center Other Programs

  

Main features outline- The main features of the site is to showcase our teachers, sites and class schedules also the components of the program.

Content –

1.     Main Page: Explain the purpose of the Community Based English Tutoring Program

2.     Meet Out Teachers- A short bio of each teacher in the program

3.     Sites and Class Schedules-Location of 22 school sites and class schedules

4.     Inland Career Education Center Other Programs-showcase other programs that are offering by the ICEC

Target audience – The parents from SBCUSD will be the target audience for this website.

 Design considerations- I wish to design a simple yet very informative website. Since most of my target audience are not native English speakers, I wish to use more pictures and videos to enhance the usage of this site.

Limiting factors – I think to incorporate pictures and videos might slow down the navigation of this site.

Site Map-

           

Wire Frame-

Journal #3 Education and the Social Web: Connective Learning and the Commercial Imperative by Norm Friesen

Social media has become the newest and fastest way to learn and to get "connect" for the mass public. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google rely almost entirely on users posting personal information that is then shared with a network of “friends” through newsfeed stories. The popularity of YouTube is not simply linked to its capacity to act as a repository of mainstream videos, but also for its capacity to offer a venue for people to express themselves through video-making.  

Most of social media sites are user-friendly design through complex technical processes.  In order to be part of these sites, users need to create accounts by disclosing a lot of personal information.  Then the user's information and personal search history/or contents are captured and recirculated by software through data-mining and marketing, about how the presence of commercial forces is facilitated both at the software level and at the economic level of commercial partnerships, and about how users’ participation is re-channeled as marketable data.  

I'm a very private person and do not like to disclose my personal information through social media sites although I do have Facebook and Twitter accounts but I seldom use them.  If I need to get in touch (connect) with my friends, I'll simply call or text them.  I don't see the need to post "everything" I do on social media to "entertain" others.  In this article, Dr. Friesen showed  how Google is collecting user's searching histories as a way to target their commercial strategies.    Furthermore, it stated that, " Google, in the first quarter of 2010 alone, it earned over US$2 billion from its advertising programs [Adsense, 2010]." 

Users need to be aware whenever you turn on your computer or go on to a browser, you are engaging in a commercial transaction in a mediated public space which is being increasingly contested by Apple, Microsoft and Google.  The information stored in the "cloud" are evidences of where and what you have done in the virtual world. 

Q1.  Why social media sites are so popular? 

Because it provides opportunity to meet new people/friends, most of the social media sites are user-friendly, people can join groups that share same interests, and they're free.

Q2.  Can teacher use social media as teaching tool?

Yes, I think teacher should use social media  in the classroom it will make class fun and increase student engagement.