Extend, Enhance, and Facilitate

Overview of the project:
Step 1:
Choose one of the Classroom Connect “Destination” themes. If you can’t find one you like, check out the author of the “Destination” activities - Jim Cornish. His themes page is available at: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/themes.html. You can also outline your own theme with 3 to 5 subtopics and learning objectives for each in the simple manner done for the “Destination” activity in the Classroom Connect newsletter.

Step 2:
Using the web pages provided as a guide on the Destination pages, carefully map out the content for your project. Keep track of all bibliographic information. Keep your resources organized in folders (a suggested method is available here.)

Step 3:
Move from an outline of your content to a frame design. Note what you will use for text on each frame. Think storyboarding!

Step 4:
With your content outlined and websites noted under each, choose a graphic that you will use for the background of each section. Spend no more than 15 minutes choosing your graphic. Choose your graphics so there is some commonality in terms of color so that you can later coordinate one color for the navigation area with all frames.

A. Choose a picture that you will leave in full color for the title page. Look at this example (figure 1) for what I did when the Destinations project was on deserts.
Figure 1:

B. Choose another picture (or it could be the same one) that you will fade by lowering the transparency level for the background for the Table of Contents. (I like the addition of the "onion skin paper" effect of putting a lightly colored rectangle or shape under the text to make it stand out a bit more from the background.) See Figure 2 for an example of this technique:
Figure 2:

C. Choose background pictures in the same manner for each of the subtopic sections to signal changes in the content or just use the same picture as you did for the table of contents and use distinctive pictures on the first frame of the subsection to cue the viewer that there is going to be a slight shift in focus.
Figure 3:

D. Make sure you have recorded the website or other source so you can give credit in the bibliography or credits section.
E. Also be sure to save all items in a well that you are creating for your project in addition to having backup copies on a disk or cd.
F. If, for any reason, you get carried away and one or more of your subtopics become fairly length projects, you might want to consider that as a separate project and simply link to it from within the original one.

Step 5:
Design your navigation area for the frames. Coordinate the colors of your navigation area to your background images. (I always remember the sales assistant in the men's clothing store who told me that you simply look at the colors in the suit and use that as a focal point for the tie and then coordinate the shirt with that. In the Desert Project example I'm using, I've got brown in the background graphic, so I've created a brown rectangle to hold the navigation buttons.) You will have one common color for the navigation area on all frames. Make sure those elements are added to your well and the well is saved. (More on wells later!)

Step 6:
Add your content to your frames. Naturally, you will have more than one frame for each subtopic. Once you design the initial frame you will simply duplicate that frame. It’s like having a photocopier available to make as many sheets as you need. To do that, go to Frames, Duplicate Frame. Remember, don’t get carried away. Keep it simple and focus on communicating the content.

Step 7:
Your project is almost completed. All the content has been added. Now it is time to add your navigation buttons to your navigation area. See the discussion on the various ways you can do that.

Step 8:
Test your project. Click on all the buttons. Check out all the links. Fix any trouble spots.

Step 9:
Have someone else run through your project to make sure everything works and to check that there are no spelling or grammatical errors. After a while, it is difficult to see your own mistakes.

Step 10:
You’re done and ready to show the world your work! Be proud of what you have accomplished.

Elaborated instructions are next.

Last edited: November 20th, 2002

E-mail: Jane