Internet service provider (ISP). Although
most University of Florida students taking a course will have a Gatorlink
account -- which provides them with Internet access, including the World
Wide Web and e-mail -- students outside the local area may want to use
a local ISP to avoid long distance charges. Using an ISP other than Gatorlink
may affect students’ access to your course, and may cause problems if you
include password protection/user authentication on your course site. Commercial
ISPs often provide users with an installation disk (as UF does) which might
include software different from what you are using to access and communicate
on the Web. This is often the case with Web browsers, e-mail clients and
file transfer protocol (FTP) applications.
Web browsers. A Web browser is software which allows
a computer to display pages from the Internet that include text, graphics,
and (sometimes with the help of additional software) animation, audio/video
and other forms of interactivity. Browsers include navigation buttons,
which help a user move around a Web site, and usually include such features
as e-mail and basic HTML (hypertext markup language) page editors. Although
there are many Web browsers available, the two most popular are Netscape
Navigator/Communicator and Microsoft
Internet Explorer (IE). Netscape is available for download, free for
educational users; Microsoft makes Internet Explorer free for all users.
Gatorlink and most commercial ISP’s give users the option of using either
Netscape or IE. Commercial on-line services such as America
Online (AOL) distribute a proprietary browser which a majority of their
customers use, although they also provide users with the option of using
Netscape or Internet Explorer.
In all these cases, the type of browser your students use can affect how your course pages display, and sometimes, whether particular features “work” or not. It’s therefore a good idea to design your course so it looks the same no matter what browser is used; sometimes, though, certain features require different coding techniques, depending on the browser. In this case, you might want to either specify a particular browser that your students should use, or include a page of instructions in your course overview that will explain what the differences are for different browsers.
TIP: Since
earlier versions of all Web browsers do not support some of the HTML tags
that the later versions do, generally, the more complex and interactive
your course, the more important it is to view it in the latest available
version of your browser. Since some of your students may be using
an earlier browser, you may want to determine what your students are using,
and make sure your pages work in those versions.
Platform compatibility. The type of computer your
students use will also make a difference. IBM-based personal computers
(PC) and Macintosh computers handle color display, screen size
and resolution and file directory structures differently; consequently,
some specialized Web development software will only work on one platform.
The good news is that most of these differences are slight, and your pages
can usually be adjusted to accommodate both Macintosh and PC users.
TIP: Some
shareware programs let you see what your Web pages will look like in various
browsers and system configurations. And some new releases of commercial
HTML editing applications also let you check your page design as it will
look in the most commonly used browsers. But it’s still a good idea to
physically check your pages on different systems and platforms.
E-mail. E-mail is a basic form of communication
on the Internet. Because it is text-based and accessible at any time, you
and your students can use it easily, day or night. E-mail is particularly
good for dealing with student questions, announcing events or making changes
to the class schedule, or setting up appointments with students. Students
can also use it to communicate with peers, conduct class group or project
work and submit assignments via an attachment. Another advantage is that
if you use e-mail, you and your students have a dated record of the communication
that has taken place. Popular e-mail packages include Eudora Pro
and Eudora Lite, Pegasus Mail, and the mail packages such as Netscape Mail
or Microsoft Outlook included as part of a browser.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP). When you “publish”
or put your course pages on-line where your students can find them, the
files reside on a server. A File Transfer Protocol program allows you to
“upload” or transfer your files to the server. FTP is used not only to
publish Web pages, but also to transfer files of all kinds from one machine
to others via “uploading” and “downloading” (transferring a file from a
server to a client machine).
TIP: Although
you can transfer files using DOS or UNIX commands, there are freeware programs
available, such as WS-FTP for the PC or Fetch for the Macintosh, which
automate the process of establishing a connection with your “server host”
(the machine where your files reside). If you have a PC and are connected
to a Local Area Network (LAN), you can also access the server as a virtual
drive on your computer if you obtain permission from the network administrator.
This will allow you to simply “cut and paste” your files from your computer
to the server. The staff of the IFAS Information Technology unit can assist
you with this process.
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