education to advance sustainable development
Basic Internet and Digital Media

The overall goal is to familiarize a group with on-line tools which can be used in a learning environment - including communication and collaboration.  An important criterion for these tools is to be freely usable after the course.

Another objective is familiarization with the broad themes underlying the internet and modern information technology.  Possible topics include:

Operating Systems

  • Common operating systems and free/open alternatives like Linux (e.g., Ubuntu)

  • Reasons to use Open Source software and operating systems like Ubuntu

  • Resources for Ubuntu (online documentation, Ubuntu forums) - and how to participate and contribute

  • How to download, burn, and run Ubuntu from a Live CD

  • How to add software, and what's good to add


Communication and Collaboration

  • Browsing with Firefox: basic browsing, extensions, managing bookmarks

  • Using Google: search engine, Gmail for email, email attachments, Google Apps for documents and spreadsheets

  • OpenOffice

  • Email, instant messaging, chat, using open source and commercial alternatives

  • Voice (and video) Applications: Skype, Gizmo, Google

  • Watching and uploading video to YouTube and Google Video


Publishing

  • Sharing documents through email, Google Docs

  • Your own server: html, wiki's, content management systems

  • Syndication in general, especially: recording and publishing podcasts

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    Note: this is the design of a course using basic internet-related tools as a platform.  The course (design) is intended to be developed progressively during its delivery.  See http://www.thefreedictionary.com : design: "conceive or fashion in the mind", "formulate a plan for","have as a goal or purpose"; platform: "place, means, or opportunity for public expression of opinion", "basic technology of a computer system's hardware and software that defines how a computer is operated and determines what other kinds of software can be used"   See also "eSchool News" of March, 2009, page 12: Dennis Carter, "College web-design courses not making the grade.  Experts: Courses should focus on fundamentals of web design, not popular [high-level application] software".