|
Courses/Workshops
Presentations
|
Hedden Information ManagementSimmons College Graduate School of Library and Information ScienceOnline Workshop: Creating Website IndexesFour weekly lessons, online access at any time (no live component) Next session: February 1-28 , 2011 Workshop Description and Outline Workshop DescriptionAs websites grow in size and complexity, users need additional means beyond the navigational menu and a site map to search a site for the information they want. Unless a site is very large, an onsite search engine often does not retrieve satisfactory results. Browsable A-Z indexes, on the other hand, a format familiar to users from their appearance at the back of nonfiction books, can provide highly accurate retrieval when added to websites. Index entries are hyperlinked to the desired text within a webpage or to an anchored point such as the section heading within the webpage. During this workshop, participants will learn how to create and format a hyperlinked A-Z website index and how to use a freeware web indexing tool and the free demo of another web indexing tool. The workshop begins with a discussion about the structure of a website index and which sites would benefit from an index. Topics covered include basic skills in indexing, the process of indexing, and the use of HTML code in indexing. Basic knowledge of either HTML or any HTML editor (such as Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage) is required. Prior training or experience in indexing is not required, but would be helpful. Participants will need a computer (Window, Mac, or Linux) with Internet access, a web browser, and e-mail. Examples of web site indexes created by Heather Hedden: Gleason
Public Library; Boston-IA Workshop OutlineLesson 1: Introduction to web site indexes
Lesson 2: Indexing tools and practice using
XRefHT
Lesson 3: Indexing practice: HTML Indexer
Lesson 4: Indexing style and format
Workshop BasicsLessons: Weekly lesson texts are comprised of a set of five or six web pages, one for each chapter of the lesson. Each lesson has links, and some have associated graphics of screenshots. It is not necessary to go through an entire lesson at one sitting, but each chapter is designed to be read at one sitting. The lessons and chapters vary in length, depending on the topic. Exercises/Assignments: Each lesson has exercises or
assignments, often at the end of a relevant chapter, rather than always
at the end of a lesson. These are not exercises for you to submit for
grading/approval as homework assignments. Rather, these are learning exercises. Discussion Group: A discussion group is part of this workshop. Students are encouraged to post lesson comments and questions to the Discussion Board first before e-mailing the instructor directly, for other students might have similar issues. Software: No special software needs to be purchased to complete the workshop. Rather, you will download demo versions or other free software from the Internet. The freeware has both a Windows version an a Java version that can run on any platform (Mac, Linux, etc.) as long as you have the Java Runtime Environment. The other software tool is Windows only. It is not necessary to use the Windows program to complete the workshop, but one lesson is devoted to it. If you choose to purchase the Windows tool HTML Indexer, you are entitiled to the 15% student discount from the vendor. You will also need a web browser, e-mail, and Notepad or other text editor. Additional texts: No textbook is required, but several books are recommended:
Hours Expected: The number of hours put in depends on the extent that you work on a web site indexingproject of your own and how much optional reading you want to do. Past students have usually spent 3 to 6 hours per week. RegistrationSimmons Continuing Education online registraton form (external link) Cost is $250 full price, or $200 for Simmons GSLIS alumni. If paying by check, make it out to “Simmons College” and mail it to:
All registration questions should be directed to Kris Liberman. Continuing Education/Professional DevelopmentAll enrolled attendees will receive a Certificate of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for one unit, which will be mailed to them after the workshop.Simmons College provides Professional Development Points (PDPs) according to the Massachusetts Department of Education requirements for certification. Attendees who request PDPs for (re)certification will earn 15 PDPs for this 4-week workshop. Comments from Past StudentsLessons were very well written and self-explanatory. Good intro to web indexing and web indexing tools. I enjoyed learning about web indexing tools and think I will feel prepared to include web site indexing in my future freelance indexing career. Clear communication, teaching style, and attentiveness of the instructor. I liked that I was introduced to freeware that is relatively simple to use. I feel like I got a good balance of indexing style and tools.
© 2008 - 2011 Heather Hedden |