The major part of the first step was to scan the transparencies into the computer. Once the images of the transparencies were online, along with the copies of old computer files, it was clear that there would a significant effort to make this collection usable. This meant classify and grouping the on-line material.
One of the best ways the author found for this was to build the index online using the Web. A Web browser and an editing window were brought up and the Web pages were edited to make the information clustering clearer. Tools were developed to automatically produce thumbnails of all the images and to produce an index page showing these thumbnails and hot linking them to the full scale image of the transparency. Larger than normal thumbnail images were used for each image. The index page was then edited to show the content groupings of the information.
The next step was the development of the new hierarchy of Web pages representing the lecture presentations. A single file called lecture.html was used to directly or indirectly access all of the lecture material. This file contained a outline of the course with the topics hot linked to the actual presentations. The intent was that this structure would make it easy to find the presentation material for both the instructor and the students. The first version of lecture material consisted largely of pointers to the legacy material.
All new material was developed in a separate directory. As new Web pages were developed the lecture pointers were adjusted to point to the the new material. The new Web pages reflected new material or hand translations of the legacy images into a Web page. In many cases 5 to 15 transparencies turned into one (long) Web page that presented one topic.
This process has allowed the instructor to use the legacy material in the new presentation mode. In addition, as time permits, the legacy material is then replaced with native Web material. The use of Web pages for the lecture has allowed easer inclusion of multimedia, such as photographs in the lecture. This instructor feels the Web collection has given him more flexibility in manipulating the course material. It has also provided a convenient way to allow the student to access and use the material presented in lecture.
This presentation will describe some of the process I have gone through in converting a class from transparencies to Web pages. The class is CS730, Office Information Systems. I have taught the class over a number of years and have a collection of transparencies that serves as the bases of the classroom presentations. This year I am teaching the class in the SOD cluster (IACC114) and using a computer to fetch Web pages and a projector to project the pages on the screen. This has completely replaced my use of the white board, and transparencies.
The talk will describe some of my process of converting 312 transparencies into an usable collection of scanned images and new web pages.
The current condition of the class can be seen by looking at: http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/juell/cs730f97/home.html
Paul Juell
