This is a sample set of the types of questions asked in ECE101 to build upon the Diversity Harnessing concept. This module will outline both successes and failures of the questions to draw useful material from the participating students.
Preface
My course, ECE101: Exploring Digital Information Technologies, explores many topics. The common thread in all these topics are that they lead to knowledge in how to produce well-engineered software/hardware solutions to life's many problems.
In this module, I highlight just a few of the course topics, the Diversity Harnessing question used associated with that topic, a short list of some responses obtained from the students, and a discussion on how those responses were (or were not) used in preparing course materials.
Html
Name up to three web sites that you find particularly fun. Explain what it is that makes each site fun for you.
Which features do you feel you would be able to implement from your experiences in ECE101? Which features to you suspect would be far too difficult?
My goal was to use the answers to this question to determine applications for HTML/JavaScript that I could code during lecture using only the handful of simple techniques they had already learned (plus maybe one or two more as needed).
Student response "a"
Three websites that I find particularly fun are youtube.com, halolz.com, and
tumblr.com. I like the fact that each of these sites provides original content bytheir users all in one place and in various forms as well. The layout for each is
very easy to use and you can easily share what you find on other social networkingsites with the click of a button.
Besides adding a title, headings, and paragraphs, we honestly can't do too much
right now since we don't have much experience. From my past experience workingwith HTML, I would be able to add pictures, video, hyperlinks, and tables, but
aside from those, advanced features like creating a playlist, favoriting, andsubscribing may be too difficult at this time.
Response A is quite useful. It provides exact sites that many other students would also be familiar with and interested in. The student also expresses the range of prior experience in HTML and specific skills that are wanting. Unfortunately, the skills they request are
a bit complex for an in-lecture demonstration although we do something similar during lab . In the end, I used the answers to this question in a different manner: I showed them how to write JavaScript code to allow the class to enter the URLs of their favorite sites using a browser and have the browser automatically generate a website of ECE101's favorite web sites. I may also use the list of websites and descriptive keywords to teach XML to classes in the future.
If the responses don't guide you where you expect, be prepared to make lemonade from lemons by using them in a different manner! Either way, it personalizes the course.
Give an example of what enters your mind when you hear the word “Information.”
Devise a short definition of “Information.”
