Overview

The underlying goal of this project has been to develop an on-line education resource that grows with its students. Combining an extensive archive of media rich information with an online discussion forum, the media library exists as a powerful tool to guide and nurture self directed learning. Although I have gone to considerable lengths to provide a solid foundation for the library, I recognize the information within it must continually evolve. It is through this progression that the library will become an active and living knowledge tool. The media library has been designed in order to empower its users as both learners and teachers. It is through this process that the strength of the library can be fully realized. As users actively participate in the library environment, they inevitably augment and extend the information available for future users.

This project has been placed within the context of a WebCT course.  Most of the content and design, however, is based upon The Encyclopedia of Media Aesthetics, a web-based encyclopedia that addresses issues of visual media.  This online learning resource has been designed to guide students through principles of media design as related to video and animation.  The Encyclopedia of Media Aesthetics is part of a personal enrichment project I have been working on over the last year.

The intended audience for The Encyclopedia of Media Aesthetics is quite broad. It is my belief, however, that students with a keen awareness of the arts – but not necessarily equipped with any previous art or design training – will gain the most from this resource.  My hope is that the prospective student, through a combination of self-driven initiative and synergy inspired by the forum, will delve into the encyclopedia and ultimately enhance its value by way of the user forum.

The components listed below are what make up the media library:

• WebCT Front-End:

More than anything else, this was an experiment to see how far I could stretch WebCT.  I was pleased with the flexibility and the ability of the WebCT back end to handle large HTML blocks placed in designer spaces not otherwise intended to handle such input.  Through this conduit I have linked all other content.  I used WebCT to host the glossary and provide users with recent technology news releases.  The majority of this projects content, however, including the user forum and encyclopedia are being served from a non-WebCT system.

• Encyclopedia:

The encyclopedic reference is the foundation of the library. This module provides users a broad, yet detailed, understanding of media aesthetics. The topics are broken into several categories each containing a wide variety of subtopics. The topics are illustrated through a combination of text and multimedia resources.

• WebCT Glossary

An on-line reference of film, video, and audio terminology as applicable to production and post production.  Over 500 words are included in this index.

• Discussion Forum

The discussion forum is the medium through which the library is designed to continually grow. Several forums have been created for this purpose. Within each forum users are able to start new topics or dialogue threads. These threads can be monitored for frequency of visits and previewed by a forum moderator.

• Web Links

Each discussion forum has been configured such that web links can be added related to the forum topics.

• References

A list of references has been added to the library crediting resources used in the production of the encyclopedia and resources the author believes may enhance the information provided in the library.

• Email list

Each user who desires to participate in the discussion forum must register. During this process, they have the option of giving the site administrator their email address. These addresses are accessible by the administrator to send messages to all the active users of the forums.

Additional Media

• Website

  [secured access only]