Introduction

• web browsers
• search engines
• chat rooms
• FTP
• images & animation
• regular video & audio
• streaming video & audio
• electronic whiteboards
• MUD's & MOO's
• videoconferencing
• web authoring tools
• push technologies
• site capturing
• intranets

References

Web Authoring Tools

Users of modern computers can select from a large number of programs designed to create web pages (which are actually complex programs written in hypertext markup language or a similar programming language). Web authoring tools allow users to create pages using the controls familiar to users of word processors and similar applications rather than using text-based programming. In essence web authoring tools translate mouse clicks on familiar controls (such as tool bars and dialogue boxes) into programming code.

For educators, web authoring tools provide an opportunity to create a web presence with a professional appearance and without the need to learn unfamiliar and difficult text-based programming languages. Technologies such as blogging and message boards are beginning to take the place of web authoring tools for simple web publishing, but web authoring tools continue to be a valuable resource for creating web pages with advanced features. With some time and dedicated practice, educators can use the graphic interfaces available on web authoring software to create dynamic, interactive and media-rich web pages that can be made available in either on Intranets or on the web.

Creating a web page with an appealing and professional appearance emerges from a mixture of art and science and ample amounts of time. Like all well-produced work, a web page gives the illusion of something simple and easy, but the reality is that ensuring one's web page looks as intended for all users and works as expected for all users is very difficult and very time consuming.

Resources for web authoring tools:

• b2evolution (n.d.) is a multi-user blogging tool available under open source licensing that can allow school web masters to administer blogs for individual teachers from a single installation. This software is an excellent alternative to using traditional web authoring software for publishing pages with limited media.
• DreamWeaver (Adobe Systems Inc. 2006) is a well-known web authoring tool used by many professional web designers. In recent years, Adobe obtained Macromedia, the company that once produced DreamWeaver and instituted an aggressive education pricing system, so this software is increasingly available in schools.
• NVU (Linspire, Inc., 2006) is web authoring tool available for multiple operating systems under open source licensing.