NIU Visiting FamiliesAn Online guide on where to shop and to eat in DeKalb with only a few hours to spare

By doreen maceETT 536 Web-Based Learning

Problem

• For visiting families to NIU, many are unacquainted with DeKalb and do not know the location of off-campus services, such as, shopping or restaurants

• Visiting families only have a few hours to shop and need dorm items on move-in days and want to know where to go for them

• New students would like to know where they can go by bus to shopping

Problem Remedy

• Provide a general interactive map of DeKalb along a bus route

• Provide links to one DeKalb major shopping and restaurant hub

Goals

• Provide information on transportation services in DeKalb

• Provide information on shopping and restaurant services

• Provide a simple map on where to go• Provide links to places so that people find

out where to go and are able to locate familiar chain stores and make best use of their few hours in DeKalb

Objectives

• After completing the web-based map, visitors will be able to describe the types of services and to show were they are located in relationship to NIU

• After completing the web-based map, visitors will be able to identify familiar chain restaurants and stores and to show where they are located in DeKalb

• After using the online guide, students and their families will be able to collect the list of services and to develop an itinerary on how to spend their time in DeKalb

Audience Analysis

• Prospective students and their families

• Out-of-town people

• New students who are interested in seeing the city

• Parents of students who only have a few hours in DeKalb

Instructional Methods

• Create drop and drag for bus route that begins and ends at NIU

• Practice quiz to test retention on where services are located and how to get to them

• Hyperlinks to relevant service sites, such as, the university and various DeKalb resources for further information

Content Analysis

• Provide the site’s purpose and for its justification

• Provide navigation buttons to retrieve information on DeKalb services

• Provide a navigation button that reads “go to map,” which has a simple map of one bus route with links to services

• Provide feedback for user comments, suggestions, and questions

Interactive Treatments

• “Feedback” link

• Hyperlinks to relevant service sites

• Navigation buttons

• Clickable map links

• Quiz learning activity