Features for Teachers and StudentsSome of the many features which make Ceilidh such powerful tool for teaching writing concepts over the web are listed here. Many of the links on this page will take you out to other sites not locate within Kairos. For a list of those links click on the "external links" link at the bottom of the page. If you would rather continue with the review and examine these features later, click here.
Ceilidh reads HTML code and posts it as a web page with one added benefit--no FTPing a file anywhere. This allows instructors and students to embed links to other important or related sites and also to enhance the design aesthetics of any document if they wish. Instructors can create exciting and interesting pages in no time at all with no need to FTP.
This feature is one of Ceilidh's most valuable. Essentially, the program creates a web page for the user every time the user posts or replies to a message. It will do this over and over without any need for any user to know HTML code. You can build a web page faster then you ever thought possible.
Threaded Messages and Indexing
Ceilidh keeps track of messages and replies, then threads and indexes them so that they can be easily identified and sorted.
Obviously the most important aspect of the program is the fact that it is entirely web based. Students need only have Internet access and a web browser to use the program. The program runs on the server, without having to load anything onto the hard drives of every PC on campus.
The program can be set to have messages expire after a certain number of days or even on a specific date. This helps eliminate a build up of posts which would normally need to be manually eliminated by the instructor, student or computer specialist.
At the top left of each posting, the user's name and e-mail address appear as a Netscape e-mail link which can be used to send the person who created the post a private e-mail message instantly.
The new version of Ceilidh allows users to reorder the index by date, author or subject. This allows instructors to easily identify the bulk of a student's work as well as students to gather all of their work together to be viewed as a whole. It also allows instructors to complete tasks such as verifying the dates students posted their work. Users who are looking for work on a particular topic or by a certain person in the class can easily locate the information. Of course, users would also be able to rearrange pages being used for portfolios to create or change meaning.
Within each posting there is a tool bar at the bottom of the post. This toolbar has buttons which allow the user to move through the index using "previous" and "next" functions and an "index" button to instantly return to the index.
This function works much like a print preview. Before each message is posted, users can choose to view what the actual page will look like when it appears in the index or they may eliminate this function when there is a need for a more synchronous environment.
The new edition allows users to turn certain features on and off for each individual page. According to Chris Okelberry, one of the programs developers, "this is a web-master's dream." It is also an online instructor's dream because it gives instructors the power to administrate a page without approaching the department computer specialist.
Once the program is purchased, owners can create multiple Ceilidh pages or rooms to be used for a variety of purposes. For example, I have eight pages for each of my online classes all running simultaneously as do most of the other 10 or so instructors teaching online classes at USU. Each tutor in the online writing center also has their own Ceilidh page. All of these are running the same database of users from the same server. In the current Beta Version, instructors will be able to do this without FTPing.
In the current Beta version, this feature allows users to view the index and the contents of a message from the index at the same time. Users may also view the contents of two different message from the index at the same time. This is valuable when trying to complete a peer review or compare different drafts of a student's work.
Each message can be edited quickly and easily by the author by pressing the "edit" button on the tool bar which appears at the bottom of every posting. This effectively creates a way to edit a web page created by a user without having to re-FTP a file.
Instructors have the option of deleting any message in the index by simply using the delete button which appears in the tool bar at the bottom of every posting. This is valuable as students sometimes need to be restrained from posting obscene or otherwise offensive material. It also helps for students and instructors clean up pages when necessary without the assistance of a technical specialist.
The name of the user and the date the post was made appear with the title of the post in the index for easy user identification and deadline verification. The index also lists the number of visits to each post. Any instructor who has ever taught an online class and knows how often students send files without their names on them can see the value in this feature.
When a user posts a message to the page the listing is already in the index when it reappears to the user. This feature is valuable because, if need be, the Ceilidh page can essentially be used as a chat room for group work or discussion. It works much quicker than e-mail and creates a threaded discussion trail.
When a user wants to reply to another user's work, Ceilidh creates a copy of the message being replied to and posts it at the beginning of the reply so that it can be manipulated by the user in his or her reply. This allows instructors or students to make changes to the student's document without actually changing the student's original post.
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