January 31, 2002
SimpleSite takes HTML out of Web
| Roberto Sanchez |
| Educational Outreach |
The UW is making it easier for students, instructors and staff to produce their own Web pages — without having to know specialized computer languages or to use complicated software.
Starting this week, every person with a UW computing account has access to SimpleSite, a set of online templates for creating and editing Web pages. With SimpleSite, users can design and post their Web pages to University servers using only a web browser.
SimpleSite is a Web application where users can add text, graphics and other media files without knowing HTML or any other Web language. Users can edit their pages from any computer with an Internet connection and can even move files seamlessly from their desktop to their UW computing account. They can also decide who gets to access their pages on the Web. And once the page is done, users can post it to the Web with the click of a mouse.
“Anyone can create a Web site. SimpleSite makes Web publishing easier than ever before,” said Mark Alway, lead software developer with the UW’s Educational Technology Development Group.
Previously, users who wanted to post a Web page to a UW server had to use a text or HTML editor to design the page, a browser to see it, and a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program to post it. Now, everything can be done using only a Web browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer.
Tom Lewis, director of the UW Educational Technology Development Group, said Web pages can be useful teaching and learning tools, since they allow users to edit and share information with other people. The pages can be used for class materials, group discussions, anything that can add to the experience of attending the UW.
“At the very least, you are making more information available to students, in any way they want it,” Lewis said.
SimpleSite is the latest tool developed for the UW’s Catalyst project, an effort to improve teaching and learning through the use of technology. Catalyst provides resources and Web-based tools for UW teachers, students and staff that make it easier to post web pages, run discussion groups, offer online tests and surveys, create distance learning classes, and even allow online problem-based learning.
All Catalyst tools are created in-house by a four-member development team along with undergraduate, graduate, and professional support staff. They are built through collaboration with other departments at the UW and take advantage of existing campus wide computing infrastructure.
For more information on Catalyst, visit http://catalyst.washington.edu.
