Gonstead and Full Spine Technique Web Site
 

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
Description: This artifact is 50 page website that I developed as reference material for a chiropractic technique class taught at Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic. The website is essentially an on-line manual for the course, consisting of descriptions and still photos of Full Spine and Gonstead chiropractic technique moves. Embedded QuickTime movies are also available for most of the Full Spine technique moves.

Analyze: I selected this artifact because it showcases my early work as a webmaster and instructional designer. The web site represents my ability to collaborate with faculty to design, develop and integrate technology in a learning environment. I believe it represents my framework because it demonstrates my early web design skills and collaborative efforts with faculty. This artifact also spotlights my ability to infuse several media technologies into one site, creating a diverse reference product for learner-centered instruction. Thetechnique movies artifact is related to this artifact; the movies were added to this website at a later date as further reference material at faculty request.

Appraise: This web site was one of the first instructional instruments I created at Sherman College. Originally created as a reference for Sherman College chiropractic students, this site has enjoyed broad use in the chiropractic educational realm. The web site was rolled out shortly after completion at an Association of Chiropractic Colleges technique consortium meeting held at Sherman College. When interest in the methodology was apparent, permission was given for other colleges to link to this site as a resource. Our web statistics indicate significant traffic from the seventeen chiropractic colleges in North America. QuickTime movies were added at a later date to provide a real-time component to the demonstration of chiropractic adjustments. The strength of this artifact is its longevity and wide utilization as a resource within the profession. The weakness of the artifact is that it is stagnant and has not been updated in design or content. This website was an early attempt to extend classroom-based learning to an online reference catalog by using authentic examples. I believe that this artifact is instrumental in showing that classroom instruction of clinical procedures can be transferred to this medium effectively and can positively impact student learning.

Transform: This web site was one of my first collaborative endeavors with faculty to enhance classroom-based learning with online technology. The simple web site design reflects my inexperience with creating a site with this type of content. Of note is my use of the dynamically populated javascript navigation menu, which would continue to be a design element frequently used in my web sites. In retrospect, I should have conducted a more thorough needs assessment and analysis and planned for the future inclusion of streaming media. This would have driven a different type of web design. Currently, there are no plans to redesign this web site; however, this site will act as a learning model for future development of similar Sherman College technique web sites seeking to use streaming media. Although lacking in sophistication of design and navigational elegance, this site has proven that content is king. The fact that the site has received chiropractic recognition, is used as a supplemental reference at other chiropractic colleges and has been translated for use in another country, is testimony to its effectiveness as a teaching tool.