One of the challenges of displaying images on the web is that there are occasions where the required size and detail of an image exceed that which can be handled by the typical computer (or projector) screen. Most web browsers offer a partial solution: if you insert a very large image, the browser will reduce the size of the image to something that fits onto your screen — then, if you click the image, the full-size version will appear, and you can pan around it. The disadvantage of this solution is that you only have only two choices: you can see detail by choosing the large image, or you can see context by choosing the smaller image — but you can’t see detail in context.
A better solution, at least in some situations, might be to use a magnifying effect, such as that offered by Magic Toolbox. Their Flash-based “Magic Magnify” tool displays a normal-sized image, but any section of that image can be seen in detail by rolling the cursor over it. I’m not able to demo this tool in WordPress (the platform of this blog), but you can see three examples that I’ve created here.
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The Centre for Teaching Excellence welcomes contributions to its blog. If you are a faculty member, staff member, or student at the University of Waterloo (or beyond!) and would like contribute a posting about some aspect of teaching or learning, please contact Mark Morton or Trevor Holmes.
The Centre for Teaching Excellence organized three large events in April, 2010. The Presidents’ Colloquium on Teaching and Learning (PCTL), the Learning and Teaching Workshops (LaT), and the Opportunities and New Directions (OND) conference were held April 26, 27 and 28, 2010, respectively. 
When Mark Morton suggested this blog as a way to introduce myself, I struggled with what to write about. I considered telling you about myself (grew up in London, Ontario, have worked at UW since 1999, my favourite place in the world is my family’s cottage on an island in Georgian Bay, etc.). Then, I thought about telling you more about my teaching career (have taught introductory computer science and math courses, ranging in size from less than 20 to more than 500). To be honest, it all seemed a bit dry. So instead, I wanted to share with you a little bit about being connected to my students.