ePortfolio

Alicia M. Manuel Kessler

Exploring and Working With Highly Interactive Elements

CTER Resource Entries

eLearning Illinois ~ This site lists state wide online initiatives in Illinois. This resource is provided by the Illinois Online Leadership Council and is a quick way to keep up with the changes going on with these projects. - Category Online Education Resources
Making the Virtual Classroom A Reality ~"Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality (MVCR) is a series of online faculty development courses designed to help faculty members acquire the skills and knowledge needed to teach online" - Category Online Education Resources
High-Tech Dictionary ~ This site provides definitions to the jargon and terms often thrown around in education technology.  - Category Online Education Resources
Xenu's  Link Sleuth ~ Download software that checks your website for dead or broken links.

Wednesday's Assignment

Site Name & URL: Blue Web'n

Why I selected this site: I discovered and began using this site about 2 years ago. I read about it in an educational technology magazine, and started receiving the weekly e-mail update. I have always found the database of sites and materials to be very useful. I have recommended it to many teachers that I have worked with. 

How might the site help you with your major project? I don't know that there is a direct correlation to my project, other than it is a site I will continue to recommend when I work with teachers. 

What other uses might teachers have for this site? This site would helpful in providing supplementary information and weblinks for theme orientated work.

How did you make use of the site: When preparing for staff development sessions, I would search this site to give teachers a list of websites that were a direct fit with their grade level and topics that they were studying at the time. I called it "Learn 'em today,use 'em tomorrow" sessions. I would present a couple of web sites to teachers that they could then use the next day. This site is a resource for such an activity.

What did you learn from your explorations: Since I last visited, they have added a nice content table toward the bottom of the page. I like the organization of a subject table better than blind searching. That is just a personal preference, which makes this site appeal to me even more. 

To whom would you recommend this site and for what purposes: Parents or classroom teachers looking for supplemental or additional resources. I believe the site is easy enough for novice web users to dive right into.

 

Site Name & URL: The Gateway to Educational Materials

Why I selected this site:  I was looking through a collection of links maintained by a technology contact person of a near-by ROE. I found this site within the collection. It reminded me of the "Resourcer" and I found it to be thorough and interesting. 

How might the site help you with your major project? This site could help me perhaps more in my staff development work than with my major project. I completed several searches for educational technology resources and articles relating to staff development. The "hits" seemed to be relevant and the accompanying notations were helpful. 

What other uses might teachers have for this site? Teachers could use this site to find resources for themselves. Teachers could also direct students to this site to help them search for resources in a way that provides more information than the average search engine. 

How did you make use of the site: I had been looking for additional articles and information on virtual learning and online course development. This site directed me to such information. 

What did you learn from your explorations: For some topics, browsing by subject worked better for me. As I mentioned before, I like a list of topics laid out to jog my memory, so searching this way worked better for me than keyword or the other options. I also liked the fact that the site is Bobby Approved.

To whom would you recommend this site and for what purposes: Anyone looking for in depth information about educational and sundry other topics.