Technology Home Page

There are four major and two minor strands of technology skills you will need during this course. They are listed below for easy reference. They are not in any order. Please feel free to jump to whatever topic you need whenever you need it for your project and staff development plan. It is in your best interest to become familiar with the resources we've provided here. Take the time to explore and try a few tasks--whether they're assigned or not!

Internet Concepts

Basic Internet Concepts: This is a one-page explanation of some basic concepts about how the Internet works. Some basic terms are defined such as Internet service provider, client/server, hypertext, etc.

Electronic Communication

Electronic communication enables the participant to conference with others using different formats. There are many kinds of electronic communication used in this course.

Listserv: This "electronic mailing list" software will be used for general class announcements or collaboration through e-mail with other participant teams.
 
Yahoo Groups is a free email group service that allows you to create and/or join email groups. This is a convenient way to connect with the participants in your LInC course for announcements and collaboration.
 
Electronic Bulletin Board - This is a communication tool that is designed for participants to post messages for others to read at a time that is convenient to them. The messages are arranged by topic and subtopic so that you can follow the flow of conversations and find things when you need them later. In many cases this tool will also have a search feature. Sharing ideas, URLs, and questions is the perfect type of material to place in the electronic discussion board.
 
 
IRC Chat Tool: This will be used for "class meetings." The chat tool allows us to talk "real-time" with each other. You could also use the chat tool to collaborate with team members (but you would need to schedule that activity outside of the "class meetings").  Consult your lead facilitator, course home page, etc. for the tools used for your course.
 
Tappedin, a "shared teacher professional development workplace", offers a free membership to teachers, educators, and researchers. You can chat with the entire group, team, or another individual. You can also see if other teachers using tappedin are working on a similar project.
 
We advise that you familiarize yourself with Tappedin before you have your participants join. Have them prejoin before you have their first session. There are educators that will offer online sessions and a Help Desk to help first time users. Also, we suggest having the participants become a member and browse the help guides first. See "How to Join" for more information.
 
To directly ask questions of your facilitators, you may use the staff listserv for your course (if there is one) or your main facilitator's e-mail address.

Finding Resources on the Web

Finding Information: This page provides general information about search engines and search strategies. It will help you find relevant links for your project.
 
Finding Software: Are you looking for software to meet a specific need or are you looking for an updated version? This is the place.

Web Page Basics

Guidelines for Naming an HTML File (Web Pages): This is a handy resource for troubleshooting. It is important to read it before you begin writing your Web pages so that you can reduce the amount of troubleshooting required.

General Information about URLs and Links: Information is given on the parts of a URL, how URLs are created, and the difference between absolute and relative links. Understanding this information will help you create a directory/folder of Web pages that can be moved to a different Web server without having to fix any broken links.

Graphics, Graphics, Graphics: This is it - everything you wanted to know about using, converting, making, finding, and saving graphics. It's a long page, but it's thorough! It also tells you about ways to make your graphics load more rapidly by creating an "interlaced" graphic and how to make the background of a graphic transparent. In addition, links to several good places to get free graphics on the Web are provided.

Using Raw HTML: This page is designed as a supplement for those who wish to write source code directly or to solve problems by changing the source code without using the editor. It is not meant to be a complete guide. It will not be used by everyone.