Website guides
QuickStart Guide to the Educational Technology: I.C.T. in Education Site
By Terry Freedman
Thu, 17 May 2007, 04:41

In this update of our website guide, we explain who the site is written for, and how to find what you're looking for on it.

http://www.ictineducation.org

Purpose of website

The aim of the website is to provide practical information to teachers, leaders and managers of educational technology.

Target audience

Our main audience is leaders and managers of educational technology or I.C.T., variously known as Head of I.C.T.,, Technology Co-ordinator, I.C.T., Co-ordinator and other such titles.

We also provide information and advice that will be of practical use for teachers using educational technology in the classroom. This includes how-to guides and product reviews, but is mainly centred on managing resources and activities.

Structure of the website

The screen is divided into 3 main sections:

Central section

This lists articles in reverse date order, ie it shows the most recent ones first. If you are on the home page, all the articles are listed. If you have entered a particular category (see below), only the articles from that category will be shown.

Left-hand section

The main elements on the left-hand side are as follows:

· Cascading menu system. This lists all the elements and pages on the website, and is, in effect, a site map. An alternative menu systems is also provided.

· The categories. If you wish to find an article in a particular category, such as the Teaching and Using Educational Technology category, click on the link on the left-hand side, and then browse through the articles displayed in the centre of the screen. Note that the titles and summaries of the articles in the Leading and Managing Educational Technology category are free to browse, but that the articles themselves are available only to subscribers of Leading and Managing Educational Technology. Similarly with Computers in Classrooms Latest and Downloads. For details of our free and paid-for subscription services, please see the appropriate section in the yellow menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

· The “clustr” map, which shows where our visitors come from. As you can see, they come from all over the world.

Right-hand section

The main elements on the right-hand side are as follows:

· Featured ads. We are currently exploring the idea of accepting a limited amount of advertising on the website, and this is one of the places that ads appear.

· This week’s highlight. This is also an experimental feature, the idea of which is to draw visitors’ attention to a particular area or article on the website.

· The latest articles in each of the categories.

Content available

The content on the website is in the following forms:

· Groups of pages linked by a menu system. See, for example, http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/ebooks/, which lists our products and services.

· Documents (usually in PDF format) and other files available for download.

· Article summaries only: brief articles, usually announcements.

· Articles.

· Podcasts.

To keep abreast of updates to the content, which is usually daily, either subscribe to the RSS feeds available on the website or download the ICT in Education toolbar, which does this for you. See the yellow menu for further details.

Finding what you’re looking for

There are two main methods for finding what you’re looking for:

· Browse through the article titles, either in a particular category or on the home page.

· Use the site’s search facility, which you can find in the yellow menu under “Services”. If you know the category in which the article is likely to have appeared, search in that only rather than the whole site, as it will be quicker.

· If you are unable to find what you’re looking for, please email terry@ictineducation.org for assistance.

© Terry Freedman Thu, 17 May 2007