netTrekker Blog

Freebies for Attending a Free Webinar!

Sound too good to be true?  Not so.  We are so convinced that you must see The Power of My Portfolio in netTrekker that we’re pulling out all of the stops to get you to attend.

Learn how to create a project-based lesson plan and how to manage your web-based resources all within netTrekker’s My Portfolio.  Sound too good to be true?  Not so, I say.  We’ll show you how.  Go to netTrekker Village to see the dates and how to register.

And just what do I get, you ask?  Once you’ve attended, we send 50 netTrekker Quick Reference Guides, 5 netTrekker posters, a sample project and 10% off of any Professional Development you purchase before June 30th.  Better hurry!  The webinars are filling up quickly!

Getting the Message Out

Your project folder is complete, and now it’s time to share it with your students. You can share your folder either in a class folder (that you create) or the existing school or district folder.

The District folder and the “Create a Class” feature were introduced in December of 2007. The District folder makes it possible to share your project folders with any other teacher or student within your district. The class feature allows you to create a class that your students can join by entering the secret word (that you assign). You can learn more about creating a class with this video tutorial.

In order to get your folder into one of those areas, you have three choices. You can move, copy or bookmark. Everyone has their preference of which one, but I personally prefer the bookmark method. Here are my reasons:

· If you move your folder to the district or school, the admin has the right to delete it. It wouldn’t be done on purpose, I’m sure, but accidents happen. There’s no way to retrieve a deleted folder.

· If you copy a folder to the district or school, and then update your original folder later, you’ll need to make sure you update the copied folder as well. I know I would forget to do this.

· If you bookmark a folder, you are actually creating a shortcut to your project folder. If you update the folder, then everyone will be able to see the update. If the bookmark gets deleted, you still have your main folder. Your work would not be lost.

Here are the steps to bookmarking a folder:

1. Open the folder you want to share.

2. Click on Edit

3. Click on Advanced Options (in the Edit Window)

4. Select who you want to view and who you want to have the rights to change the folder. (I usually select everyone in the district to view, but I don’t change the rights to the change the folder unless it’s a collaboration project.)

5. Save the changes (that window will go away)

6. Click on Bookmark (middle of the folder window)

7. A new window will appear asking if you’re sure this is what you want to do. Click Save.

8. The bookmark will appear in your main portfolio. Go back there and put a checkmark next to the BOOKMARK.

9. Click on MOVE and select the destination.

One quick important note, you will need do the advanced options for each subfolder of the main folder you are bookmarking. You will not need to bookmark the subfolders.

For the videos on netTrekker d.i.’s My Portfolio, check out our HELP section.

Tags: bookmarking, My Portfolio, netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., sharing

Organization is Key

My Portfolio provides a place to collect links from netTrekker d.i., links from your other subscriptions and sources. You may add templates, a timeline, famous person search criteria with results, and images.

However, once you put everything together in one folder, you get a mess. And right now, my folder is a big mess!

Think of your file cabinet. More than likely everything is in a folder and organized, not just thrown together. That’s our next step, to create folders for organization.

First, open the folder you want to organize. On the left hand side there is a button that says “NEW FOLDER”. Click on that and you can create a new folder. You will have an opportunity to name the folder and give it a description as well. I created several folders for this project, including Famous Scientists, Images, and then two Website folders, one for Science Fair Project Ideas and one for the Scientific Method.

The next step is to move the items from the main folder to their respective sub-folder. On the left side of the websites are check boxes. Check off the ones need to moved to a specific folder, then click on move (right hand corner). When you click on move, your entire portfolio will open with the structure viewable. I selected scientific method websites to be moved into the

“Websites: Scientific Method” folder. I didn’t see the folder at first, but next to the Science Fair folder there is a plus sign. By clicking on the plus sign, I can expand the Science Fair Folder to see the sub-folders. I then click on Websites: Scientific Method and then move.

By doing this, you can easily organize a project with all your resources right there at your fingertips. Some quick tips:

• Folders will line up alphabetically and they will also line up numerically.
• If you need to order your materials, consider numbering the folders
• This process can also be used in the school or district sharing area.

Hop to it! If we don’t organize now, we’ll be a mess later! (Take it from someone who knows!)

Tags: Folder, My Portfolio, Project Based Learning, Save Search

Template Test Drive

How’s the folder coming along? Shaping up pretty nicely? Which websites did you add to your portfolio?

Today’s tip is how to use the Templates in the My Portfolio. Next to the ADD WEBSITE button is another button that says ADD TEMPLATE. netTrekker d.i. has two templates available. These templates allow you to add details to your portfolio which comes in handy when dealing with research or project based learning.

The first one is a Digital Literacy Template. This template has five questions a student should ask themselves before they decide to use a website for research. What a great practice for 21^st Century Literacy! Now with each template, you must add a title. The description is optional, but is a great place to add directions. With the Digital Literacy Template the five questions are already in place, but there is space for you to add more details. For example, the first piece of information a student should question is the author or creator’s level of authority. What does this mean? The space below gives you a place to put prompts or more details for the students, such as “what level of educational degree do they hold? Are they an enthusiast, hobbyist, or do they work in the field?” Or you could tell the students to look for a biography of the creator and tips on what to investigate.

The second template is a USER DEFINED TEMPLATE. This is a blank page for you to add your own content. You must add the title, but the rest of the information is up to you. I like to use this page to write the project directions, to create a Web Hunt or WebQuest, or to list the printed material you want students to use in the project. The possibilities are endless! Here is a PDF of the template I used for the science fair project. Another possibility for the blank template is for students to collect and save their research notes. They don’t have to keep track of the paper and pen or remember where they put their file. All of the details they need for that project are contained in one space.

The template is not a worksheet, but rather a digital reference or guide for the students. It can be printed off if needed.

Share with us how you use the templates by leaving a comment below. If have one that is extraordinary, send it to Danielle at dabernethy@nettrekker.com. She’ll share them on the blog for others to use.

Tags: 21st Century, Digital Literacy, My Portfolio, netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., template