Lots of changes are coming to
Gamequarium. Don't worry, it's all good!
The three most important things
that you need to know:
- It is all still here, plus many more new high, quality
resources! Check out the entire site directory!
We are still moving and adding resources, so much more is
coming!
- If you can't find what you are looking for, the old
home page is still online for a while and can be accessed through a
link on the new home page.
- URLs (web addresses) will be changing and
this means that as soon as possible you need to contact your district
technology staff and ask them to add gamequarium.com and
gamequarium.org to your district's filter white list. This will guarantee that the pages you need won't be blocked by the filter when you need them!
So what
are the changes?
The biggest change
is that the entire site is being moved into a database and a Web 2.0
interface. I originally built the site a page at
a time based on the needs of my students and then based on the needs of
the teachers I was training. If anyone had told me that I
would create more than 1500 static webpages, I would have just laughed
at them and told them it was impossible. Is there a lesson
here? I think so! When your heart is in the right
place, never doubt yourself or what is possible!
The move to the database has been needed for a long time. It
is a very time intensive process and I never would have tackled it
without the help of my partner, Vince Szewczyk. We call it
RMW (Redundant Mindless Work) and can only do it because we have each
other to laugh with when our minds go numb!
There are huge advantages to using a database and a Web 2.0 interface
rather than static pages.
- We can check for dead and broken links merely by
running a report rather than opening each page and clicking each link
to test it.
- The system gets better with use. Teachers
and students can rate and comment on (subject to
approval) individual learning games. The games with
the highest rating are listed first in each category.
- Teachers and students can search for individual
learning games or categories of games with the site search engine.
- If teachers or students know of a learning game that
is not listed, they can add it to the database by simply submitting a
form. Once approved, the learning game will be added to the database to
be enjoyed by teachers and students all over the world.
Another change is in the design
of the site. I struggled with finding a happy
medium. Designing for kids and designing for adults requires
very different approaches. Hopefully, I have found middle
ground with the new design. We presented the new design to
many teachers around the country in our travels this summer and
received favorable reviews.
So stay
tuned... much more to come. We are always in pursuit of our mission: "Supporting Quality Online Oppportunities for Learning!" If
you haven't checked out some of our new sites, you may be delighted
with the resources you find:
SqoolTools.com
|
A Moodle-based
virtual learning environment, We are providing free virtual
classrooms to teachers.
|
| SqoolTube.com |
A directory of
free instructional video. Later
this year, we will be launching software
to allow the videos to be hosted on our servers.
|
| SqoolLibrary.com |
A directory
of free ebooks for kids.
|
| SqoolPrintables.com |
A directory
of free printable learning activities.
|
| SqoolTechs.com |
Need customized
services for your school or district? Want to know where were
will be presenting? This is where to find all such information.
|
| TeacherClicks.com |
A directory
of free resources and tools for teachers.
|
| HomeSqool.com |
A Moodle-based
virtual learning environment, We are providing free virtual
classrooms to homeschooling families. |
Wishing all a
wonderful school year! We would love to meet you at Sqool @ the Beach!
Happy Teaching
and Learning!
:-Diana
diana@gamequarium.org
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