Thursday, March 24, 2005

General Information: Online IEP's

If you come to the AELC in the afternoons, you may have noticed Kristy Laurx sitting at a computer and quietly reviewing web sites. She is working on the new online IEP project, and has just finished ESL level 5. The online IEP's will be similar in format and content to the current ESL IEP's, but will be housed on the computer desktop instead of the file cabinet. All of the skills sets content from the classroom texts will be cross-correlated with websites, and then installed on the AELC computers. To access the material, you will be able to simply choose the correct skill, click on the link, and it will take you directly to the website. In keeping with our policy of making technology as invisible as possible, you will not have to type in long URL's or look elsewhere for the information. This is the newest tool in our academic arsenal, and has a lot of potential for the future of the AELC.

One of the issues with websites, particulary academic websites, is the fact that they disappear as rapidly as they appear. The online IEP's will require a quarterly 'check-up' to see that the sites are still viable. While losing a site is disappointing, it is amazing how many wonderful sites pop up daily. This is a rich source of instructional material for the AELC, and is worth the little bumps along the path.

Until the online IEP's go live, you can find great academic websites on this Instructor Blog.