Portaortal

   Last week we completed a Portaportal (http://www.portaportal.com/) assignment. A portaportal is a free web based bookmarking utility, so it is like your computer's favorites button except all online. Some benefits to using the Portaportal over the traditional "favorite" button on a computer are that it allows you to divide the websites into categories, allows you to write descriptions about each site, and is easily accessed from any computer. We created a portaportal for resources we can use teaching. So mine is divided into categories like "Science Resources", "Homework Help", "Games for Students", etc. Then I can just click on the category and select the website I want to go to. I can also write up descriptions of each website so that I can see before I click what each site has to offer. This saves the user time since you no longer have to actually go to the site to remember exactly what it is. Another benefit of using the Portaportal is that it is all online so that you can access it from any computer. So if I find a website I want to use while teaching at home, I can just add it to my Portaportal and then access it at school.
   I will also be able to easily utilize Portaportal in my classroom with my students. Because the creator of the Portaportal can allow guest access, I can allow my students to access the sites. When students need help with a homework problem they can just click on the "Homework Help" link and have access to dozens of sites that can help them with the problems they are having. I could also help my students create their own Portaportal and they can add sites that can help them with research or projects.
  Overall, I am very excited about the Portaportal and its uses in the classroom. I believe it is a much more effective way of bookmarking sites than the traditional way of saving it onto your computer. If you are interested in setting up your own Portaportal just go to http://www.portaportal.com/signup.php.