Introduction / About This Web Site

Welcome to the Programming for Individual Needs: Using Technology to Enhance Students' Differing Abilities Web Site. This site is a project of the Division of Student Support Services, Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Education. It was developed to provide an on-line version of the Decision-Making Framework/Resource Book, published in 1996.

 

Through this medium, the document acquires many features to enhance its usefulness for those planning to use assistive technology for students who have special needs. Various sections of the document can be easily cross-referenced through the use of internal links. The opportunity to use the document as a catalyst for further exploration/ research on specific technological solutions is enabled through the provision of external links to web sites of many producers and distributors of assistive technologies as well as other resource agencies with a focus on this area. An equally valuable feature is the ease with which it can be updated to keep pace with technological advances in this exciting field.

 

Students, parents and professionals who have a browser and an Internet connection can browse through this carefully organized and integrated web site and find resources to hundreds of technological applications for students with differing needs.

 

To assist a new user to this site, this page was created to explain some of the key features used to create its connectivity and ease of use. While the site has been completely designed to work with today's top Internet browsers, the designers have also taken into consideration backwards compatibility, allowing users with Internet Explorer 2 or Netscape Navigator 2 to view the contents as well. For maximum browsing performance, including some features that do not work with other browsers, the designers recommend the use of Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher

 

Non-Frames vs. Frames

This web site has been designed with two key concepts in mind: Speed and Usability. To achieve a balance between these concepts, two completely separate versions of the site have been created, i.e., the Non-Frames and the Frames versions.

 

The Non-Frames version was created to achieve a high bandwidth (the site will load faster and the user can access the information more quickly) and for older browsers. Many of the special features used in the Frames version have been disabled to boost speed and because only the newer browsers will support them. The Pop-up Windows are not included in this version, however, the external and internal links, including links to the glossary, as well as the Search Index are still included. In this version the links will bring the user to the linked section; the back button will return the user to the original page. The links to the About page, Search Index, Table of Contents, etc. will be at the bottom of each page.

 

In the Frames version, the design concept lies in the ease of use and direction for the future as newer computers, browsers, and faster connections are becoming more accessible by the mass market. Frames were used to allow the user to have constant access to a menu bar from which to browse any portion of the site. The design of the frames is such that they seamlessly integrate with one another disguising the fact that they are even there.

 

To summarize, the Non-Frames version allows for quick access of the web site through slow connections, computers or old browsers. If using one of these this is the version you should choose. The Frames version adds an integrated, seamless connectivity to the entire site, providing additional features for enhanced use. This version will require the use of Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher for the best possible performance.

Features of the Frames Version

The Frames version uses several effective samples of JavaScript to assist with the display of information - Menu Bars that highlight the text as the mouse moves over them, Pop-up Windows for glossary terms, and for internal and external links, as well as a Search Index of the entire site so that a user can quickly locate any topic.

 

An elaboration of these features follows:

Menu Bar

The Menu Bar, in its own frame, remains fairly constant throughout the Frames version; the user can run the mouse to the left side of the screen to select the key options available there.

 

These are:

 

*Note* These options are all included in the Non-Frames version also, however, they appear only as text-links at the bottom of the pages.

Pop-Up Windows

Throughout the site are links to glossary definitions, internal links to other pages of the site, and external links to other pertinent web sites. In the Frames version, these are viewed through Pop-up Windows.

 

The Glossary window is a simple little window that defines the term that is linked.

 

The Internal Link window provides a fast link to another section of the site while maintaining the current place in the document. The user can find additional information about a topic, and when finished can close down the window to continue to browse the original section.

 

The External link window allows the user to browse another site containing related information. The user will have the option of closing this window when finished and continuing from the original point, closing this site and continuing to browse from the external link, or keeping both open to review information in both.

 

*Note* It should be noted that the Glossary and Internal Link windows display the referenced page ONLY; the window does not contain any buttons such as Back or Print and does not contain an address bar for other links. However, in the External Link window, the buttons are included for browsing another site. Also, the pop-up windows are NOT included in the non-frames version.

The Search Index

With a web site as massive as this one in content, it is essential that users have a quick and simple way of finding that information. This comes in the form of a search index. Throughout the site, a button on the menu bar (or a link at the bottom of the page in the non-frames version) brings up a page which allow users to enter a word or a sentence and the program will search the entire site for references containing the search property. It will generate a list of links with a short sample of the text on the page that contains the references and from this list, a user will be able to chose to browse that page. The program will detect the text you have entered on the page but will not scroll directly to it. You have to browse through the page to find what you are looking for. This is the only real drawback with the search index.

Contacts

For questions regarding the information contained within this web site please contact:

Division of Student Support Services
Department of Education
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
P.O. Box 8700
St. John's, NF
A1B 4J6
Canada
Telephone (709) 729-6450
Facsimile (709) 729-2096
E-mail: bsmith@edu.gov.nf.ca

For technical questions regarding the web site in general, please contact:

STEM~Net, E5038
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NF
A1B 3X8
CANADA
Telephone (709) 737-8836
E-mail: webmaster@calvin.stemnet.nf.ca

Copyright and Disclaimer

Information on this site is copyright ©1996-1997 Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Education.
All rights reserved. All brand names and companies mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.
Mention of a product or service does not constitute an official endorsement.
This site was created with today's top web development tools such as Microsoft Frontpage 97 2.0, Adobe Photoshop 3.05, Adobe Acrobat 3.0, Allaire HomeSite 2.5 (Pre-release), HTMLed Pro32 ver 2.0c (Evaluation version), Corel WordPerfect Suite 7.0, and WinZip 6.2

For best results in viewing this web site, we suggest Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher