Use technology-related terms, concepts, data input strategies, and ethical practices to make informed decisions about current technologies and their applications.

Among my peers (our district's three-person technology team), I'm notorious for trying more than one way to do something. There are several ways, I've found, to do most tasks associated with computers and technology. This standard focuses on the "more than one ways" that can be used to accomplish any given task. "Thinking outside the box," as it is often called, is vital for persons who attempt to deal with the rapidly-changing technology, and is something that I enjoy doing. This doesn't mean that it always makes my work easier -- in fact, it sometimes goes in exactly the opposite direction. However, after one of those "learning experiences," I know one more thing that doesn't work -- and I've learned something. Sometimes, in the midst of a failed experiment, I've learning things that I can use in another situation.

Caption 1

Indicators:Standard I, Standard II, 7.3s, 7.4s, 7.8s, 7.9s, 7.11s, 7.12s, 7.22s, 7.23s, 7.24s, 7.27s, 7.34s, 7.41s, 8.1s, 8.11s, 8.14s, 8.17s, 8.19s, 8.33s, 8.35s, 8.37s, 8.38s, 8.39s, 8.40s, 8.41s, 8.44s, 8.45s, 8.47s, 9.2s, 9.3s, 9.4s, 9.9s, 9.15s, 9.17s, 9.26s, 9.27s, 9.29s, 9.37s, 9.38s, 9.42s, 9.43s, 10.9s, 10.11s, 10.43s, 11.1s, 11.2s, 11.3s, 11.4s, 11.5s, 11.6s, 11.8s, 11.9s, 11.10s, 11.13s, 11.14s, 11.15s, 11.16s, 11.17s, 11.19s, 11.20s, 11.24s, 11.25s, 11.28s, 11.29s, 11.30s, 11.31s, 11.32s, 11.34s, 11.35s, 11.39s

Artifact #1

Descriptors: Discussion on Web Servers

Title: Servers: What do they do? Why do you need one?

Course: 102 Web Authoring - Discussion 2

Date Created: September 9, 2002

Source: Internet, Readings from Module 1

Media: Word Processing

Description: As a discussion in the Web Authoring course, we were to research and respond to the following questions:

• What is the purpose of a Web server?
• What advantages and disadvantages do you see of hosting a site on an Intranet rather than the Internet?
• Is it better to set up your own web server or use a hosting service when publishing a web site?

We were to do research on the web, and (acknowledging there were no right or wrong answers to these well-debated questions) choose a position, present our positions and findings in a concise manner in a universally readable word processing document (for example, a .pdf or .rft file, and cite any sources that we used to come to our conclusions.

Rationale: I included this artifact because it focused on a technical issue that I was able to deal with successfully because of what I had learned in TATC. For instance, when our district got its new servers, our original intention was to host the district website on one. After researching (both in the TATC class and elsewhere) I became convinced that it was not going to be worth the hassle to house our website on our server. We continue to house our website on our ESC's server (and they get to deal with the headaches, while all we have to do is maintain the site itself). I also decided to back up a website I established to lead students through the process of writing an English research paper on our own server, which the students could access from our intranet. This decision proved worth its while when, on several occasions, the ESC server was down. Because my site was on our intranet, my students were able to still make use of the limited lab time available.

Implications for future: Students are often in the process of building their own "for fun" websites, and frequently make use of the first "free" offering they see. After this assignment and others in this strand, I am better able to explain the considerations which must be taken into account upon such an undertaking. It certainly will be a part of my future webmastering courses.

Reviewer's Comments: Great comparison of advantages and disadvantages!!

Reviewer's Name: Leah Franco

Title: TATC Student

Date Reviewed: September 9, 2002