The main purpose of a startpage is to provide a variety of produced information through smal windows of content on a webpage. The tabbed set of pages allows for users to select content based upon interest and need, as well as allows for a varitey of content to be readily available. A startpage also allows for numerous dynamic content to be included within a webpage. This format appears to be a better approach for the needs of my PLE, as my goal is to provide a full spectrum of reesearch, instructional practices/techniques, and reccomendations/commentary from the PLE community. I will incorporate my blog page, as well as Twitter, youtube, podcasts and flickr within the environment. The blog page and Twitter commentary will be accessed/distributed via RSS in order to promote immediate conversation and PLE community building. YouTube and podcasts will be incorporated in order to showcase/highlight specific teaching methods or instructional practices introduced/shared through blog or Twitter postings and noted links/commentary on recent research (which will be excerpted from my blog postings or linked websites/communities). Flickr will be incorporated as a secondary tool to provide visual entertainment from classrooms and users expressing personal frustrations or breaks from the levity of the conversations surounding this PLE. Flickr will also be used as a tool to encourage user participation in this environment.
The intention of the site will be to provide a learning tool, current information on issues in special education, as well as to involve users in creating a research-based, professional resource.