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Searching For, Creating and Sharing Favorite Posts on Paths to Technology: Activity
Having trouble finding a favorite post on Paths to Technology? Here are some helpful hints!
Officially launched in April 2016, the Paths to Technology website is now a year old! Currently, there are over 2,500 posts and new posts are being added daily. The website is organized into sections to help users explore specific areas of interest. There are several built-in features to help you define your search for a specific topic and to easily access your favorite posts again.
Technology Search
Select the Technology Search tab – located in the Paths to Technology Tool bar on the right side of the page – to quickly search the website for desired topics and specific posts.
There are two ways to search under the Technology Search page: search by selecting built-in categories and subcategories or search by typing in key words.
The established categories are:
- Devices
- Format
- Peripherals
- Learning Medium
- Screen Readers and Magnification
- Subjects
- Perspective
Each category has subcategories; beside each subcategory is a number. This number refers to how many posts are included in this category.
Select a category. In this exercise, under the Devices category, “iOS iPad/iPod/iPhone (408)” subcategory will be selected.
There are currently 408 posts included in this subcategory. The website anticipates that users will want to narrow the search, so a dropdown menu with the additional categories/subcategories appears on the left side of the screen. I want to further define my search to posts about emerging readers.
Under the Learning Medium category, I selected, “Emerging Reader (61)”.
Now, the post thumbnails that are listed fall under both the iOS iPad/iPod/iPhone and Emerging Reader categories. I can now quickly scroll through these posts or I could choose to further define my search.
Search by Typing in Key Words
You can also type in key words to search for desired topics or specific posts on Paths to Technology. You can perform the same search that was just done, by typing the key words, “iPad emerging reader” in the search textbox. NOTE: Do not use commas between words!
If you know the title of a specific post or key words in the post, you can also type those in. I know there are several posts about an emerging braille reader, Layla, who is learning to use the iPad, braille display and Bluetooth keyboard. I can simply type the key word, “Layla”.
Now thumbnails of all the posts with the word, “Layla” appear. I can quickly scroll through these posts to find the one I remembered and to explore all the posts about Layla.
Favorites
When you find a post that is important to you, you can mark the post as a “Favorite”. This enables you to quickly find the post again. You must be registered on the Paths to Technology website and must be signed in. To register on Paths to Technology, select the Account tab located at the top, right side of the screen. Select Register, then fill out the registration information. After you initially register on the website, you can simply select the Account tab and sign in.
Note: Registering on Paths to Technology automatically subscribes you to a weekly email highlighting one Paths to Technology post each week. On your Account page, you can choose to unsubscribe: you have options to subscribe to a weekly email from other Perkins websites such as Paths to Literacy.
To Create a Favorite
- Register on Paths to Technology (only register one time)
- Sign in to Paths to Technology
- Open the desired post
- Select Favorite (star image located above the post’s title on the right side of the page)
Once a post is marked as a Favorite, the star visually turns red. To remove a post from Favorites, simple select the Favorite again.
To View Your List of Favorites
Favorites are a personal feature, listing your personal Favorites. You must be registered on Paths to Technology and signed in to create and/or to view your Favorites.
- Sign in to Paths to Technology
- Select Account (located at the top of the screen on the right side)
- Select Favorites; your personal My Favorites page will open with a list of your Favorite posts. The list includes a title of the post, Content type (where the post is located) and the date that you marked the post as a Favorite. The posts are arranged in chronological order starting with the first post that you marked as a Favorite.
Share
You can easily print the post and/or share your favorite post on Facebook,Twitter, and in an email. Saving your Favorite posts on FaceBook is a great way to share the post with others and to place your favorite posts where you can easily access them again. You can also email the link to the post in order to embed the link in a document that can be shared or saved.
To Share a Post
- Open the desired post
- Select your desired option: Print, Facebook, Twitter or eMail. (The share options are located above the post’s title.)
Student Activity
These skills – searching a website, Favorites and Sharing – are important technology skills that your student will need to know. Have your student read this post and then search for posts on several topics that are of immediate interest to your student. The student can tag his/her favorite posts, and share these posts with you or someone else. Use these activities to encourage your student to self-advocate. Example: Pick an appropriate topic, such as “creating an accessible PowerPoint”. Have your student search and read several posts about this topic, create a Favorite, and email this post to a mainstream teacher who frequently uses PowerPoint Presentations.
By Diane Brauner
