Thinkport-Think Education

What is Thinkport?



Thinkport is a website that is a great resource to teachers and parents! It is a combined effort between Maryland Public Television (MPT) and John Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education (CTE). It is a huge part of Maryland Education, and the resources provided on the site coincide with Maryland's educational standards. The website offers lessons, other technologically educational resources, and also helps teachers keep track of their calendar events and activities planned for the students. It allows the teachers to create a website for the students' parents to view. There are 4 main tabs on the homepage of the site, "Think Classroom," "Think Career," "Think Technology," and "Think Family & Community." The materials/resources listed under each tab allows for the teachers/parents to navigate easily through the site and also will help them find and use the materials they need for the specific situation.





How can Thinkport be used?



This site can be used to help teachers create lesson plans and activities for their students in their classrooms. It can also assist teachers with online educational resources, strategies, online links, etc. in which they can use in lessons. Parents of the students may also use this site to help their children on their schoolwork. It is a quick way for the teachers to organize their events on a calendar and create a website as well.





What are the advantages and disadvantages of Thinkport?



Some advantages of Thinkport include the resources that are published for teachers to use. Graphic organizers, lesson plans, activities, calendars, online clips, downloads, strategies, etc. are also an advantage to being able to access this website because it really helps teachers save time for more important tasks they need to complete for/with their students. The website also is easy to navigate and provides resources for parents to use as well. It also shows current information going on in education.



Some disadvantages of Thinkport include the fact that it is ONLY correlated with Maryland standards. It does correlate with national standards, but no other state's standards show correlation with the lessons, activities, etc.





Who is the audience for Thinkport?



Teachers and Parents of students are the intended audience for this website. The resources provided assist teachers/parents in the educational progress of the students.





Where can we learn more about Thinkport?

Case Study: Thinkport.org – Maryland Public Television

Field Trips - Online - From Thinkport

What is your opinion on the usefullness of Thinkport?



I believe that Thinkport is a great resource available to teachers and parents. I have it bookmarked on my own computer so that I will be able to use it in the future for the students in my classroom. Even though the lessons parallel with Maryland's standards, I believe there is a way to correlate Georgia's standards with the lessons. I enjoyed exploring the website and seeing what was available.