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In this FAQs glossary you will find information regarding community goals, organization and practice. Entries are organized by categories like "Definitions", "New Member Orientation", "Software and Tools", etc.
If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact the Help Desk by email at portulan.online@gmail.com and the administrators will be more than happy to add it to the glossary.



Browse the glossary using this index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O
P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL

A

Question:

Access to the site - Why I am directed to another page?

(Last edited: Monday, 6 March 2006, 10:24 PM)
Answer: Portulano is hosted by the Department of Didactics and Educational Technology of the University of Aveiro. Their server is closed for maintenance everyday from approximately 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. GMT.

We're sorry for this necessary inconvenience. Please try at another time.
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B

Question:

Become a member - How do I do that?

(Last edited: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 07:50 AM)
Answer: To become a member click on the "log on" or "create a new account" links. A new page will appear with instructions on how to proceed. You will need to choose a username and password and type a valid email address. A confirmation message will be sent shortly to that address. Click on the confirmation link provided in that message and you'll be ready to start participating in the community.

Please let the community know a little bit more about your professional, research and personal interests, your area(s) of expertise and the area(s) you would like to develop or learn more about. To update your profile, click on your user name and follow the link to the profile form. Although at present there is a technical problem with this version of the software that prevents member pictures to be uploaded directly, you may send your picture (80x80 pixels) as an email attachment to the Help Desk, and it will be included in you profile manyually. As an alternative, a photo album can be created using a free web picture service like Flickr.
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L

Question:

Links - now visible.

(Last edited: Thursday, 11 May 2006, 09:32 AM)
Answer: Links on Moodle - Portulano's platform - may not be immediately apparent to the user, also depending on which browser you use. Although Moodle should work on any of the most commonly used browsers, Firefox is recommended. Firefox can be dowloaded for free here.

Unclicked links are generally rendered in a dark grey tone, except for names and titles of topics or sections (e.g. Library, Tools, etc.). Until you get used to the Moodle layout, just let you mouse go over the various sections of a page. Clickable text is then easily identifiable as the cursor highlights the link.

Just to test, try the homepage section "Mapping out the community." Most of the text there is clickable, but a small portion is not. Can you tell the difference?

UPDATE
All links have been made visible! (underlined text and color change by mouse hovering). Many pictures link to other pages as well (mouse-over reveals a small pointing hand).
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P

Question:

Participation - How can I fully participate in Portulano?

(Last edited: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 07:58 AM)
Answer:
Although the Portulano concept was developed within the framework of a doctoral research project, it can not be expected to have any "effect in the world" if it is the result of only one individual's work.

In reality, the success of our learning community depends entirely on active members like you and all the other forward-looking people who are willing to partner with us and collaborate in our initiatives and projects. Portulano needs your skills, expertise, enthusiasm and committment.

We welcome all interested members, at all levels of participation. But we're especially looking for members who would also like to take on roles such as:

  • Community stewards
 to help develop community spirit and cohesion; motivate, guide and inspire both new and more experienced members;
  • Thinkers, idealists
 to refine community vision and goals; to project the community into the future;
  • Pragmatists
 to create effective roadmaps; promote "can-do" approaches; shape the practical side of community life;
  • Explorers, navigators
 to mine the web for resources; to enrich collections and repositories;
  • Scholars, researchers
 to observe and report on community life; help improve it with their findings;
  • Chroniclers, archivists
 to keep track of community activities; record community history and shape its memory;
  • Translators
 to support a balanced use of Portuguese and English on the community site; to promote bilingualism in the community;
  • Mediators, ambassadors
 to disseminate community's activities; to network with other communities; to bring in the value-added of multi-group membership.
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Question:

Portulano - What does it mean?

(Last edited: Monday, 6 March 2006, 07:42 AM)
Answer: Portulano comes from the Italian word portolanu which refers to the catalogues of ports and sea routes used by navigators in the late Middle Ages.

Apart from vital information about nautical distances, magnetic routes, compass directions and waypoints, these books included colourful representations and detailed descriptions of the coastal areas of the various continents.

portafrica

Click here to see another beautiful portulano by João Teixeira Albernaz (included in the archives of the Torre do Tombo, Lisbon).
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Question:

Portulano - Who is it meant for?

(Last edited: Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 09:04 AM)
Answer:

Portulano membership is open to adults over the age of 18 who are interested in disseminating and promoting the Portuguese language and the diverse cultures it conveys.

If you are a TEACHER or a FACULTY member directly or indirectly involved in the teaching and learning of Portuguese;

If you are a Portuguese-speaking PARENT or DESCENDANT who wish to keep your heritage alive through your children or in your family;

If you are a school PRINCIPAL, ADMINISTRATOR or department CHAIR interested in promoting and expanding Portuguese Studies in your institution;

If you are a MEMBER of a cultural or educational organization with a focus on the maintenance of the Portuguese-speaking heritage;


Then the Portulano community may help you reach your professional and personal goals.

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Question:

Profile - How do I update my profile?

(Last edited: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 07:52 AM)
Answer: Please let the community know a little bit more about your professional, research and personal interests, your area(s) of expertise and the area(s) you would like to develop or learn more about.

To update your profile, click on your user name and follow the link to the profile form. Fill in the form. Please don't forget to include your Portulano/Skype username (see VoIP entry).

Although at present there is a technical problem with this version of the software that prevents member pictures to be uploaded directly, you may send your picture (80x80 pixels) as an email attachment to the Help Desk, and it will be included in you profile manyually. As an alternative, a photo album can be created using a free web picture service like Flickr.
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S

Question:

Services - What can members do?

(Last edited: Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 09:07 AM)
Answer:

Portulano registered members can ...

Connect and communicate

The website's main functionalities are based on an open-source learning and course/content management platform called Moodle. This platform has been designed around sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. Besides Moodle, Portulano aims to integrate and explore other available software in order to better support individual and group activities and projects and provide registered members with access to synchronous and asynchronous communication tools like forums, chats, blogs, VoIP and virtual working spaces.


Collaborate and share

Portulano offers you the possibility to network and collaborate online with peers, colleagues and partners from your institution or across geography and time zones. You can easily create your own work, course or event spaces, or access to existing community and member spaces, and start exploring new and creative ways of sharing and learning.


Discuss topics and professional issues

Community, member-led or partner-sponsored forums and thematic chat events allow members to discuss important topics in their area of expertise, or learn about new ones.


Advance and develop professionally

Portulano aims to make a serious contribution to initial and continuous professional development in the area of Portuguese as a Foreign Language/Português Língua Estrangeira (PFL/PLE) by offering consistent development opportunities for teachers and faculty, and establishing partnerships with qualifications and accreditation institutions. Special attention is given to developing the capacity of PFL/PLE practitioners to integrate technology with language learning and teaching.


Access to quality resources

In the Knowledge Bank registered members have access to a variety of resources, tools, kits and reference materials, either directly contributed by members or located, reviewed and commented by them. All members are invited to make contributions to help expand and enrich the community's resource collection. Comments on their use of those resources are also extremely valuable to the development of the community's good practice strategies.


Publish and peer-review

Members can publish their own work and allow others to comment on it. Collaborative production of documents or materials is also encouraged. Portulano has a copyright policy.


Disseminate projects and initiatives and look for new partners

Individual members, groups or organizations can set up their own project spaces, organize project fairs or search for new partners.

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Portulano is a POCI - 2010 project, sponsored by the European Union