DEVELOPMENT OF A NETWORKING EDUCATION PORTAL FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMUNITIES

Abstract

Education portals have been in existence for quite sometime. However, many people are still not aware about the different types of education portals available. Some do not even see the difference between education portals and mere web sites. This leads to the development of existing education portals without any specific guidelines. This research takes networking education portals for secondary education communities as its focus. The six important elements that should be adhered to by a networking education portal are outlined. They are, portal characteristics; common features of networking education portals; presentation and navigability of information; educational effectiveness; interaction and feedback; and technical aspects. A prototype called EduPortal is proposed as an ideal networking education portal that fulfills the requirements of these six elements. An evaluation of this prototype revealed that this prototype managed to solve most of the problems identified with existing education portals for secondary education communities. This prototype also promotes the understanding of portal concepts and uses of networking education portals as a complementary educational tool for secondary education communities in Malaysia.