Welcome to the latest version of Aussie Educator. In future updates, the home page will only have a small amount of detail about changes made, in addition to general educational information. With the number of changes on this occasion, we have included a summary of the major changes and suggested ways of getting full value from the site. We have concentrated on the content rather than the visual presentation.

On a page basis, we have added and removed components as you will see. No page is identical to any previous page. We have increased from 269 pages to 403 as a result of additions, splitting previous pages, adding a number of portal pages and in some cases spreading information over multiple pages instead of having one big page. Other page changes include the following.

• All pages have been Validated for markup and have been tested in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Chrome and Safari. They feature a flexible appearance depending on the scale of your screen, but we still recommend a resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater for best presentation. In fact, 1280 x 800 would be a better starting point if possible. We have also changed the character set to UTF-8. We believe it has several advantages over the previous coding choice.
• Many pages have been regrouped in what we believe are more logical groupings. These groupings provide a different site structure and different URLs for all except the Home Page. Many groups have a Portal page, allowing you to access multiple pages in that area.
• All pages now have an expanding menu and a site search. Hover your cursor over any title on any layer of the menu and you are given a brief statement of the contents. The small green pointers indicate another link level. This menu allows you to access virtually any material on the site from every page.
• A different font is used which it is felt provides clearer on screen print.
• To change font size, use the browser or system. This will provide a much greater range. Some assistance can be found on the Site Information page, while most browsers give clear instructions on how to achieve this.
• You still have the option to print the page using a format that eliminates unnecessary material. At the same time, you can access translations of the page from the link below the menu. There are more language options available than before.
• All pages have an introductory statement, many with definition and/or reference. There are direct links to related pages.
• Every page has a pathway listing at the bottom, left of the heading area. Most link to a page, but some are area indicators only.
• A number of additional pages have been added. These include History of Australian Education, Conferences, Study Skills, Media, Drama, Education Technology, Australia since 1945. Some are more advanced than others. A few pages have also been eliminated but may be reconsidered in the short term. We also have a large collection of links still to add. We seem to be finding quality links faster than we can handle them, certainly over the last several months. They will be added as soon as possible.
• You can now tell when every page has been updated. Just check the footer. We are going to trial a flexible, rather than block, updating process over the next several months. However, core data will be checked as regularly as in the past. For further information, check the Site Information page.
• We have added quite a number of links. However, the number does not indicate the several hundred replacements made during the conversion nor a different counting system which eliminated several hundred from the previous total. The count now tallies actual, external links to information, nothing more. All up, more than 2 500 new links are included.
• We have added one other feature as a trial. Provided it works well and does not cause undue problems it will remain. If you Double Click on any word, you will get a pop up window with a definition, thesaurus information and more from Free Dictionary. We would appreciate any feedback if it is causing any problems. If there is enough concern, it will be removed.

Overall, we have tried to keep the site as simple as possible in appearance. Minimum graphics, no fancy Flash, no animations, etc.. This aligns with our belief in the K.I.S.S. principal - Keep It Simple Stupid ! We believe content is what the site is about. That has not changed.

This does not say there will be no further changes. There are already some we are considering, but after several months of constant commitment and learning, it may be a while before these are done.

We could provide even more detail, but probably the best way is to try the new site and see if you believe it is better for you. We appreciate constructive feedback. We have tried to ensure all internal and external links work as do all other components, but we are only human. If there are items that do not work, please help us by letting us know.

Be aware, search engines on the site will not be fully functional until it is spidered and checked, after being uploaded. This was fairly quick last time but may take several days. We regret any inconvenience, but have no control over this. These are now well under way.

Finally, there are redirects from all previous pages. They will remain in place for a period of four [4] months from this update.

Enjoy the new site. We think it is a big improvement on the previous version. We hope you do as well.

Be sure to check the latest options with the new Intake for AYAD volunteers. Applications close February 26. Use the AYAD page link under Special Pages from the main menu.

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