A New and Larger Home for ERPT
Our Own Web Domain: ERPT is very grateful that the University
of Florida provided free Web site hosting during our first two years of
providing tutorials on the Web. However, as our needs for space, direct access
to the files, and interactive capability grew we had to make other arrangments.
Thus it was that in 2001 February the Particle Technology Forum purchased
a domain name for ERPT (www.erpt.org) and secured server space
from a commercial operator (Entre-KY). The files have been transferred
to the new site and all URL references have been changed to the new domain name.
Coverage: Since startup in early 1999 we have secured tutorials
for ERPT from educators and industrial practitioners.
The number grew from 2 to 3 to 5 (on dates 1999 Sep 01, 2000 Nov 08, 2001 Apr 26).
We also increased the links to tutorials on other sites from 20 to 26 to 25.
The links to other educational sites changed from 0 to 60 to 37.
We also provide descriptions and contact information to non-Web modes
of education.
Traffic: Since startup in early 1999 we have established a good base
of visitors seeking help in understanding and applying the principles of particle
technology to industrial processes. Seven months after startup the site received
an average of 14 requests a day for non-graphic pages. Twenty-one months after
startup the average was 61 a day. Now -- twenty-six months after startup --
traffic averages 54 pages a day. Only 20% of these are for the home page;
most visitors are going beyond that to learn from the tutorials.
Multiple Languages: Dietmar Schulze has posted several tutorials in German,
and Mauricio M. Garim has provided Spanish and Portuguese versions
of EPRT's home page. This makes the tutorials more accessible
to particle technologists around the globe. We welcome further contributions
in multiple languages.
Video, Interaction: We now have one tutorial that uncludes several video clips,
and we are experimenting with several approaches to provide interactive capability.
What Can You Do? Come back to visit the ERPT site from time to time
to see how we are growing. Let us know about useful educational material that you have
found on the Web. Tell your colleagues about the ERPT site.
It is part of the educational outreach program of the Particle Technology Forum.