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John Ripley 9/13 Overview: This is a site produced by the Federal Reserve to promote financial literacy. It is aimed at providing information and activities to all age groups from kindergarten to adult. There are only two games/activities for the K-4 level and I didn't think that either one was especially good. There are several more games for kids at older age levels that are a little better. I still can't imagine kids getting excited about playing any of the games that I looked at though. The games/activities are only a small part of the site and I think that the real strength of the site lies in the information that it provides for a high school age audience that might be exposed to the information through a teacher in a classroom that could help interpret it. The educational value is more as an aid to a teacher in planning a lesson or relaying a concept rather than assigning the

Cassie Nelson February 3, 2012 Overview The purpose of this site is to help Agriculture Educators teach in their classroom. The intended audience is Ag teachers. This website has lesson plans to help Ag teacher in the classroom. Overall, I like this website and will use it for my classroom. Not only does it have secondary lesson plans but plans for adults and middle school as well. Content At first glance you can determine the content and audience. The material is clearly identified. There is information about the author and contact information. There is not revision date provided but the content seems to be updated frequently. The content appears to be complete, organized, and meets the needs of sufficient information. Design The homepage loads efficiently. The home page is attractive and you can tell where you are within the site. The site is easy to navigate. The information in the site is worth visiting. A downfall to the site is there is no date of last revision. There is also no copyright date or date the site was established.

Ryan Mikesell ITEC Web Review 1/23/10 Overview: Ageducate.org is a website funded by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and is dedicated to educating agricultural educators. It provides information and resources for Ag Ed teachers everywhere to help them in the classroom. From lesson plans to activities the site helps teachers to better educate their students in agriculture. The site is mainly intended for Ag teachers but also has a link to careers available in agriculture. Content: The website is very basic and easily maneuverable. The information presented is clear and understandable as well as very useful to an educator in need of classroom activities and information. All the links are effective and useable, and all copyright information and site revision dates are provided. The website has many useful educational tools including useful book references, downloadable lesson plans and nation wide statistics about agriculture education. It also has a link that provides websites and games intended for the education of younger children and to help get them involved in agriculture. Design: The website is designed mainly as an educational tool. Its links are easily followed and it provides necessary links to other websites. Pictures are used to illustrate and promote agriculture. All provided information is referenced and revision dates provided.

An amusement park of math and more! Math lessons, math games, math practice, math fun! Coolmath4kids.com This website is targeted toward parents, teachers, and young kids interested in math and math games. The purpose of the website is to give lessons and games that will allow kids to easier understand math. The website seems easy to understand and gives simple explanations on math concepts. Content: The website is easily understood, and very clearly promotes math games and lessons to younger elementary age kids. The president, Karen, and writers of the website are clearly presented. The starting date is given, and the material seems to be up to date. The content is user-friendly and appropriate. Design: The website is very colorful, and appealing to the eye, especially for kids, who are most likely to use this site. The information is very useful and relevant to the younger kids, and easy to comprehend. There is enough info given to make it a useful website, and there are links to further info and to the creators.

CoolMAth.com- Review on 10/4/12 Diigo i.d= Jessle33 CoolMAth.com purpose is a site designed to make math more fun; referring to itself as an "amusement park" of games used to help make math more enjoyable. This site is designed for students of age 13 and up. The lowest level of math that it provides is pre-algebra so students younger than 8th grade may struggle a bit if using this site. There are various resources available for students who use this site: math lessons, math practice, math dictionaries, math games, all levels of math pre-algebra and up, puzzles, books, etc. There is also a tab that parents and teachers may visit that provides ways to help your kids with math homework, web education, and certain resources (books) that are available to them. My overall impression of this site is that it is easy for students to navigate no matter their age and bright colors are used. There are games that keep the students engaged and help to make the lessons educational, but beneficial. There are a lot of various activities for the students to use and that helps in many ways.

Kayla Hyde 10/20/2013 Overview: This website is made to make math cool and fun to students. It would be great for those students that don't think math can be fun or that rather play computer games then do math. It is a great way to promote learning in a new way. Content: This site is full of information and different links to different games based on different skills. There are puzzles and games that can be targeted for children ages three to five to eighth grades. Any student at any math level can find a game to help increase their learning of the subject. Design: The website can be a little overwhelming with so many links and so many colors. Because the site is set on a black background and multicolored text, it can be a little too much at times. Also there are many ads that can be a little much, but the content is still worth it.

Content: This website contains lots and lots of stuff. It is set up like a classroom and has a reading link, a math link, a playground link, and an arcade link. I think this is more of a game site than an educational one. There are also lots of links to other help sites, but the majority of the links are for advertiser's webpage's, distracting visitors. Design: After looking at it for awhile, I started to feel lost and uninterested because of all the advertisements and the lack of visuals. There are thousands of links for kids to go to, and the actual site doesn't really support a good learning environment. As said above, it's mostly games with reading sections that really looks fun, but if you have to look through the games to get to that section, students will probably never get there on their own. The visual part of this website is interesting. The homepage is pretty boring and filled with links, but the reading and games tabs are designed for younger students. Attribution: The purpose of this site is probably intended to promote learning is fun, but becomes easily more of a distraction with all of the advertisements. I don't think I would promote this site in my classroom without adult supervision because students could so easily be distracted by toys and games.

Overview The purpose of this website is to help kids interact with math and reading. The intended audience is K-8. My overall impression of the website is that is very beneficial and a good free website for students to practice math and reading, whereas with other websites you have to pay to use the website. Content The only thing that I would critique on this website is having other links that would be appropriate and have to do with reading and math. But other than that, I would highly recommend this website. Design I think that everything is up to date but there is no for sure way to tell on the website, there is the copy right that does say 2013 but there is no one hundred percent way to tell if it has all been updated. So this is one thing that I would change on the design for the website.

Trevor Montgomery For this resource, we see another website that in a way, tricks students into thinking they are just playing games by giving them subject related activities. With the subjects of math and reading, students having interactive games, books and comics and even more fun links, without thinking they are doing much work. Through the "Funbrain" arcade, students can also complete activities and must pass obstacles to get through an interactive game board. If they do not successfully complete an activity, they will not be able to get past their current location, but will feel challenged to get through each activity and will most likely attempt multiple times until mastery of the activity. The great thing about this website is that students can also use codes to pick up where they left off on the game board so that they do not have to start over each time they log on (with their parents' permission of course). From grades 1st through 8th, there is a great variability from subjects, and students who are feeling extra brave might even try a level of difficulty higher than their current grade level. As someone who used this website in school when he was in elementary school, I can say that this resource is extremely effective and I think that students will come back to it time and time again. Navigating the website is easy enough. If you type in www.funbrain.com in the url box, you will be directed to the site. From here, you can choose to use the math arcade, reading, fun arcade, playground, and all games tabs, as well as books & comics and more fun activities. This website is specifically directed towards the audience of students in grades 1st through 8th, so as a teacher you can trust it to be safe and student-friendly.

Overview Code Academy is a website that is used to promote the proper teaching of different computer languages to people of all ages. It is mostly aimed at people who are in computer science classes from middle school through college. The site has a number of corporate sponsors as well as many 'teachers' that donate their time to creating lesson plans for this site. They really advocate the teaching and learning of these computer languages. For being programmers, the site is actually fairly simple and had some glitches on my computer. I will attribute that as much to the computer as much as their programming.

classic game of lemonade stand

Charlene Asay: 1/23/2010 *Overview: I think that the first promotion of this site is to learning, and to get students to think that learning math is cool and fun. In the end this site becomes more of a distracting site because of all the advertisements. I wouldn't use this site in my classroom without having me there to walk my students through it so it would be easier to get to the lessons I wanted them to do. *Content: This website has a lot of different things that you can use it for. It has different math and thinking games, puzzles, for every age. There are different links for certain subjects such as arithmetic, prealgebra, algebra, and all different math lessons. There is also a link for parents and teachers. This is more of a game site than an educational site, but if you look closely at the certain games, you could be learning from them. There are a few advertisements on the webpage. Such as Walgreens, and Triaminic ad that has a coupon to click on. This webpage has many advertisements that will distract the visitors into clicking on them instead of playing the math games. *Design: The design of this webpage is quite confusing. If I were a young student and my teacher as me to get to a certain lesson in prealgebra, I would get lost with all the different advertisements and other links there are to look at. I would also want to go to the games instead of the lesson my teacher as me to do.

Ross Lindstrom - September 21, 2009 Website Evaluation #1: The American Political Science Association (APSA) The American Political Science Association's website is an aesthetically attractive website that also contains a wealth of information and additional resources. The Association brings together 15,000 members to form a community of political science study, fostering a healthy discourse and exchange of information. APSA organizes conferences, seminars, and produces publications for both students and teachers for the purpose of promoting the scholarly research of political science. My first impression of the website is a complete trust in the legitimacy of the information presented. Any student would find this website invaluable when looking for resources to do anything from simply understanding what political science is to writing a graduate dissertation or finding an internship in Washington. The website displayed efficient organization of the various areas of the site, a challenge when so much information is contained within. It had enough visual appeal to not become redundant while browsing and yet still retain the professionalism that should be inherent in such a field of study. However, a high school age student may find the website a bit dry and the content a little too advanced. Most of the publications of the website aren't available in a direct .html format, but download speeds are quick. There is significant information overlap among the publications, but in a field of study where slight opinion difference is a cornerstone of the conversation, this can only be a credit to its legitimacy. The first glance at the APSA website yields both an understanding of its purpose and a desire to explore the website's resource. The content is clearly organized based on subject matter as well as practical application. Proper credits to authors are prevalent, new content is regularly added, and old content is constantly maintained. One of the

The purpose of this site is to inform visitors of what they can do to promote human rights around the world. The audience is "youth" so children of a wide range of ages and even teachers who want to introduce this resource to them. The website offers a multitude of information such as what this group is and what they do and what human rights are. The website is spread out and information is designated to different tabs. I like that if I want to scroll down I can see "Human Rights News" as well as a definition of human rights. This makes me feel as though if I were bringing a class to this site they would be drawn into the subject just by the front page and then use the tabs to research more. The page appears busy but in a well laid out way. It draws a viewer in with the color scheme and the over all layout.

Laura Rice 2/5/12 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide knowledge and promote international art programs. The websites intended audience is for adults hoping to encourage people to seek the arts. I would also have to say this website is more beneficial to those that live in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. They provide information about dance, festivals, film, galleries, gardens, history, libraries, media, museums, music, parks, and theaters. It also provides maps of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. These maps provide access to arts all around the cities. There are also a number of art lesson plans for all ages of students. This website is a great resource for information about different art programs. It is well organized making it useful for anyone that accesses it. Content: This website provides information about different organizations throughout cites. A list of things to do provides information about activities taking place in the cities such as dance, festivals, film, galleries, gardens, history, libraries, media, museums, music, parks, and theaters. The next set of links shows maps of the cities with arrows to the art locations. A calendar outlines all art activities taking place in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. It also provides great resources for parents, teachers, and seniors. For the parents the website has many links that their kids would love to attend such as children museums, music programs, and plays. Teachers are provided with activities their kids may enjoy as well. In the organization section there are links to different types of art organizations. There is also an area that allows people to get involved whether to donate money or volunteer their help. At the bottom of the page there's information about the programs, ways to reach some one for more knowledge, and the legal rights of the website. Design: The website is well organized and h

Jessica Lee 10/21/2013 Overview: The purpose of this site is to address some common core standards for mathematics in a different, fun way with the use of animations and online games. This website is intended for middle school aged students. There are not any external links for additional resources included. I am very impressed with this website due to its overall design and organization as well as the content-rich materials that they promote. It also provides a learner guide for the teacher to use in the classroom which makes it very convenient. Content: The content of this website is very easy to read and understand for the intended audience. It not only provides fun activities for the kids to enjoy, but also an explanation for each one for what it addresses. It presents math concepts in a new way that will attract "math-haters." Design: The design of this website is aesthetically appealing and easy to navigate. Everything runs smoothly and quickly and all of the internal links work well. The pictures representing the animations and games are significant and attention-grabbing. The only negative thing about this website is the lack of a revision date; therefore, there is no way to know, immediately, that it has been kept up-to-date.

Posted by Craig Shepherd on 9/16/09 Overview: Wikipedia is an open-authoring encyclopedia. The purpose of the website is to provide information about any topic to the general public. Content is generated and reviewed for accuracy by the public. Although public documents can include inaccurate information--particularly on hot topics, much of the content is stable. Links to other pages generally function properly, and content is easy to understand. Content: Although maligned by many individuals as a site that promotes inaccurate information, Wikipedia has much educational merit. However, based on the Wiki style of web design, anyone can make changes to articles and can do so anonymously. This means the learned as well as the ignorant have equal access to contribute. Although references at the end of articles may support the credibility of a work, they do not guarantee it and require additional time to peruse. Because authors can post anonymously, it is difficult to tell whether the article is accurate, timely, relevant, authoritative, and so forth. Yet, recent news events highlight the work of this organization to increase credibility of their content. Additionally, one of the purposes of a wiki is to foster collaboration and group authorship. Although individual contributors may not be listed, inaccurate information can be quickly corrected--though it takes some understanding of wiki syntax which may be difficult for beginners to learn. Despite potential inaccuracies, Wikipedia is a good place to begin your research if you realize that contents may contain biases, inaccuracies, and unsupported claims. Design: The site is well designed. A common look and feel permeate web pages, ads and other distractions are not posted, graphics and other visual elements often highlight important points, and links to related articles are prevalent. Several languages are also supported. Modification and revision dates are clearly displayed and the wiki allows you to

Trevor Lenell The first website I am going to evaluate is Wikipedia.org. The educational site that we have been told to never use for a paper because it is editable by anyone. The intended audience for Wikipedia is someone who just wants a quick overview of the subject they are looking for. It does not cover in-depth content or have large amounts of research in the articles. Everything is available on Wikipedia. All you have to do is search anything in google and Wikipedia article will almost always be in the top three links to show up. The design of Wikipedia is actually fairly good. It loads quickly there's a table of contents for each page and it is easy to find the information you are looking for. The content of Wikipedia is where things get a little shaky when it comes to looking for quality information. Since anyone can edit any page aside from a few that have been locked the information of Wikipedia is not necessarily the best way to find information. We do not know who has edited the site or what their credentials are and we have no way of knowing whether it is a great set of information or a joke put on by someone with an internet connection. There is however a bright side. At the bottom of each Wikipedia article there is the references. These are a great tool to find what was used and what is available to use outside of Wikipedia with the same information. These references are a great way to find academic information from good quality sites and can be used when searching through Wikipedia to find actual research. The design of Wikipedia is pretty good. It works equally well on my internet explorer, Firefox, and google chrome. It loads easily, is easy to navigate, and easy to read. Each graphic and audio file on the site serves a purpose to support the material being read. Overall Wikipedia is a great site to navigate and its shortcomings stem from it being able to be edited by anyone. The next website I will evaluate is NationalGeographic.com. An ed

Jonathan Krajnak 9/14/11 Overview: Scholastic's site covers a seemingly incredible amount of useful information for educators. It's pretty clear and straightforward, none of the information buried or misrepresented. There are a few sections that require a subscription, but most of the information is readily available. Content: The site includes several things that can be valuable to teachers. Among them you can find lesson plans, tools, tips. There's even a section for new teachers. There's an area dedicated to parents which helps educators because it gives parents a general knowledge of what kids need socially, cognitively, and physically. It also promotes and helps parents understand how to get involved in this aspect of their child's life. For the kids, there's a large interactive section. However, it's mainly geared towards ages 8-12. Design: The site easy very easy to navigate and professionally presented and designed. The presentation itself is appropriately tailored to whatever section you're viewing. (Namely between adults and children.) Couldn't find anything wrong with it.

OVERVIEW: The purpose of the Scholastic website is to help children to learn to read and also to provide teachers with lesson and book ideas. Librarians and administrators can also take advantage of this website to learn to teach certain students and learning of the newest authors. Some of the resources this website provides are tips on how parents can teach their children to read, as well as games that kids can play. The Scholastic website gave me a wonderful first impression. I would definitely use it in my classroom or library and recommend it for others to explore. CONTENT: The content of scholastic.com was amazing. The general audiences are easily seen in the table of contents on the top of the home page. Grammar and spelling all seem to be correct and the information on the site is simple to understand. Like the last website I reviewed, it was difficult to find a sponsor. This was the only flaw that I was able to see. DESIGN: Scholastic has provided the public with a beautifully designed website. The home page is neatly organized with easy to read font and not too much going on. It is nice and simple. It is easy to navigate between pages and there are no incorrect links. There is plenty of information that makes the site worth visiting. The same format is used consistently throughout the website which makes it even more professional and organized.

Randi McInerney September 15, 2011 Overview: The purpose of the BBC Learning School Beta website is to promote and provide educational materials for students, parents, and teachers. This website would be great for k-12 education and teachers and parents of those children. The site offers educational games and learning tools, resources for teachers, tips for parents to help improve their children's education, and education related news articles. The content and design are very visually attractive and extensive. Content: There is a lot of content available on this site, but it is easily accessible. There are interactive games, video clips, news articles, and other activities and information. The website has extensive information for all of the intended audiences. There does not seem to be any reliable contact information available besides a "feedback form" to send criticism or praise and "frequently asked questions" are also available. Design: The website downloads correctly and quickly and looks very interesting and organized. The site is easy to navigate, even without directions. The site could be used by a primary aged school child fairly effectively because of the clear labels and ease of navigation.

This is a great site! I'm definitely using it in my WebQuest.