Group items tagged

Tonya Searles This website clearly states on the first page that the audience is open to students or any person in the world who needs writing help. In this case, the website is being used by English students. The website provides assistance with all forms of writing including grammar, spelling, punctuation, and citing material. The user simply has to click on the topic they need help in and go from there. The website is currently maintained by the writing lab at Purdue University, and does provide copyright dates through 2014. The information is authoritative and accurate because it is developed by the aforementioned professionals at Purdue University. For an English student, or any student, the website is relevant because it can assist with basically any type of writing assignment. The purpose of the website is to help people check their work and get help with writing when they need it. The website clearly displays common mistakes people make and how to fix them, as well as allowing for people to search more in depth for rules of writing. The websites colors are very similar to that of citationmachine.net. They are subdued and not overly hard to look at for long periods of time. The website has a lot of content, but the front page is neatly categorized without being overwhelming. I like how the mission statement of the website is right on the home page. The content is categorized by topic and each link I clicked on worked. Each link will take you to a new page with subcategories and recommendations for further suggested resources. I think the site is very user friendly and informative.

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

Kids.gov Michelle Petty, January 22, 2011 Overview: This website is aimed at students, ages K-8, and educators. For educators, it offers a wide range of information on topics from science, math, social studies, and health. It then access sites that are relevant to the topic selected and gives links to other sites on a variety of topics within each broad category. For students, it offers them a similar experience. They can go to social studies, and then pick current events, maps, natural history, U.S. studies and world studies depending on what they're studying. This site is great because it offers a variety of information under every category. It is easy to navigate and has very reliable and dependable sources to back its information. Content: The site is very easy to navigate; the top has tabs for students' breaking it down for grades k-5, grades 6-8, and educators. At the bottom of the homepage there is a link to an about us which gives information on the site, who maintains it and who provides the information. The Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) out of Pueblo, Colorado, maintains this site and if that weren't enough information it gives a link to the Pueblo site. This site is mainly links to other educational pages, but it is easy to understand and use. It is aimed at all educational branches, and provides educational sites as well as fun game sites. I would use this site in a classroom setting, because it is educational and easy to use. Design: The design of this website is pretty straightforward. It is basic which makes it easy for all ages to use, and all of the links lead to the site promised without advertisements popping up. There isn't a table of content, but it is broken down into such specific categories, that a table of contents is not necessary. The date of last revision is found on the about us tab and is clearly labeled along with who maintains the site and how to contact them. A simple, yet effective site that

Overview: This site offers all kinds of learning for kids from reading.math,writing to health and fun games to help you learn. You learn about art, music and even money. It is a great learning tool for all kids to have access to. Content: The site has many different links that you can visit but organizes them in groups so it is easier to navigate. This site provides all kinds of useful information for kids and educators. Kids can play fun and interactive games for fun learning on all kinds of topics. They can also learn about everday matters like healthy habits. The author is well recognized on the site as well as sponsor. The information is shown in a way that kids can comphrend the material. Design: The homepage is colorful and has pictures. It keeps you interested in learning with its fun graphics. Every link was well laid out and could be found easily for kids. It is frequently revised so the information is up to date.

Emily Hastings Reviewed 2/5/12 Kids.gov Purpose: The purpose of this website is to provide students with links to other educational and governmental websites for kids. Intended Audience: This site is intended for Kindergarten through eighth grade. Available Resources: This site has many resources available. That is what the purpose of this site is, to link you to other useful and educational websites. Overall Review: This website is easy to use, making it worthwhile. The information is presented clearly and simply making it easy to navigate from one link to the other. It also includes a navigation bar and a site map which are both very useful. The links have great information and do not take long to get to. There are no dead ends, and they bring you to what they say they will. This website is a great resource for finding educational sites. Overview: This site has a link for k-5, 6-8, and teachers with endless links to educational sites. It is extremely organized and very helpful when looking for sites. Content: The content of this site is for students in need of educational websites. It is a great resource for that purpose. When clicked on, the link opens quickly and the information is accurate and educational. It has many links for websites of all different subjects. Design: The design of this website isn't very eye catching, but is welcoming because it is so simple to use. You don't need directions on how to use the site. It is very organized and makes looking for these links easy. It provides you with a site map which is a list of everything in the site, which is very useful as well.

Overview: Purdue OWL (online writing lab) serves as a gold mine of information for formal writing. This website is intended for students or anyone attempting to write a formal paper. It provides the newest and latest information on MLA and APA formatting information, along with a "how-to" guide for formatting your papers and citing your sources correctly. On top of that it also provides links for English as a Second Language learners, parents, and "how-to's" for cover letters and résumés. This website is extremely useful ad helpful for anyone looking for help writing a paper or teachers looking for a good resource to teach their students. I highly recommend Purdue OWL. Content: When you enter Purdue OWL you are immediately able to tell what the site is about. All the content is easily accessible and bookmarked on the home page. Although author information is not immediately available, you are able to see that it is created by a credible source, and you are able to contact the creators. Purdue keeps their information up to date and uses the latest MLA and APA handbooks to create their site. The purpose of the site is obviously informational and educational. It is well organized and the information is complete, easy to understand, and consistent with other similar sources. Design: Purdue OWL is visually appealing along with efficient. The home page is clearly labeled with an index and site sponsor obvious and visible. It is easy to move around, and if you feel lost there is a link for a "site map" in the upper right hand corner that can be used. The links on the page are highly relevant and help the users navigate to more specific cites. It is easily accessed on different browsers. There is a plethora of information readily available for the users so they do not need to visit other sites.  

Waddie Love 10/13/2014 Overview: K12 Reader is a Reading Instruction Resource from that is designed for teacher as an easy resource for lesson planning or Ideas on how to teach things information from spelling to writing composition, grades 1 through 5. It is updated frequently and has new topics on it daily for teachers to access for free. It is very easy to navigate around the pages. Content: Everything on this website is very straight forward. It is a resource that teachers can use to help teach their classes. It is very easy to navigate through the teaching activities and examples. There is information from student worksheets to lesson planning templates. It is resourceful, giving not only their work but presenting a reader with other recommended sites to gather information and ideas. Design: The site is well structured. It has add icon but they are not distracting from the page. It is very easy to navigate around the pages. It is only supported in English. Visually it is a great page.

Adam Matson ITEC 2360 Website Evaluation: Overview- http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos is a site that can be used as a resource tool for any language arts writing assignment or activity. It includes directions for writing various types of papers (argumentative, thesis, etc.) along with sentence and paragraph developments and concerns. All links are specific and include great detail on the subject at hand. Examples are given for every instance. The site is easy to explore and find answers to almost any question pertaining to written work. Content- Each link takes you to a specific area about English writing and its uses and rules. The content is among the best I've found so far in this type of site. Examples are given and very easy to follow with directions. Coverage from literature works to essays can be found quickly and easily, all including examples previously stated here with directions. Design- The site is like the others I've found, which is a more basic layout and navigation. Again, the main colors are blue and white with no videos or sound going on. Links are colored and are specific questions or subjects. This site does not use tabs like the others I've found, but relies more on these links. Although the design is not very interactive or flashy, the content of it is outstanding and very helpful to anyone needing assistance.

Interactive tools are used for literacy learning. Many grade levels available and many different types of reading and writing skills.

Overview This site has so many useful tools for both students and teachers. Current teachers are the authors of this site which is very unique and useful. Teachers that are currently in the classroom know from experience what works and what doesn't and this site helps them share useful resources for other teachers. Not only is this site great for teachers and students but also for parents who want to get my involved in their student's education. Content This site is phenomenal in the amount of useful tools it provides. It has a tab for classroom resources which has lesson plans, student interactive, calendar activities, and printouts. The student interactivities section has a lot of resources for students who need assistance in writing. All grades are available on this site which is useful for all teachers. There is also a search bar along the left side that helps to narrow done the content and grade level for fast and easy findings. The parent section also has many great things that parent's can use to help their students. It's great to have a site that allows the parents to get involved even with their high school students. Design The design of this site is very organized and neat. It's really easy to find what you are looking for especially with the help of the search bar. The grade levels are categorized for easy use also. The interactive section is really easy to use. The directions are very clear and use to understand which is great for younger children. It's just a very user-friendly site and it's very professional looking.

Jared Mohr-Leiva October 13, 2014 Sometimes, planning for class gets difficult, even for "easy" classes like English. Thankfully, there are resources for that. "Tes.co.uk" has a page chock full of them. However, since it is a U.K. site, they are not by grade, but by age (11-14, 14-16, and 16+). Regardless, that allows a pretty close estimate (within a year) of which grades correspond to which age group. The category list includes a large array of sub-subjects in English. These include Drama, non-fiction, Prose, and Writing. These are front and center on the page and vary depending on which age group the reader is teaching. Clicking on any of these subjects will open a new page filled with worksheets, activities, and PowerPoints. For example, clicking on "Drama" will bring up "8 Minute Madness - Creative starter activities" and "Romeo & Juliet: Powerpoint Synopsis," just to name a couple. Tes.co.uk is very blue-oriented, as well. The age-group category box is a deep, bold blue, front and center on the first page. Categories are bold and easy to find. The "sub-subject" pages are displayed as a list, again using large, bold letters. There is also a sidebar allowing the reader to narrow their search by sub-topic, type, format, or event. There are also categories at the very bottom to specify whether it is a special needs course or is applicable to the entire school. "Newest" and "Recently recommended" appear at the top of the screen alongside the number of results.

Jared Mohr-Leiva October 13, 2014 Sometimes, planning for class gets difficult, even for "easy" classes like English. Thankfully, there are resources for that. "Tes.co.uk" has a page chock full of them. However, since it is a U.K. site, they are not by grade, but by age (11-14, 14-16, and 16+). Regardless, that allows a pretty close estimate (within a year) of which grades correspond to which age group. The category list includes a large array of sub-subjects in English. These include Drama, non-fiction, Prose, and Writing. These are front and center on the page and vary depending on which age group the reader is teaching. Clicking on any of these subjects will open a new page filled with worksheets, activities, and PowerPoints. For example, clicking on "Drama" will bring up "8 Minute Madness - Creative starter activities" and "Romeo & Juliet: Powerpoint Synopsis," just to name a couple. Tes.co.uk is very blue-oriented, as well. The age-group category box is a deep, bold blue, front and center on the first page. Categories are bold and easy to find. The "sub-subject" pages are displayed as a list, again using large, bold letters. There is also a sidebar allowing the reader to narrow their search by sub-topic, type, format, or event. There are also categories at the very bottom to specify whether it is a special needs course or is applicable to the entire school. "Newest" and "Recently recommended" appear at the top of the screen alongside the number of results. 

Bridget Stein 9/14/11 Overview: On this website, there are many resources available if you need a dictionary or thesaurus. I think this website is ideal when writing a paper, or needing some extra help from the dictionary. Not only does it have a dictionary, but it has words of the day, sources and different categories to choose from. Content: This site is very helpful, especially when writing a paper. There is the dictionary, then there is also a thesaurus for your use, different categories to search within, words of the day for fun extra tidbits, and timelines as well if you need some history based knowledge as well. Design: The design of this website is pretty basic. It has the main links on the site, and from there it can also take you farther to where you want to go specifically. It is very easy to navigate and search around, finding what you are looking for.

Overview: This website provides lesson plans about topics in English such as reading and writing, printouts, professional development information, including topics such as teaching with technology and differentiating instruction, as well as interactive activities for students. In addition, the website provides resources for parents of students from kindergarten to 12 grade. The intended audience of this site is English teachers, parents, and students of all ages. I have concluded, after completing the design and content checklists, that this is a very reliable resource to use in the classroom. Design: This website is set up so it is very user friendly. The homepage downloads very efficiently and is attractive and appealing to the eye. It is clear where you are and what the contents of the website are as soon as you reach the site. I was unable to find the date that the site was established, however, at the bottom of the page it says 2012 before the sponsor of the site. The site is easy to navigate and everything is clearly labeled. Each link contains a brief explanation about where you will be navigated. There are not any animations on the homepage. The site is compatible with other browsers. The site provides a plentiful amount of information and lesson plans for all grades. Content: As soon as you reach this site, the sponsors are clearly indentified at the top. There is a tab that provides information about each of the sponsors as well as every author that provides information for the page. Each author's credentials are stated in a paragraph about them. It is unclear to me when the information was last updated but it seems like it is very up to date. The information seems to be very accurate and seems to be supported by excellent credentials. The site provides a numerous amount of links that take you many useful resources for students, teachers, and parents.

This website is called The Biology Corner. It's a website that is edited by a high school biology teacher who has a bachelor's in Biology and a Masters degree in Educational Technology. The Biology Corner is basically a compilation of useful links for studying, as well as links for worksheets, videos, and resources a teacher would find useful in writing lesson plans. The audience of The Biology Corner includes high school teachers of biology, and high school biology students. I think that this website would be very useful, and it's design is fairly appealing. On the homepage, it's easy to see what the purpose of the website is, with minimal reading. It is mentioned that the website is meant to be a resource for students as well as teachers. The author is clearly identified and there is even a link for more information on her qualifications. All of the content is easy to access and every link works. The website is catered to a single textbook (the one the teacher uses at her school) which causes it to be a bit less useful, but altogether, the website has very good content. The design of this website is okay, but not really appealing. It's very plain and there aren't that many photos or videos that are actually imbedded into the site. None of the important information (table of contents, links, revision dates, author) is missing from the site but it isn't presented to the user in the most attractive way. 

Overview: This website is intended for teachers or parents to find activities and worksheets for Pre K to 8th grade students. The webpage offers free materials on the core subjects in school along with seasonal activities and themes. I believe that teachers would find this website very useful in finding activities for their classroom or papers that children can take home for extra practice. My overall impression of this site is that it includes useful, updated material that is easy to find and use. Content: Looking at the content of information in this website, I have found that users would be able to quickly determine what information can be found on this site. At the very top of the page it specifically states that the website is an "educator's online resource". I also found that the website was created in 2001 but was recently updated in 2012, so it contains up to date information. The quality of this website is very well organized and is simple to understand. Almost all of the worksheets were easy to download as a PDF document, which would be great for printing. The only setback I found with this site is that information on the authors and sponsors were not readily available. Other than that small detail, I would strongly recommend this website to any elementary school teacher or home school parent; I know I will definitely use this site in the future. Design: I have found that the design of this website is very organized and appealing to the eye. Users should not have any problems moving around the site as the information is easy to find from the home page. From the home page you are able to click on the tab of any subject or grade of information you would like to find. One of the draw backs of this site is that there are no instructions on how to maneuver around the site if someone is lost. The best thing about this website is that there is a sufficient amount of information that is available to the public and organized in an easy to underst

This website helps students 8-9th grade improve their writing.

Kayla Rider January 23, 2010 Overview This website, I believe, will be very useful for pre-service teachers as well as in-service teachers. It is an educational website for ESL students. It has many links within it that show you how to teach or how to use grammar, search for jobs, writing skills, etc. I have yet to use it for anything rather than this evaluation, but I could definitely see myself using it in the future for my students and myself. Content As said before, the content is for ESL teachers and students. It has links for grammar….etc. It has a table of contents of to the side to navigate through its perimeters. If you are stuck on MLA guidelines, it has a link to help you. It can be used for any writing mis-hap or question that you might have. It looks to be credible due to its vast amount of copyright restraints. I believe that overall this educational website can be very useful. Design The overall color scheme is appealing to the eye but does not distract you from its content. It is very easy to navigate through due to its overall set up. The tabs can be easily found, as well as the links in which you might want to navigate to. It has descriptors for its links that allow you to read a summary of what you are getting into. Overall, very effective design.

Ericka Chorniak October 9, 2012 Overview: This site is a guide for writing a lab report for students in a science setting. It provides the students with definitions and expectations of each section of the lab report. It could also be a very good resource for other science teachers looking for a guide for their students to follow while writing a report for their class. The provider of the site appears to be qualified, but it would be wise to check other sources' materials and other guides before settling with this one specifically. This site doesn't have a lot of interactivity for the students to remain engaged in the content, but for the purposes of a guideline for lab report writing, it is worth bookmarking for future references. Content: At first glance, the content of the site is easily determined, as well as the intended audience. The author of the site is clearly identified; in fact his name is in the link itself. The author did not provide any additional information, or give any contact information, but he does appear qualified because it appears to be a teacher. The latest revision date is present, which was October 29, 2010. This date is appropriate for the content of the site because it does not need to be updated frequently, and the links provided are current and work properly. The purpose of this site is very clear, it is a lab report guide (informational), and the content achieves this purpose effectively. The content of this site is complete, easy to understand, is appropriate to my needs/purposes, is free of bias, appears to be accurate, was proofread so that all grammar and spelling is correct, and is consistent with other sources materials. The site does not provide interactivity to increase its value. The links provided are also worthwhile, appropriate, and relevant to my needs and purposes as a student and pre-service teacher. Design: This website has a semi-attractive homepage that downloads efficiently. It is easy to tell where the user is

Levi Jensen September 2, 2010 Website Review http://www.nclark.net/Biology Overview The Amazing Biology Teacher Resource website was created to provide science teachers a place to reference when teaching their classes. I assume that this site was created by a present or past science teacher. The main focus of this site is in assisting in making lesson plans for teachers and to give helpful ideas for science activities. This site covers both biology and chemistry subjects and also offers many links related to science education. Overall, I found this site to be rather elementary in design, and also had some difficulty using some of the drop-down menus. Content At first look it is quite easy to understand that the intended audience is for science teachers. One drawback that this site has is that information about the author is vaguely apparent. There are no sponsors given, and the only way to contact the author is through a management email to which there is no name given to write to. It seems as though content is updated quite often due to the links posted but there is no revision date provided. As far as information quality I believe that this site does a nice job and the content is readily available and easy to read. Design I had some problems using some of the dropdown menus on this site. Upon trying them a second time they worked just fine for me. The visual appeal to me looked as if a child had designed it. This is supposed to be a professional website that is used by professionals. Also the home page is just a list of topics that could be broken down into groups in order to create a more orderly page. Finally this site needs to have citations behind the information that they are providing so that the reader is able to look the information up to confer the information.

Overview: This website is fun and informational providing many items on common questions and articles. There is an updated homepage with photos articles polls, quizzes, and videos. This site aims to explain everything from DNA coding to car transmission problems in simple articles and videos. This site's intended audience is for adults due to the article and links provided. Content: This website provides up to date headings and topics on anything and everything you may want to know. It has tabs for adventure, animals, auto, communication, computer, electronics, entertainment, food, geography, health, history, home and garden, money, people, and science. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. There is available information and the authors and researches for the different articles. The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date. The links also are easy to use and work properly. The information and content presented is not biased. All the articles also are valid and have an intended purpose to entertain or inform. Design: The design of howstuffworks.com is easy to use, organized and attractive. The homepage provides many interesting headings, photos, and videos. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention. The sites also provide copyright informational the provider is clearly identified. The links are clear and helpful and all the information including the photos videos and articles serve a clear purpose to the site.

Overview The first website that I evaluated was howstuffworks.com. This is an educational website aimed at all age groups that can answer questions about how many different things work. The website offers a variety of different resources. An example of the resources would be how the site teaches skills that everyone should have on topics such as money. Overall, I thought this website was great. It's easy to navigate, and offers many different types of educational materials. Content Not only is this website educational, but it is fun as well. You can come to the website to find out something serious, but you can also come to find out something that's entertaining and fun. The content of the website is easy to understand for any age. Things are explained simply so that you can actually learn at your own pace. It's also easy to find out about the website by clicking on the "about us" link at the bottom of the page. There you can find who sponsors the site and where the content comes from. Design The website is very easy to navigate through. As soon as you get to the homepage you are faced with many different tabs and also a search bar so you can find exactly what you are looking for. In addition to the tabs, there are resources such as videos and blogs that you can get access to through the site.

Overview: This websites main focus is to breakdown simple mechanics of almost anything from how a toaster works to economic policies of the year 2011. This is a source to explore the world around us and understand the things that we encounter and use daily, as well as providing a guide for users ion new endeavors into of learning. Concept: The classification of materials found within this writing is more vast than an encyclopedia. It includes multi-media and interaction presentations to gain the attention of the reader and create a better understanding. The material can become more complex and technical, but can be a resource for any researcher. I would recommend for teachers seeking to better explain concepts or to satisfy the curiosity of a learner. Design: Clean, simple, and precise. This website has a rather challenging searching process, but a pursuing researcher can use the search tool to peruses topics that coincides. The clean layout of the material and explanations make the learning process something to be a part of. As well as a social network application installed to share the knowledge of "how stuff works".

This handout will help you understand and write for the appropriate audience when you write an academic essay. It's easy to forget that you are actually writing to someone.

This site is very helpful for parents to stay involved in their child's school work. It has great homework and study skills for students to use. It can help students with reading, writing, math, social skills. My impression of this site is very helpful to students and parents as well. This site could be a great resource to help students and parents for my future knowledge.

Rebekah Asay January 23, 2011 Overview: This website is to help students or adults better their English. There are a number of games including hangman, crosswords, matching games, typing tests, and puzzles to help improve grammar, typing skills, and vocabulary. Content: This website has fun games that are fun and educational. There are many other links for videos, teachers, writing, vocabulary, and pronunciation. There is a lot of information and it is a good resource for someone learning English. Design: The design is easy enough to navigate but isn't very attractive to the eye and is slightly unorganized. There is a lot going on on the webpage and it is overwhelming.