Group items tagged

Overview: Russian language interactive site with audio.

Purpose:  This website's purpose is providing educational videos on a wide variety of topics suitable for elementary age students. The topics range from math and science to memory and spelling techniques. There are quiz after the each video over the content. The website is very cluttered and not well organized. The video itself is poorly constructed with cheap animations and the audio is a monotone computer voice. The information in the movies is good for the age that it is geared towards. There are also links to other websites for educational games and more information but these links are not good and have popups or problems associated with the links.Content:The information in the videos just scratches the surface of the subject. The quizzes that follow are fairly difficult for the age group that these videos are aimed towards.  There are sections of the website that are currently not available. There are data bases that are more content focused and these sections are much better designed and informative then the videos and games that are on this website. Design:Maneuvering and finding information is one thing that is good at this website. There is a search engine that will navigate you through the website to find desired information. The main educational website is cluttered with informational video which makes it hard to know what you are looking at, and where you should go to find information. The designs of the videos are very poor and hard to watch and listen to. The animations look like clip art pictures and the audio is a computer voice.

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: The cyber listening lab was a website that was quite intriguing. The main purpose of this website was for one to gain more knowledge about English through listening. Through listening one can grasp important concepts, build vocabulary etc. The targeted audience for this website is ESL speakers, although if one speaks English there is still interesting aspects to this website that may be beneficial for them. Links similarly created by the same author are available to aide in speaking, slang, accents etc. and could be beneficial for those interested in improving their language skills. Overall this web site has one main goal of using audio as a learning device and it does a great job of sticking with that one aspect of learning. Content: The content of this website was simple and easy to understand. It was well categorized/ organized and the author of the website was helpful in creating tutorials for first time users. All the information is clear and consistent seems to be quite accurate based off of the author's knowledge of the subject and although the currency was not easily found the information seems to be well up to date. All links are working and helpful. Overall I was quite impressed with what this website had to offer and the concepts that the author addressed. If auditory learners need a helpful web site, this would be the one for them. Design: Although it did not seem super visually appealing to me, the website was well organized easily navigable. The audio clips worked well which was the most important part of the website, and the purpose of the website is clearly defined. Overall the design is clear and concise not a whole lot of explanation is needed due to its simplicity, I was impressed with the materials involved with this website, the author did an exceptional job in making sure one fully understands what his web site is about and makes his other links available as well.

Kerensa Aris 10/10/12 Shotgun's Home of the American Civil War: The purpose of this site is to gain information on the Civil War, most information pertains to the Confederacy. The intended audience is both students and teachers, both can collect useful information from the site and it is appropriate for all audiences. The site contains links to many other sites for available resources. My overall impression is that this is a quality site containing pertinent information. There is some bias since the site is run by a southern college, but upon first looking at the site this fact is very clear.  I assessed the content of this site as worth marking for future reference. The site is run by qualified individuals from LSU, and information is useful and trustworthy. The site is revised frequently but new information is not routinely added because it is a Civil War site. The site is well organized and all external links are in working order.  The design of the website is well done and easy to use. All pages download quickly and site indexes are available. The home page could have more detail to make it more eye catching. There are several different kinds of media such as audio and visual files, and likes to further information and useful sites are available. The site is compatible with other browsers, and the content is presented neatly and is organized. 

This website allows children in grades 1st on up to choose given words to create and complete a sentence. This game is a fun one to play but it does require audio so children can follow along.

Katie Hertel 1-24-2010 Overview: SFS Kids Fun with Music is a website designed to educate children and adolescents about the fundamentals of music. It also provides a great way for people of all ages to hear, learn and have fun with music. Overall it has the accurate information needed and has valuable resources but it doesn't show where it is directly coming from making the accuracy and authority questionable. These resources help if the website is not working correctly along with system requirements in order for it to work effectively and efficiently. Content: The content of this website is supported as one of the best educational music sites out there but it has faults due to the system requirements that it has. In order for it to work the way it's supposed to the required content includes Flash and audio players and Quicktime VR. Although downloading these takes time away from the learning it's quick and easy to do. It includes the kinds of instruments in an orchestra and a music lab full of fun facts and definitions of things related with music. Most of it was easily accessible and contained a lot of information but it didn't give credible information on where it was coming from. It also includes various symphonies that you can take children to enjoy great music and educate at the same time. All in all, the downsides of this included the required programs and not having credibility present. I also had trouble finding dates of publication which is definitely a disadvantage as well. Design: This site is somewhat visually attracting but it only takes up half of a webpage leaving the other side a solid yellow. It kind of takes away from the sites information that it can provide because of the little space used. While it has these faults, it also has good points to it visually due to no advertisements popping up randomly or on the side and is easy to navigate through. The headlines of the tabs easily show what that section is about and tidbits o

Rebecca Gardner Jan. 24, 2010 The content of this website is based on lesson plans for grades kindergarten to 12th grade. This was easy to determine. It was also easy to determine that this website was intended for teachers. The authors and sponsors were easy to identify and they seemed qualified to present information on the topics. I could not find when the website was last revised, but the ads were current. The links to other websites were current and working properly. The purpose of this website was clear and informative. The content was well organized and offers sufficient information for my needs. I didn't see any bias, but I believe that there could be, because the website is presented by Discovery. The website provides interactivity that increases its value. The links provided are worthwhile and appropriate. The design of this website is effective and it down loaded efficiently. The homepage is attractive, but did have a lot of ads. You can tell where you are immediately and the title, description and image captions are clear. The sites sponsors and copyright date were established and easy to determine. The user is able to navigate around the website with ease. The directions are clear and easy to follow. The internal and external links were working properly and there were no dead ends. Each of the graphics, video files, audio files ect.. serve a clear purpose and make a significant contribution to the site. There is sufficient information that makes this website worth visiting. The information is clearly labeled and easy to find. The contact information is provided and easy to find and the links to other websites are provide and some are useful while others are ads. My over view of this website is that it can be useful for grade levels. They provide free lesson plans that could come in handy. This website is associated with the Discovery channel so you may run into a lot of ads and maybe even some biases. I would recommend this

Katie Hertel 1-23-2010 Overview: PBS educational games, videos and activities is an educational website for younger early childhood children. It teaches through many of the popular kids education television shows such as Barney, Author, Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, etc. There are available resources to parents and teachers to make sure this website is teaching their children in an effective way. Overall, my impression of this website was that it is an easy effective way to entertain your children through educational ways that are fun and entertaining. Content: As I explored on the website I found that it was easy to navigate. There are links formed as circles that have a picture of the educational animated television shows that kids today are familiar with. When clicking on these links it pulls up that shows official website which has clippings of the show, fun activities, and games related to that specific show that help younger children grow familiar with what they are learning outside of just the game. The information that is taught can be a reliable way to help teach children. Along with reliable material it has supported detail of the sites publication information. Design: This site is well designed and easy to understand how to access what kind of educational experience you want. It is very appealing, especially to a child's eye. Not very many irrelevant advertisement interruptions appear to be a problem. Although a lot of sources on this website prove to be a safe and reliable way of helping children learn, it is also obvious that it is for money purposes as well.

This website is an educational game site for kids. It is mainly based on PBS kids television series but it provides games in all different subject areas and has links for parents and teachers on "how to raise spectacular children". There are not a lot of outside links on this site to access other information, but the authors or the Public Broadcasting Systems seem like reliable authors and the content is great! I don't think a lack of outside sources takes away from the site at all. The content of this site is very educational and informational for students and would be easy to incorporate into lesson plans for an interactive way for students to test their knowledge. One thing that may be a set back is that the games are mainly based off of PBS kids TV series so it may be distracting to the students to have their favorite episodes one click away. The site is sponsered by PBS though so no extra ads or additional distractions are present! The site also has the terms of use and privacy conditions easily accessible and provide log-ins for students so that they can save their work and progress for later which is great! Each game also provides easy step by step instructions as well that can be read or heard so students can get the most out of their gaming experiences. The design of the website is great as well. The home page not only includes interactive links that move when you hold your mouse over the top of them, but it also has audio as well to bring students in. The games are very interactive and there are so many that every student should be able to find something that they enjoy doing! The colors are bright and the navigation is incredibly easy which makes students want to come back for more. Any questions that they may have are answered within the games which also helps subdue any frustrations that may arise. Overall, a great site for kids that would be easy to incorporate into lessons!

Sara Hindman January 24, 2010 Overview The site I evaluated was NobelPrize.org and its main purpose is to educate anyone about the history of the Nobel Peace Prize award and possibly convince people to pursue that award. Along with educating and persuading, the website has educational games in subjects; such as, chemistry, physics, medicine, literature, peace, and economics. The intended audience for the Nobel Peace Prize website is for anyone over the age or 18, while the educational games section of the website is for high school, middle school, and late elementary school students. Some games include blood typing, Pavlov's dog, Lord of the Flies, electrocardiograms, and a split brain experiment. Unfortunately there are no links to available resources outside of the website. The content was very clear and concise, but the only thing I had trouble with was who designed the website and who could I contact if I had questions. Design is awesome, everything is easy to find and there is clear instructions for the games. I would use this website in my classroom, but it definitely for older children. Content NobelPrize.org had many strengths and little weaknesses. Their strengths included understanding the purpose of the website, easy access to the latest revision dates, and information quality. Their one weakness was I could not find the name of the person who provided all the information. I assume that the Nobel Peace Prize Organization provided all the information and games and that it is credible, but I do not want to jump to conclusions. There were also no links to outside resources that related to some of the same areas of interest; such as, medicine or economics. Overall, the content was great except for the lack of authority. Design This website is one of the best I have seen. The speed was fast, the home page attractive and informative, and the website was extremely easy to navigate. All the graphics, audio files, and video files worked perfectly

Emily Scoles 1/24/2010 Content Summary: This is a Russian language learning site. This site has some audio but is more in depth with writing, grammar, and sentence structure. There are links to other Russian language learning sites as well. Overview: The website clearly states it's purpose to teach the Russian language to anyone who wants to learn it. The layout is descriptive and organized. The site is geared toward older age groups. The site is basic in it's look with no pictures or graphics. Design Summary: The sponsor is shown on the website and a link for questions is given. There isn't information about the author on the site. Overview:This site fulfills it's purpose to explain and help teach the Russian language and writing. The site and links are working properly. The information is mostly unbiased, but some of the introduction paragraphs have opinion. The grammar and spelling is correct in the site.

Beau Pitt 1/31/2011 mises.org Overview: The Ludwig von Mises Institute is an educational website with a clear bias towards the education of the Austrian School of Economics. Its main purpose is to advance "the scholarship of liberty in the tradition of the Austrian School" of economics in opposition to the commonly taught theories of John Maynard Keynes. The website is generally directed towards more advanced students who are interested in a more practical view of economics and is particularly geared towards those individuals already interested in the subject who wish to further their education. This is a very powerful website that offers updated daily articles, audio and video presentations, blog discussions, various events, and even offers online courses through the Mises Academy. Additionally, there are a variety of links to related social networking sites and information sites that greatly add to the quality of the website. The website further expands on its quality by presenting a well-designed home page with an attractive "coat of arms" style logo that catches the eye and helps to achieve credibility. Content: At the first look, the user of this website is able to determine the basic content and audience of the site simply by reading the title. Authors are clearly identified and information is provided about who they are and it is even possible to e-mail the author about their articles! All information is presented either as daily updated articles or in an archives section with dates provided for when the contents were first published or presented. All links are current and work properly. The site is very well organized and easy to navigate. It is clearly biased in favor of Austrian Economics and more conservative principles, but the information is accurate and well-researched. There are many educational options and activities that aid in furthering the user's understanding, and articles are all reviewed by the operators of the web

Rebekah Asay January 23, 2011 Purpose: The purpose of this site is to allow people across the world to see the amazing sites in Venice and to be able to book a vacation there. The website also provides a lot of information about each tourist site and the history of Venice. The site is directed towards anyone who wants to know about Venice or travel there someday.This website has a virtual tour uploaded, audio guides, and HD movies. Content: This website has a great design that is easy to navigate and attractive to the eye. It has verifiable information about each location in Venice.

Morgan Carlson 5/18/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to discuss The Diary of Anne Frank and to look more closely at the events leading up to her capture. The website also intends to discuss why the diary of Anne Frank can help us put a face to the millions of Jews that were murdered. The intended audience is for students in junior high or high school that would be reading the book. It can also be a tool for teachers to create lesson plans based off of the different categories presented. Some of the resources provided are links to movies based off of The Diary of Anne Frank, and video, audio, and graphic clips that are related to the life of Anne Frank, and/or the Holocaust. Based on the content of the website, the information is presented in a basic manner, and does not provide enough details or examples. Also, the design is very minimal and not as appealing to the audience as it could be. Content: Based on the cyberguide ratings for content evaluation, this website does a good job of presenting information in a clear and concise way with a variety of different links that provide related information. However, there is no author or sponsor or organization listed, and there is not a date for last revisions made. In addition, there is no information about whether or not the author is qualified in the subject area, or no way to determine whether or not the information has been updated since its creation. Although the site is well-organized, the lack of accuracy and authenticity is difficult to assess, and may not be an adequate site for research. Design: When first visiting the website, the sponsor and author are not present. Information for contacting the sponsor or author also are not present, and you must go to the website's homepage to retrieve any contact information for the website. Although there is a table of contents that helps you navigate the page, the homepage is very minimal and could be updated. The graphics, audios, and videos

Jamie Henry 19 May 2011 Overview: Biology Lessons is a website designed to give biology teachers a source for lesson plans and worksheets for students. The audience is very clearly teachers, as it offers only resources that teachers would want or need. My impression was that it was an organized site that would be helpful for teachers to build lesson plan ideas off of. Content: The Content Evaluation for Biology Lessons showed that this was not a strong website, or one that should be used at all. Almost every link from the homepage was broken or would lead to nothing. Because of this, the site fails to serve any purpose and so the value declines immensely. This site has good intentions, but with so many broken links, it cannot be used to its potential. Design: The design of this website was also fairly bad. It really did not draw any eyes, as it is just a gray screen with green writing on it. It was very organized, but the information was not available because of broken links. There are no graphic or audio links, nor are there any links to other sites that may be helpful for either teachers or students. This is definitely not a website any educator should try to use in their classroom.

Adrianne Lauman September 02, 2011 Overview This free website is supported by a non-profit educational organization that promotes the preservation of Native American culture and languages. The purpose of the site is to provide information regarding the culture, history and languages of Native people of the Western Hemisphere. The resources are intended to provide teachers and children with educational information, while promoting the revitalization of the use of Native American languages. The content of this site is difficult to navigate. The site provides numerous links to additional sites that are not reputable educational sources. Content The content of the site is poorly organized. The headings of the content are listed in columns that reflect disarray. The authors of the material presented are not identified within the text and the updates to the site are not current. A visitor to the site may have difficulty in determining the accuracy of the information. Design The website information is not augmented by graphics, animation, video or audio files. The links within the pages are to sites that are selling goods or to other WebPages that lack credibility. The homepage is not attractive and the page layout does not encourage visitors to remain at the site. Information is difficult to find and it requires the visitor to utilize more than three clicks of the mouse. When investigating another link within the page it is difficult to return to the homepage.

Adrianne Lauman September 02, 2011 Overview The purpose of this free website is to provide knowledge and awareness of North American bird species and their habitat. The site encourages people to make connections to science and nature through bird watching. The information is directed toward people of all ages who have an interest or curiosity to learn more regarding ornithology. Video clips, audio clips, colorful photos, range maps and life histories are available for investigating bird species. The site provides expert knowledge on the subject of birds in a clear and visually pleasing manner. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology developed this website and the National Science Foundation supports it. Content The site appears well organized with a visible heading to initiate a search for information on bird species. The search feature has an automatic fill in based on the first letters typed to allow the user to locate the bird of interest. Interactive selections allow a person to listen to bird sounds, as well as watch video footage of the bird. The site provides opportunities to "ask an expert" about topics concerning ornithology and information on how to participate in bird projects. One project named Feeder Watch allows people to send in their own data based on their bird watching experiences. Design The website has clear headings to locate topics and information. The copyright information and developer of the site are displayed at the bottom of each page. The photos of the birds are eye-catching and appealing. The information provided by the site is abundant and well worth viewing.

Lyle Wiley September 10, 2011 Overview: The Folger Shakespeare Library is an exhaustive site of Shakespeare resources with specific large pages for different audiences including a site for students and one for k-12 educators. While the site has a clear focus on selling published Shakespeare works and resources, there is a good deal of free information and resources available for students and teachers alike. These resources include Shakespeare information and history, lesson plans for teachers, study guides, audio and video embedded helps, space for teachers to interact and share ideas and experiences, and a frequently update blog (called "Making a Scene: Shakespeare in the Classroom"). This rather attractive site has some very helpful and interesting resources for the Shakespeare educator. Content: The basic content and intended audiences of this site is easily discerned upon entry. There are numerous authors of the material available on the site, but for the most part the author's contact and educational information is easy to find. The site appears to be frequently updated, and certainly the blog attached to the educational resources on the site is updated often. The purpose of the site is both business and informational which sometimes colors the available information on the site, but there is a large amount of rather good free information including lesson plans, teaching ideas and tips, audio and visual resources, and access to a creative community. There are few external links, but the information available looks to be very helpful to the Shakespeare educator. Design: The Folger Shakespeare Library loads quickly and has a nice aesthetic appeal. Well organized and heavily indexed, the site has an impressive ease of navigation which is complimented by some nice photo design and occasional embedded multimedia (which is always relevant and helpful). Again, much of the material on the site is up for sale; however, there are a good many quality resource

Overview The Folger Shakespeare Library site is the home page for the Folger Shakespeare Library located in Washington, D.C. The site has any number of features that any good library web site would have: an online catalog, listed hours, ask a librarian. The site is designed for teachers, students, scholars, and the average Joe who is interested in Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, and early modern literature. Areas of the web site of high interest are the Visitors section, Students and Families section, K-12 Teachers section (which includes monthly lesson plans), and a Scholars' section. Content The content included on this site is amazing. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a catalog of over half of the world's books published before 1640, and the catalog is, of course, accessible online. There is a section of Hamnet (the online catalog) for electronic resources as well. The site is interactive-offering a free e-newsletter, social media, a calendar of events, and an active blog. There are podcasts chock full of lectures, poetry readings, etc., digital images, an archived list of lesson plans. There is a six minute YouTube documentary on the First Folio! You could spend many happy days lost in this site. Design The site's design is simple, elegant, and business like. It is a light blue color, which is easy on the eyes. Most of the navigation is at the top or to the left. The site is sometimes difficult to navigate unless one has at least an idea of what he or she is looking for. A site map is made available if one gets distracted or lost though.

Overview: This site is a good study tool and teacher resource. The audience ranges from kindergarten to eighth grade and is loaded with credible information in all its subjects. This site can be quickly identified and the age range for the site can be easily determined. The author is clearly identified and information on the author is available. The content is updated frequently and all pertains to the original purpose of the site. Content: The content is well organized and the information in the site is easy to understand. The content is free of bias and provides interactivity throughout the various subjects. The content is updated frequently and is accurate. Grammar and spelling are correct and the information is consistent with similar information found in other sources. Design: The homepage downloads effectively. The user can verify that the site is what it is, a study help site geared towards students. There is an index and a site map, as well as the copyright date established at the bottom of the home page. Each graphic and audio/video file serves its own purpose. The site is useable with more than one browser. Everything is clearly labeled and organized and is worth visiting.

Open source software for Mac, Windows, and Linux to help you record audio for music, podcasting, etc.