Group items tagged

Tyson Bagley October 13, 2014 The purpose of this resource is to help beginning Spanish learners to better understand how to conjugate regular -AR verbs in the present tense in all forms. There is no introduction and he immediately starts with conjugating example verbs. This is a good resource for beginning learners to learn to conjugate these verbs accurately. The content of this video is great and is very useful. The instructor in the video speaks slow and very clearly and explains the "how" behind each form of conjugation. The instructor was very accurate and presented multiple different examples to help with the repetition of the conjugating. This video is great for a class room to introduce conjugating -AR verbs because it is short and not extremely boring. In the video the instructor not only talks, but also has the words and examples appear on the screen in a format easy to read. He also says every sentence in English and Spanish to help the viewers to understand what he is saying.

Tyson Bagley October 13, 2014 The purpose of this resource is to help beginning Spanish learners to better understand how to conjugate regular -AR verbs in the present tense in all forms. There is no introduction and he immediately starts with conjugating example verbs. This is a good resource for beginning learners to learn to conjugate these verbs accurately. The content of this video is great and is very useful. The instructor in the video speaks slow and very clearly and explains the "how" behind each form of conjugation. The instructor was very accurate and presented multiple different examples to help with the repetition of the conjugating. This video is great for a class room to introduce conjugating -AR verbs because it is short and not extremely boring. In the video the instructor not only talks, but also has the words and examples appear on the screen in a format easy to read. He also says every sentence in English and Spanish to help the viewers to understand what he is saying.

Brianna O'Shea October 13, 2014 Overview: The purpose of this article is to talk about what the purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act was and how it has changed. Even though NCLB hasn't reached the goal it was designed to in the allotted time, the change of focusing on growth rather than test scores, has shown an improvement in schools and has seen to help students. The audience of this article is those doubting what good NCLB can offer and why it is still in effect. Overall, this article shows a side perhaps unknown about NCLB and would be good for potential teachers to read. Content: The purpose of the article and its audience is clearly identified, as well as the author yet no links are given to contact or look into the author. The article is recent and links to other sites work and provide good additional information. The purpose, informal, is clear and its purpose is achieved. There seems to be a little bias towards NCLB, yet the article does point out on critique of the Act and accepts it.  Design: The title is clear and the article is well organized with headers and good lengths of paragraphs. The sponsor and copyright are clearly identified while the site is easily maneuverable. The links to other sites are helpful to look at if confused or wish for additional information. Information is easy to find under each header. There are no additional links for the author or similar articles from this page. 

The aim of the website www.poets.org is to provide resources for teachers, from elementary to university level, that wish to teach poetry in their classes. The website's mainpage contains man clickable lesson plans and resources that link to various poetry books that can all be used in a classroom or modified for whatever level the teacher wants to teach. Each lesson plan is clearly labeled with an author as well, which could help a teacher locate lesson plans by the same person if they really liked another one they wrote. The point of the webpage is evident in their opening paragraph at the top. The design of the page is lacking in a few respects; for example, the address, credits, and contact links are at the bottom of a white page in white colored font - I only found it because I highlighted them.  The website's goal is obvious from the first look at their introduction paragraph, which contains a little history about the website and what their main goals are where poetry in the classroom is concerned. There is no place on the main page that indicates when the site was last updated, but the page is currently advocating for teachers to participate in National Poetry Month, which is April, so either this site is very up to date or is years behind in some other poetry month. 

Peggy Hall\nAugust 31, 2010\nWebsite Evaluation\nOverview:\nI reviewed the website, Reach Every Child which is a website that helps teachers establish lesson plans. I believe the point of this website is to link the viewer to other websites that have information (i.e. lesson plans, facts, and data) about certain subjects. It is mostly a resource for teachers and students looking for information in whatever subject they need to discover more information in. I feel like this website could use some more content in explaining its overall use, but it does have a lot of great links for the viewer. This website needs to be enhanced, but the meaning behind it is good. I did also find some lack in labeling each section effectively. It took me a little while to completely understand how this website works and the author's credibility and contact information is lacking. \nContent:\nAs I previously mentioned it was not easy for me to decipher the overall objective of this site, I knew it dealt with lesson plans, but how those lessons plans were presented and used on the site was a little confusing at first. It is known on the webpage that Horace Mann developed it and that it is founded by educators for educators, but it does not have a bibliography page or link describing who Horace Mann Company is. It addresses in its disclaimer that if there are any questions to email them, but there is not an email address. This website does have over 5,000 resources and different links which I do find beneficial. However, it does also mention that you could hit a dead end and to not be discouraged. It is not apparent how current the information is that is being displayed on the webpage. This site does have some organization, but as I previously mentioned there is not exactly a clear homepage or labeled content links etc… There are a lot of links which do not clearly explain where they will be taking you next. \nDesign:\nThe design is lacking. It does not catch my eye appeal when I first l

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.

When looking for different techniques to use in a classroom setting, I came across a website called www.southernworlds2010.com. While viewing this web site, I first notice that there is not very much offered on the site and it has limited information. The target audience could be applied to as anyone that is involved in the Education system such as a student, parent, teacher etc. The basic concept behind this web page is to explain how virtual worlds can be used to reach children in their educational studies. Although this may sound like an interesting topic to read about, there is no Author given and therefore no information describing who wrote this. All that was provided was what the idea came form the Tasmanian Department of Education. There is also no sponsor given on this web page. This website was also only added a couple days prior to my finding.

Jamie Szallar Website Evaluation #2 9-1-2010 History of American Education Web Project www.nd.edu Overview I was not impressed by this website. The idea behind it is interesting and if presented in a better form might have been more accepted. Professor Robert N. Barger created the site in honor of a fellow educator of his. Students of Professor Barger are who added the content to the site, which made me question the authority of the information. It is clearly started that the professor did not change any of the student's work. Content The content of the site is interesting; however, I found it questionable seeing as how students, not professionals, created the site. A brief explanation is given as to how the site was created, but no credentials of the students. I did not find any contact information for Professor Barger. The site was established in 2004, and has not been updated since. Design I found the design of this site very poor. The biggest complaint I have is there is not a link to return the user to the home page after navigating to one of the subjects. There is no eye appeal whatsoever; the only color added to the site is one shade of blue. All pictures are in black and white, which is appropriate for the older history sections, but not attractive for all subjects. This website could use a large amount of improvement.

Lauren McDaniel, 9/4/11 Overview:  This website is an interactive website for teachers and future teachers hoping to have guidance as to which educational philosophy they hope to implement in their classroom.  Based on each person's answers to the questions provided, you are navigated to which philosophy best fits you.  The information is scattered and not put together very well, making this website one I would choose not to return to.   Content:  Each educational philosophy is present on this website, but all that is given is a general overview.  There is no history behind the philosophies mentioned and each tidbit of information lacks examples that help to create more understanding.  The information seems to be accurate, but more in depth information would make the website that much better.  There is no copyright date, revision date, or author anywhere on the page, making it questionable as to how reliable the information on the site actually is.  There are some links provided at the bottom of the page and all are working properly.  For a person hoping only to gain the basics, this site would work, but in regards to thoroughly understanding the topics, a better website could be found.   Design:  This site does not have a strong eye appeal, making it one that could be easily bypassed.  Again the author, copyright date, etc. are not present anywhere on the page.  The website's information is also very broken.  When scrolling from different sections of information there are large blank spaces, making the website appear informal and unreliable.  The blankness of this website fits the lack of information provided.  Because it has such a small amount of useful information, this site is not worth revisiting.

Art 21 is a site dedicated to informing the public about contemporary art of the 21st Century. Providing video of today's Artists at work, in their studio, and behind their thoughts and inspiration of their work. Depending on what medium the viewer is most interested in you can search by a multitude of processes such as Installation, Sculpture, painting, mixed media and more. Or you can watch videos by season all throughout this site. This content educates the audience beyond the borders of their own understanding of art and answers the difficult questions viewers develop when viewing contemporary art. I believe this site is very efficient at educating the public about art. There is a surplus of artists on this site that everyone is sure to find one they can connect to. The videos are engaging and attention catching. All you have to do is press play, and let the learning begin.

Posted by Riley Kallhoff on 1/25/2010 Overview: The purpose of this website is to be a place for both teachers and students. It is a place where educators can prepare, plan, and teach. It is a place where students can read up on some current events or play some educational games. The audience of this site is both teachers and students. The nice thing about this site is that it is very well organized with very little advertisements and unnecessary things. It is very easy to navigate and it has a purpose behind every heading. Content: As soon as you come to the homepage you are able to determine that it is an educational site. You can't tell right away that it has games and reading, but you know it is for education right off the bat. You can also tell that it is for both educators as well as students. The authors of the site are not given right off the bat, but you can tell right away that it is part of the Smithsonian. The content is fairly well up kept you can tell from the copyright date. The purpose of the site is for entertainment in the form of games and it is also educational information. The site is very easy to navigate and has titles to links that work very fast. The site is laid out in a very easy to navigate setting. I would say that this site has educational value and is one that I would recommend. Design: I really like the design of the homepage and the whole website. The site moves at a fast pace and doesn't lead you to things that you don't want. The homepage is set up in a very clear cut manor and sets up the website in a very good way. You can tell right away what the website has to offer and all of the titles lay this out. There is a copyright date at the bottom of the page. There is no table of contents, but you know what the site has to offer from the links and titles on the homepage. Another great thing about this site is that it is very easy to navigate, and it takes you exactly where you want to go right away. The gr

Amy Andreen ITEC 2360 (TR) Overview: While searching for websites that would aid in teaching History to High School students, I found many great sources. It is no surprise that the Smithsonian has amazing resources to use. The site I found was entitled smithsonianeducation.org. Not only does it have great information for history teachers but for Art, Science, and Language Arts as well. Once narrowed down to the link entitled "History and Culture", I found that I could also choose between "Educators", "Families", and "Students". It has lesson plan ideas and information that can be used for many different areas throughout history. Content: The content included in this site is all up to date as far as I can tell. The last revisions were made in 2010. There are resources for different age groups that include different activities to utilize within the classroom. Also, the content ranges from Japanese interment in the United States to African History. The areas I found were very complete and useful, however, I found that the list of content is not as large as it probably could be or that I hoped it to be. Design: The Smithsonian site is really easy to navigate and very well laid out. I had no problems with searching for different eras, materials, or even different content areas. Everything downloads quickly and the attachments were very easy to find and download as well.

This website provides many different ideas for a teacher to use. There are lesson plans, gives you a place to search other topics and gives you a standards search as well. I feel the content is good. There are many resources to choose from. The design drew me in to keep looking at the website for interesting lessons-not even related to to my subject area.

Peggy Hall August 31, 2010 Website Evaluation Overview: I reviewed the website, Reach Every Child which is a website that helps teachers establish lesson plans. I believe the point of this website is to link the viewer to other websites that have information (i.e. lesson plans, facts, and data) about certain subjects. It is mostly a resource for teachers and students looking for information in whatever subject they need to discover more information in. I feel like this website could use some more content in explaining its overall use, but it does have a lot of great links for the viewer. This website needs to be enhanced, but the meaning behind it is good. It took me a little while to completely understand how this website works and the author's credibility and contact information is lacking. Content: As I previously mentioned it was not easy for me to decipher the overall objective of this site, I knew it dealt with lesson plans, but how those lessons plans were presented and used on the site was a little confusing at first. It is known on the webpage that Horace Mann developed it and that it is founded by educators for educators, but it does not have a bibliography page or link describing who Horace Mann Company is. It addresses in its disclaimer that if there are any questions to email them, but there is not an email address. This website does have over 5,000 resources and different links which I do find beneficial. However, it does also mention that you could hit a dead end and to not be discouraged. It is not apparent how current the information is that is being displayed on the webpage. This site does have some organization, but lacks a clear homepage. There are a lot of links which do not clearly explain where they will be taking you next. Design: The design is lacking. It did not catch my eye appeal when I first looked at it. It is all one color and has a simple font. Nothing really stands out to me or makes me want to visit this site. In fact the desig

Overview: Education world is a web site for educators to find up-to-date resources such as lesson plans. It's really easy to use. It provides users with valuable information or material that teachers can use for their benefit. It's free for all to use and provides other helpful links. Content: This site provides lesson plans, web resources, tools and templates, technology information, infomation for new teachers, professional development, etc. It provides tips for teachers to meet the common core standards. Teachers can look up site reviews and see which sites education world thinks are good sites for them to look at to get more information. Design: The design of this web site is fairly easy to use. It is well organized. It can be a little intimidating because there are a lot of links with information, but it's easy to navigate through if you're looking for specific content. It's got good graphics and easy to view.

Educaiton World has so many resources. A teacher could look for hours for find lesson plans, subjects, and worksheets that could fit in with their lessons. The content is excellent, but it is a little it overwhelming when you look at it. Just take your time. The design is okay. It may take you longer to go through to find what you are looking for.

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".

a. Overview: The first thing to notice when is the title: "Teacher Planet, teaching resource for all". The next thing to catch your eye is all of the ads; they range from google to watchdog, the University of Pheonix to become a teacher online, with many, many more. At first glance I'm not too sure what this website is about. b. Content: This site is directed towards the teaching community. It offers lesson plans, the latest educational news, and financial education links along with links to specific teaching websites. This site has two main headers that contain all links to other resources with the bulk of the page being advertisements. The basic content of this site is a little sketchy for adults whom are not teachers. The articles are all up to date and posted in a reader/user friendly way. One nice thing about this site is the links to articles on how to teach in other languages and in the sciences. Although there does not seem to be many links to interactive media or graphics of any type. c. Design: The main design flaw to this site, or flaw altogether is the bulk of the page is filled with advertisements. The idea behind this website is obscured by all of the ads. It was slightly unclear what the purpose of this website is.

Sara Hindman January 24, 2010 Overview Coolmath4kids.com is website designed for those who are frustrated with math and are tired of the way it has been taught. The purpose of this website is solely to educate students about the different areas of math. This website provides lessons, practice worksheets, and games on things as simple as addition and subtraction to pre-algebra. The content of this website is good and accurate while the website has too much design. The intended audience is for all grade levels. I think this website is a great resource for those who are having trouble on their math homework, but I do not think I would use this website in the classroom. Content At a first look, it is easy to see that the purpose behind coolmath4kids.com is to educate anyone and everyone about some of the different areas of math. Unlike nobelprize.org and kids.discovery.com, coolmath4kids.com has an author and provides a lot of information about them. The author's name is Karen and claims to have a B.A. and a M.S. in mathematics and have 14 years of experience teaching math at the community college level. I find "Karen's" introduction of herself unprofessional, although this is a website for students, not adults. The latest revision of this website was in 2009, the content is frequent, and all the information quality is great. Also unlike the previous websites, coolmath4kids.com has links to other websites; such as, coolmath-games.com, financeFREAK.com, and sciencemonster.com. These websites were created by Karen, but there are no other additional websites outside of Karen's websites. Design Coolmath4kids.com design is bright and colorful and instantly gives headaches. There are many neon colors, flashy multimedia, and different size font on every page. The speed is a little slow, but that may be my computer or all the animated stuff on the website. The homepage has a clear table of content and you can easily navigate to wherever area of math n

Overview: This website is aimed for elementary students who want to work on multiple math concepts. The website's last update or copyright was in 2009. I feel that this website is too busy with color and somewhat hard to navigate because there are too many steps to take to get there. There's also unnecessary advertisements and the cursor is a bit annoying when trying to click on places. I do like the fact the the author has a page about her so that people know who they are working with and she gives background information as to why she has this website. Content: I feel that there are too many steps and questioning examples for the students to do on their own. Even when you go into a game it only does the right answer sometimes. What it does have it going for it is that there are multiple different categories that the students can pick and work on. Design: I feel that the website has the right idea to help appeal students to go into their website but I also feel that it takes too long to get where they want to go. They do have helpful hints and the student can choose whether or not they would like to go faster or slower with the problems. I think that if it didnt have as many colors or different things coming at you then this website would be a lot more effective.

Awesome math website for elementary school!

Kandase Quonn 9/5/11 Overview: This website is where all teachers can go look and share lesson plans. There where so many ads that I could barely tell what I should be trying to look at. I don't see myself going back to this website anytime soon. The idea behind this site is great but it needs more work! Content: There are many lesson plans and ides on this website that it seem like it would be a really great place to go as a teacher to share ideas and find new ones. The links are all clumped together and some don't even work. They do have contact links and the copyright date. Design: The lay out is simple when you get pass all the ad's and extra links they have on here. It was easy to navigate when using the tabs located at the top. Besides that the rest was just list of links without any real order.

From the website: a new and developing online journal and resource site for teachers of Creative Writing and those who are in the process of training to become teachers of Creative Writing.

Ryan Magrum Sept 15th, 2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide information and updates in science in the form of news articles to the general educated public. There are links to scientific news magazines as well as links to other scientific web sites. My overall impression of this site is that it is easy to read and navigate and there is a plethora of knowledge available within the contents. It's great for students studying specific topics in science to read. Content: PhysOrg, at first glance, is not flashy and aimed at consumers. The main goal of the site is general knowledge and entertainment in the form of scientific reading. The articles, with topics ranging from nano-science to medicine, are written with very few technical terms making the content easy to comprehend by the average educated individual including high school students with background instruction in the topic of interest. The articles are news updates on the emergence of new things in science sometimes with a brief explanation of the mechanism behind the new discovery complete with figures. Such articles would be a great starting point for a research paper. The articles also include hyperlinked citations to the primary sources. There are many links to other scientific news sites. Design: This site is not aimed at attracting a passerby web surfer. The target audience is attracted to the content within and already has a general idea of what they want to get out of PhysOrg. Therefore, the site is made easy to navigate and less flashy with few advertisements and the ads on the site are related to the scientific topics and links on the site. For example: an ad for paper that is really white for printing off the articles to read as a hard copy while making the articles easier to read. The links to the articles are strait forward not to bias clicking on any specific article if in the "spotlight stories" area. All the articles are arranged for the navigator to find specific arti