Group items tagged

DAR.org Michelle Petty, January 22, 2011 Overview: The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) website is aimed at educating others about the American Revolution, genealogy of members and scholarships for those who meet the criteria. It is not necessarily aimed at students or teachers, but it is a very informative and useful website for American Revolution projects. The site it set up with clear tabs leading to specific sites and searches. The most important link on this site is its online library catalog, which allows individuals to search for specific battles, commanders, cities and other items related to the American Revolution. Content: This website is aimed at informing the public about the DAR and the American Revolution. It is for an older audience, middle school and high school, and would be most helpful in research projects. It is a very nice, official looking site with a clearly identified author and copyright date along with contact information to the site. The site is organized in a very user friendly way with links on the left hand side of the page, and special featured items on the right and DAR related sites across the top of the page. All links lead to educational sites, or journals that are written by experts in the field. Design: The design of this website is very official, with clearly identified authors and easy to use links. It is easy to navigate, and has links to journals, pictures, and videos that are relevant to the American Revolution. All links work and take the viewer to the correct site, and the information provided at the site is educational and useful. This site is great for American Revolution information and is one that I would use as a teacher, however it is probably too complex and advanced for younger audiences.

Jessica Chandler January 24th, 2011 *Overview: This website is to help children with the science skills. There isn't a specific age listed for this site. It seems to me that it looks appealing for younger kids, however, some of the concepts seem like upper level science questions. The website is not as easy to operate because it seems rather slow. There are three major types of categories to choose from: experiments, field trips, and adventures. Each of these categories is to teach the students more of a certain subject most interested in. As well as that, there are a few side links to click on: Curious About, Live Cams, Now in Focus, and Citizens for Planet Earth. *Content: The content seems well organized. The only thing that I found to be super beneficial though was the experiments. This could make a good project or could just be something good to learn, helping to develop better skills for science. I cannot say that I am too particularly fond of this website. I do not appreciate the amount of time I have to wait, but I think that once you get into it, it could be a great website for teachers to use to get certain experiments and ideas from. A lot of the information is interesting, but is harder for the younger students to grasp with the detailed and complicated explanations. *Design: I love the colors from this website. It was very eye catching. It has a lot of links shown, but there aren't too many that you get distracted. There isn't necessarily a title though; it just goes right into the links to choose from. I think that the website is up to date based on some of the content I read. The design is enough for the kids to get involved and isn't overwhelming for the content shown.

Erin Kirby January 23, 2011 Overview: The sight http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/index.asp is a good sight for grades 4-12. The site provides information to help you learn about schools, find a public library, play different games, take quizzes, learn different subjects in math and more. The site does have many different links and it is a simple easy to use site. It has many different educational facts that some kids might find interesting. I think overall the information could be helpful and many students in a classroom or at home would enjoy learning about the facts, getting involved and playing the games. Content: This website is simple to use and the links are easy to follow. It is a government website so there are not a lot of pop ups or things that get in your way when trying to learn or play games. The games are interesting and educational. There are certain games that allow you to pick what grade you are in so the information applies to that certain age group. At the bottom like on most websites there are links that will show information about the site, but there is no place to find one main author. When going through the site I found that it was all very educational and kids that are into math would really enjoy it, but kids that arent may have a problem enjoying the sight. The links on the site are very simple to follow and allow students to do many things on there own. This is a sight that involves a lot of involvement that can be very fun. Overall the sight seems good for grades 4-12, it would be a good tool for students to use for many different reasons. The sight has a lot of math, quizzes, and educational facts that change daily. Design: The websites speed is fast and the links all work very smooth. The graphics are good and very smooth. The homepage has very clear links and it is not busy. It is simple to use! There are not a lot of distracting things and the site is simple and to the point about educational information. The sight is great for s

Erin Kirby January 23, 2011 Overview: The sight http://www.fema.gov/kids/ is a good sight for young children to participate in fun games and learn emergency information that is important to know. The age groups include any age. The purpose of the sight to teach what to do in emergency situations, and play fun games that connect to these emergencies. The site allows you to click different links that tell about a different things involving disasters and emergencies. The seems simple and entertaining to use for kids of all ages. It is helpful for them to know the information on the site as well. This is a good site for teachers to tell elementary students about so they have the information they need and can apply it to their lives. Content: This website not confusing and very simple to use no matter what you click on. There are no advertisements that become a problem and get in the way when you click on the links. The games are fun and very educational for the children. It would be helpful if a parent was with the child to help them out, but the children can also do it on there own. There are links at the bottom that explain things that a parent or teacher might want to know about the information on the site. One link at the bottom tells you all about FEMA and gives you facts and stats about them. The website is credible and has reliable information, most government sites are very educational and correct. The content of the sight is educational and fun. The links on the site are very helpful because they are simple to use and there is not a lot going on. Overall the sight seems like it could be a helpful way to learn about emergencies and how to handle them. It can also help kids get involved. I feel like it would be smart for an elementary teacher to show their students this website. Design: The websites speed is extremely fast and there are not a lot of things that become distracting or get in your way. The homepage is simple and even when you are off the ho

Posted by Kendra Jones on 09/06/2011 This website has several math games of children and gives the children the option of creating their own game. Design: The home page of the website is kind of boring but once you click into a game the appearance is much better. Content: This website offers a variety of math games. There are several subjects with in math that they can choose from. They have the option of creating their own game also. Overview: The first appearance of the website seems kind of boring but once you click into things it looks like it could be really fun for a child. The front page could use more color. But overall I think this would be a great website for learning math.

2-5-12 Overview This website was put together by the Oswego City School District in NY. It is an interactive game site for kids. The games that are already on the site are math games for elementary students. However there is also an application to build your own game with matching or terms. This makes the website fun for kids, but also useful for others a resource to build your own game. Overall, I think this is a good website for many audiences to help build and practice skills. Content The content of this website is much less varied. The games on the site already are all focused on elementary math. This is nice if these are the kinds of games you are looking for because you don't have to navigate through the site or sort through other subjects. There are also many levels of the games to improve skills and build on previous information. You also have the option of making your own game including directions to do this. The directions are very full and this application would be very useful to others. I think that this is a very good math website for students and teachers. Design The design of this website is less impressive. It is easy to use the games that are available. The descriptions are very helpful in choosing a game and the directions for playing are very accurate. They are also organized well in an order that makes sense. However, I was not able to make my own game. The directions were very descriptive, but I got confused and was not able to pull the game I created up to play it. I feel like if someone spent a lot of time experimenting, it might have been possible however I did not feel like it was very accessible. The website was organized and useable but could definitely be improved.

Overview: the Between the Lions website is a very good website for both students and teachers. It gives teachers ideas to make reading and learning more fun for young students. It also has games right on the site that students can enjoy and learn to read without really knowing they are learning. The games do take a little long to load though and I'm sure children would get very impatient with that Content: The content of this website seems to very reliable. There are stories kids can read themselves, there are video clips and games. They all seem to be helpful and very fun. If I found them helpful I'm sure the young learners would too. The website also offers tips to teachers and parents about how to help their children and students have fun while reading. It does not give a specific age group. Design: The layout of this website is very user friendly. It is very easy to navigate. Children using this site would have no problem at all figuring it out. It is very colorful and designed cleverly. On the home page when you scroll over the picture they talk to you. For example, if you scrolled over the words stories, the character would say "stories". I think the design is great I would use it in my classroom.

This Web site is great because it allows you to create custom worksheets for several different subjects including math, science, social studies, foreign languages, and handwriting. You can also choose the grade level you wish to customize for--everything from pre-K through middle school.

Softschools.com provides free math worksheets and games and phonics worksheets and phonics games which includes counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division algebra, science, social studies, phonics, grammar for 1st grade, second grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade.

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide parents a great resource for fun ideas for their kids. Some of the available resources are online games, ideas for recipes and activities at home relating to characters on nickjr., and videos. My overall impression of this site is really good; it looks fun and it is full of fun things to do! Content: Some of the strengths of the content of this website are that it is easy to find out what this website is about, and it is easy to navigate. The information is current and the information quality is good- the links work and it seems to be a reliable website. The content is organized and it is clear that this website is for parents (although they can set up games for their children to play online). The only weakness regarding content is I could not find an author of the site. Design: The design of this website is excellent; everything is working properly and it is attractive. It is easy to find where to go based on what you want to do. The use of multimedia is good and kids would really like all the videos and pictures it contains. It seems to work with both internet explorer and firefox browsers. The website is current and I found no weaknesses with the design.

Overview: This is a free website that is based on a television channel for preschool aged kids. It has games and activities for kids and recipes, videos, and tips for parents. Content: The homepage of the site has a toolbar and a sub-toolbar. The main toolbar gives users the option of looking at the family/parent content, the kid content, or a list of all of the network's TV shows. For parents, the site offers parenting tips, printable activities parents can do with their kids, recipes, and articles about family life. Kids can play games, watch videos, and do activities (like drawing). Design: This website is bright and very stimulating. It is easy to navigate. I like how when you click on the kids tab, it opens a whole new window that only includes the things kids would be interested in. It doesn't take anymore than 3 clicks to get to anything you want on the site. I think it is well designed.

Overview: I think this website could offer a lot of opportunity for teacher's when it comes to subjects and unit ideas. It seems to offer a lot of ideas for many units and themes, and also provides opportunities such as providing coloring questionnaires, and other activities easily accessed. This website is membership only to have access to everything, and it does cost money as well. However, navigating through the site I feel it would be a beneficial resource if a teacher was in need of lesson plans or activities for a unit. The design is okay, nothing too grabbing, but the website is easily navigated and a quick resource for opportunities when it comes to ideas for a unit. Content: The content is not so easily accessible, most likely to me not becoming a member for the site. The things that I do have access to seem like fun activities that can be included within a unit however; there are limited items to have access to. The items located underneath the membership field seem to offer a wider range of ideas and lesson plans, so it would seem that becoming a member would be beneficial if you needed ideas for a lot of units over time. For quick access, however, there is little to offer if a teacher needs resources quickly without having to pay a huge fee. What little links there are offered without becoming a member appears up to date and reliable, and there doesn't appear to be a bias with the website, unless having to pay a membership fee counts as being bias. Overall I feel this website would be a great resource as a teacher, the only hassle apparent is paying in order to receive all of the benefits. Design: The direction for this site are very clear, there are tabs at the top to help direct onlookers to different themes and units if Olympics is not a unit needed. There is an area for non members to access and an area that you are able to see what members are able to access. There is color added to the design which helps catch the eye, but this website is d

Overview: TeacherVision is a website that allows you to pick themes and units that you would like to teach to a class and offers printable's such as games and other activities easy accessed to give to the student's. It also provides links to lesson plans related to social studies and language arts. This website is for links related to the Olympics, which includes history and ideas to provide for students. The overall design is a bit lacking, but it is easily navigated and offers references and slideshows to help understand the Olympics. Definitely something that would be useful when looking for activities and ideas on a unit concerning the Olympics. Content: You are easily able to determine what is on this website due to its easy navigations and layup where everything is labeled and links are provided for each label. The audience is intended for teacher's who are needing ideas, lesson plans, quizzes, and activities when it comes to a unit; in this case the Olympics. The authors for the links are located once you click on the link, and most are teachers or other educators who have used these ideas in their own classrooms. The copyright is located at the bottom of the page which is an accumulation of all links located in the site from 2000-2011. All links currently work and provide a good source of ideas and interactivity that a teacher may use in their classroom. It is very easy to understand, and if Olympics are not a topic that is needed, then there are themes provided for other units if there is something else needed. I would use this site if I was doing a unit on the Olympics. Design: The homepage is easily downloadable, but does not have a strong eye appeal. It is a site for teacher's use only, not one that I going to interest student's. The site is easily navigated with descriptive links for activities and lesson plans needed for an Olympics unit. Everything is details within the links, and there are resources available for extra information and

Overview: I really like this website. I feel it offers a lot of information and there are ample lesson plans and ideas for activities to do when it comes to doing a unit on the Olympics. The design is eye catching and easy to follow. The content if very worthwhile and the lesson plans are written by teachers who have used them in their own classrooms and have submitted them to this site. All of the lesson plans range from 1997-2011 and vary with what is needed to be taught. I feel the website is well designed, very useful for future teacher's who need lesson plans related to the Olympics or other units, and provides significant information as a future teacher who needs ideas. Content: This website provides many lesson plans related to the Olympics that teachers have used in their own classrooms, and this website also provides other units and themes that future or present educators can use in classrooms of their own. When it comes to research, there isn't much offered for that because this site is for lesson plans and activities to use in education. However, while it may not be a good resource for research, I feel as an educator needing ideas and lesson plans this website would be great to use because there is such a variety in ideas for lesson plans. This website is for educators or anyone needing a project for children to use on the Olympics, and everything on it is easy to understand and easy to navigate as well. Design: The design of this website is very eye catching and easy to use. The site title is in bright colors and there is a table of contents to the left with all of the themes offered within the website. All of the information is clearly labeled and is offered for all grade levels as well. The information is significant to what is needed as long as lesson plans and activities are what the researcher is looking for. A basic format is used throughout the site where all of the lesson plans are provided on the page and links provide the actual lesson

Elise Verley September 9, 2011 http://www.ecoliteracy.org/ Overview: This site is dedicated to schooling for sustainability, which they have branded "Smart by Nature". They offer resources to teachers to learn how to teach their students how to live sustainably. The site houses a series of essays, books, activities, lessons and resource listings to use as a basis for teaching students to live sustainably. They also offer seminars and workshops that educators may attend. This site is an excellent resource for a "Green" education Content: It was great to see a place where it was easy to find sources for Ecoliteracy. They offered resources in many different topics including: Climate change, health and nutrition, pollution, population and may others. It impressed me that they were interested in creating a relationship with educators to continue to offer them ongoing support. Design: The web design of this site is user friendly and easy to navigate. The top navigational menu made it easy to find the topic you were looking for. Then the sub-navigational menus allowed me to zoom in on essays and events on particular topics. The contact information was listed many places on the site, encouraging educators to interact with this growing community.

Overview: This site offers learning tools for students as well as lesson plan ideas for teachers. It offers online resources to teachers and parents as well. It has interactive learning from games to activities kids can do for hands-on learning on topics such as math, science and language arts. Content: The homepage is laid out in a child friendly way. It is organized and grouped in all the different subjects so kids can find things easier. The author is hard to find but it is an educational sponsored site. There is a place on the bar left of the screen that offers a link to ask questions about the site. The site is frequently updated to keep the resources current. Design: The design is fun and brings value to the site with its interactive graphics. It is a great site for children to use as well as teachers. There is a table of contents to navigate to different links easier as well as places to seek help for problems. All links uploaded easy and were very organized so you didn't feel lost.

Trevor Santy Sept 14 2011 Overview: This site covers a multitude of subjects for varying grade levels. It is extremely user friendly and very easy to navigate. The main page has links going to individual subjects matters such as history. This site is very presentable with almost no ads, except for a few educational ones, on it and nothing to really distract students while on the site. My overall opinion is that it would be great for teaching as it also has a few recreational activities as well giving the site a multipurpose function; to teach and to be used as an extra activity if the time arises. Content: This site contains different activities for different subject matters such as history, math, science, and a few others. It also has a games tab that contains learning games for all ages ranging from the easy to some that are very challenging. Design: This websites design is extremely user friendly. With tabs to each subject and then banners to different activities. On top of that it has reference pages to other sites as well as a parents area and a preschool area. It also has contact info in its own tab. However, this site may be too flashy and distracting for some of the younger students so supervision while using this site is advised.

Oct. 7th 2012 Overview: This site is designed for educational entertainment and gaming. The content and design of this site make it evident that it was designed for children. This site offers many different resources for kids to access and use. The site includes games, pictures, polls, and even a parent teacher section. Content: While the site is obviously designed for children it contains many different categories and levels of learning. I would say the content ranges from a Pre-K to a fifth grade level. Although there is no clear indication of what game or program was designed for what level of student it is clear that some games are meant for the older elementary student. The site is also packed with seasonal games and activities, for example all of the Halloween games are broadcasted on the homepage right now. Design: This website is very eye appealing. The background is not just plain white and there are tons of interactive pictures posted on the homepage leading you to games and activities. All the designs are age appropriate for students in elementary although the load time could be faster.

Whitney Lindt Purpose: The purpose of this website is to make it easy for teachers to find fun activities for their students to do but also make it easy to use in the school setting because it is enforcing what the teachers are teaching. Overview: I think that this site would be great for teachers to use in their classrooms for several reasons. One of them being that if they give the proper direction to their students they would actually be able to have the students use it in the classroom, this is important because they need to become computer savvy as they continue on in school. The other reason that this website is a good one to use would be because it covers more than one subject so teachers could use it for several of the subjects they are teaching instead of trying to find a new subject with each subject they teach. Content: The content of this site is really well organized and it is easy to look through and find what one is looking for. The nice thing about this site is that even though it is all learning material it is presented in games which is really nice especially for younger students. It has learning material on math, English, animals, printing, and typing. These are all essential as one moves up in school. One thing a really like about this website is that is has a how to print area and a typing area which most of the other websites don't seem to have and with the technological world that we live in today the younger the children start these activities the better. All of the links on this website work really well and open quickly which is also good to keep the children's attention. Design: I do not think that this website is appealing enough to the eye especially for young grade school students. Like there are some playful things in the background but I just don't think that there are enough colors to get the attention that the site is looking for. The other thing I like about this site is that it is split into different grade levels so that i

Overview: Spanish Dict is a great reference for any Spanish student. It serves as a translator, dictionary, and learning tool for aspiring Spanish students. It has tabs that help you learn Spanish, create your own flash cards, make direct translations, and use a dictionary. It also has a conjugation tool that allows you to conjugate verbs in any tense. This site is also available in Spanish using a button in the upper right hand corner. Content: When you arrive at SpanishDict.com, it is pretty obvious what the site is for. It loads ready to be used. The author information is readily available at the bottom of the page and can be easily accessed. They are credible sources and seem to be qualified to create this site. Since this site mostly deals with word translation, it is not, nor should it ever be out of date. The purpose for the site is clear, it offers relevant information, it is easy to understand, and there is more than a sufficient amount of information for my purposes. Design: Although Spanish Dict does not have the most appealing website, it is extremely well laid out. It is easy to move around the site and directions are provided where applicable. One of my favorite design features for this site is the ability to have it translated into Spanish. This could be used as an ESL tool for that reason. It works on almost any browser, and provides enough information to make it worth visiting on a daily basis