Group items tagged

Amanda Lamey January 24, 2010 Overview This website is directed towards people who enjoy cooking or need something to bring to a party. Or just for chili lovers. The purpose of this web page is to teach you how to cook any kind of chili listed. This site gives you options from vegetarian chili to chili dogs and Asian style chili. You have multiple options to choose from. They were posted on January 26, 2009 meaning it has been updated recently, to where chili hasn't changed drastically. Evaluation of Design The layout of this site was simple and straight forward. There weren't any photos of the recipes. There was only a date when the websites were posted under each recipe. There was no copyright date or author. This website is missing a lot of key factors. It has a title and recipes listed below it. I think it's too plain and too simple. It needs photos, an author, and a date of revision. On the left hand side it allowed you to click the type of chili you wanted. At the very top it had a few websites to pick from, but it wasn't just one click away. The first website wanted your phone number to allow you to continue on, the second one didn't load at all, even with pushing the refresh button. The third one only led you to another site where you could purchase a Crockpot or click another website to find a website with chili recipes. Content The content of this website seemed accurate and precise. It told you exactly what to do and informed you of the content. For example in the Texas Style Chili it said it uses chunks of beef and not ground beef. This site was very informative. The grammar and spelling were accurate, I didn't see any errors. The contact button was located at the top left highlighted in blue. The titles of each recipe were in a bigger font and were in bold. There wasn't a copyright date or author, just the date it was posted. This site had a button that would allow you to visit older entries, but it didn't work. This website had more

Casey DeGabain January 24, 2010 Overview This site seems to have a lot of information but does not seem that appealing to very many age groups and would probably not be the best teaching tool. Content There is a lot of information's dealing with Ag in the classroom, Ag career pathways, educator resources, e dag programs. This sight has a lot of good information but does not seem like something that would be very good to use in the classroom because there is only specific things it deals with and does not have a wide variety of things to interest a lot of kids. I would not use this in my classroom. Design This sight does not have very much graphics or things that really stick out. It is pretty plan with just facts and information. I do not think it would appeal to students very well because of this. It isn't really hard to find your way around but it seems poorly designed for an educational tool.

Provides ideas for teachers to teach their early childhood classes shapes. This site provides activities to do this. These activities can help your students have more knowledge about shapes .

Meghan Snell September 11, 2011 Overview: This website is mainly for kids and for fun learning. There are useful purposes for parents and teachers as well. At the bottom of the website, links are available to other sites more useful for teachers. It is well organized with links to grade levels as well as links to different subjects. There are 100's of different games which are all mostly educational and help improve children's skills. It's an extremely fun appealing looking site to catch kid's attentiong and easy to navigate. Content: The authors and sponsors were a little difficult to find although there was a nice section about the site itself and its purposes. The content of the site is mainly for children but teachers and parents can find uses out of it as well. I was not able to find information on how often or when it was last updated but the copyright of the site itself was clearly given. All of the links work fine and the site does serve its purpose. Design: The graphics of the site are very appealing, fun and contribute to the site. Everything loaded easily and now unecessary downloads had to be made to go through the games and activities. It was easy to find what activities were desired becuase of the headers being organized neatly.

Rachel Keyes ITEC 2360 01/24/11 Average site http://www.alternavox.net/the-graphic-novel-as-a-form-of-literature Overview This site discusses the use of the graphic novel as a form of alternative literature. The main point of the site is an article discussing the history of the graphic novel and where it is today. The audience is anyone who wants to learn more about the educational potential of the graphic novel. The article is from a Canadian site, so that could impact its usefulness to U.S. students and teachers. Content The main content of the site is the article. Other than that, there are no other links to find more information about alternative literature or graphic novels. The article is biased because the author is a reporter who has an opinion and doesn't provide the other side of the argument. The article was published in 2009, so it could be slightly outdated. Design The site has ads and pictures for the newspaper, which could be irrelevant to users from other countries. There is a biography of the author next to the article, but there is no way to contact him with questions. There is no copy right for the website itself. The information is well organized, but other than the article, there is no further information.

Kara Mitchell 1 February 2011 This website is intended for a young audience. This is evident thru the colors, animations and links. The purpose of the site is to explore areas of science, math, spelling and history. Following each link is a list of options for what the student wants to study or look into. Further down the page is a list of games the student can choose from to apply the knowledge read prior. It is simple to navigate, however I feel there are too many options for students giving the students opportunities to get off task. Content and Design: Based on content there is a good deal of information for each section. It is essentially an online textbook with pictures on each page. The content is correct as is spelling and grammar. There is a copyright and year easily accessible at the end of each page as well, making documentation very simple. As for the design, the site has a clear title page and an index of options. The site loads efficiently, quickly and is easy to navigate, as it has the same format on each page. In my opinion there are too many ads directly on the content page. Out of four ads only one is about the subject the others have no relation, or a relation that should not be included in a child's website. Overview: Overall, this website could be more interactive and child friendly. It is a bit word intensive and contains ads that should not be made available to children. There is a good bit of information that can prove very useful and if guided, through a web quest could be led to find the right information and learn more about the subject in the process. I would like there to be more videos or maybe music from the time period to help history really come to life.

Overview: Purpose- provides games and activities to help improve elementary students spelling, reading and math skills. Attended Audience- elementary educators and their students. Available Resources- none shown. Overall Impression: Not very eye-appealing; games are educational and content is clearly identified Content Overview: able to easily identify basic content of site; author and date last updated not given; no links to other sites Design Overview: Homepage not very attractive; site sponsor and copyright identified; not very clear directions on how to use site

great information, great design, reliable resource

This is a game that will allow students to learn more about what pollution really is and things that can help prevent it.

WatchKnow.org Michelle Petty, January 22, 2011 Overview: This site is aimed at students ages k-12, with a variety of educational portals from science to math to social studies. The site allows the user to select the area they are learning about, for example social studies and then within that category they can specify a content area like the Trail of Tears. Once the search results come back it offers a variety of information, however the information is only presented through videos and pictures. The site is easy to use and covers a wide variety of topics that makes it useful for students studying a variety of topics. However, without articles it makes using this site in research type projects difficult. Content: The website is clearly aimed at students and links to all content area taught to them. At the bottom of the site there is both a contact link and an about us & visions tab that informs the viewer who maintains the site, its goal, when it was last revised and how to contact someone with questions. When search results are found, the viewer can watch the video, go find the history of the videos to see where they came from and what the video has to offer and a separate tab to leave comments under. All of the video links work and are of good quality and offer a wide range in video content, from people reenacting historical events to math problems being solved step by step. Design: The website, while aimed at ages k-12, caters more to the younger audiences. The graphics used and even the color of font indicate that it wants to appeal to younger aged students. It is easy to navigate and use, and gives plenty of choices in videos and gives the appropriate information about the video that it can be used in an educational setting. I feel like this site would be very useful in replacing youtube videos used in class, because all of these videos are educational and meant for that use. I think I would use this site periodically, but I don't think I would

Overview: This website is somewhat boring, though there is a lot of good information the site just doesn't keep a reader interested. It is a lot of paragraph like information that I don't think student will enjoy learning from. On the other side there is good information, and many different types of things to do. Design: The design is very traditional, and though they have colors, they are very dull and do not catch the readers attention. There are so many links that it is hard to get around the site and even go back to the homepage. Content: There is a lot of good content on the website and has many different things to do. There is color pages, games and information about our space system!

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.

Overview: The purpose of this site is to help teacher and students. There is a lot of resources that can be used in this website. If I was a teacher I may use this website as a reward when a student got his or her work done early. I might also use this as an aid in teaching a subject. The content in this website may inspire children to learn more about a certain subject, but I would not use this as a sole teaching tool. Content: In This website there is useful information. If a teacher is stuck on a subject this website can direct the teacher to a helpful website about the certain subject. There is a section called Kid-Info that is designed to help a student with a subject. There are also suggested sites for videos, power-points and lesson plans. Design: The design of this website could be better. The contrast of the colors just doesn't seem very engaging or useful. The website looks dull and boring. However the information in this website is good, the design is lacking. Someone could update it and I feel it would help the legitimacy of the website.

Overview This site offers a number of games for students to learn the human anatomy. Content The author appears qualified and the presenters of the site are easy to contact. The copyright is for 2008; however the material appears to be up-to-date and usable. There are links to add it to Facebook and other cloud sites. The information is educational and entertaining. The content and intention is clear. The only complaint I have, is that to use the boasted free games, one is subjected to ads. The ads are discussed in the content introduction and with purchase, games can be downloaded. The site is worth bookmarking for future reference. Design The website is attractive and though a bit cluttered, it is easy to navigate to the games. The games loaded easily and are simple to utilize. The use of multimedia is effective. I was able to find the site and use it, from multiple browsers. There are multiple game options that are broken down by physical system for easy adaption to a lesson plans. Overall: It is very well designed and easy to use.

Sarah KautzkyJanuary 31, 2011 Overview: The purpose of this website is to provide a small amount of information relevant to statistics courses and students and then redirect the user to other sites that deal with statistics help. This site is intended for students who are enrolled in a statistics course, high school or college. This website would be helpful to teachers teaching a statistics course, but using takes time and willingness to navigate from page to page until an answer may or may not be found. This appears to be a branch site of an online encyclopedia. My overall impression is fairly poor. Content: The creator of this website is not listed and there is no way to contact the people who run the site. There is no recent revision date or copyright date listed. Links to other sites and sources are in working condition but they are not categorized by content. There is no organization of information because the site itself provides very little information. This website does not achieve its purpose in providing help to statistics students and there is not way to know if all of the information is correct or relevant without visiting every link, and there are many of them.  Design: The design of this website is not to my liking. There are no download errors or broken links, but the entire site lacks any sense of organization. It is a hodgepodge of links and the disorganization distracts and even discourages learning. It is obvious what the title of the webpage is, but that is the only clear introduction to the site. The graphics limited and helpful. They are not excessive or annoying. Overall the site is designed not well for its intended audience. This is not a source that I would endorse or use in my classroom.

Sarah Kautzky January 31, 2011 Overview: The purpose of this website is to provide basic statistics help to high school and college level students. This site is intended for students who are enrolled in a statistics course and are seeking additional help and information. This website may also be used by statistics teachers to create lesson plans or be used as a reference. The information is separated into chapter like grouping. My overall impression of this site is a very good one. This is something that I would surely use as a statistics teacher and I would encourage my students to look at it and reference it as needed. Content: The creator of this website is an undergraduate professor who created it as a supplement to the textbook for his students.  He is a credible source and contact information is available in the form of a drop box. Links to other sites and sources are in working condition and are very helpful. This website achieves its purpose in delivering the basic information taught in a statistics class. All of the information is current, relevant, and correct. The information is easy to understand as well. The site is very well organized and free of bias and spelling or grammatical errors. Design: The design of this website is pretty good. There are no download errors or broken links. The homepage is very neat, clean, and organized which appeals to me, but others might be that it is plain looking. The site does not contain a table of contents because it is one in itself the way it is laid out. A copyright date is listed at the bottom of the page. Navigating the site is fairly easy and there are links that allow the user to jump to related pages. The graphics are only used when appropriate and when they add something to the material. The cleanliness and simplicity of it promotes learning and limits distraction.

Morgan Carlson 5-18-2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to help teachers create positive lessons about the Holocaust. The website is intended for teachers, and for students from kindergarten through college. Some of the resources available on this website are learning about the founding organization of the website, personal stories from Holocaust survivors, book reviews on the issue, and causes such as the Global Relief fund and Darfur. The content of this site is useful to my needs, and explains in detail the purpose of its postings, and also of the related links on the website. There are several other useful links from this page, and the design of the website is easy to use, and is appealing to the audience. Content: In the opening paragraph of the website, the purpose and intended audiences are clearly listed, along with information about the founder of the site and contact information. The purpose of the site is informational/educational, and the founder of the site is qualified. There are a variety of links, videos, reviews, etc. pertaining to the purpose of the website, and information is cohesive with one another. The website provides a link to the corporate sponsors, and it appears to be free of biased attitudes. However, there are one or two broken links on the page, and the date of last revisions is not stated. It is then difficult to assess how frequently the material is updated. The website's main purpose of providing a variety of instructional tools to help students and teachers is fulfilled, and easy to find using search tools. Design: The homepage is fast to load, and you can easily see the title, name of the sponsor, and contact information upon first viewing the website. There is a table of contents and a search bar that makes it easy to navigate the website. Graphics and videos are placed accordingly, and are relevant to the material being discussed. There are directions that explain how to click on certain links, and a dis

Overview: The purpose of this website is to attract children, grades K-8, with educational activities online. The intended audience is children but the site carries extended links to teacher and parent resources. Thus, this website is for all ages. The available resources go beyond games to include online books, comic books, math activities, arcade games, and many more. There are also links to pages for parents and teachers. My overall impression was positive about this site. It was very appealing and allows for children to experience the internet while learning. I also felt that the teacher and parent resources led to some potentially important websites filled with a lot of information. Although this site was very educational, it seemed to be a lot less personalized than previous websites. Content: The content of this website was sufficient for the needs of any teacher. It is organized in a way that allows children to search for games that interest them but also has a teacher's guide. In this guide, the teacher can locate specific features that are appropriate for their lesson plans. There is an identified sponsor along with contact information. It is an updated site with a copyright from 2011 but no recorded last revision date. This site has the purpose to entertain, be informative, and also has some advertisements for upcoming literature events. This site was well organized and complete. It was easy to understand and very user friendly. The interactivity of this site does make it a lot of fun and easy to visit. The information provided, to my knowledge, was pretty similar to outside sources. The website was edited well and provided links to relative outside sources. However, this site did not provide much information on the actual authors of the content. Overall, I would rate this as a highly relevant website. Design: The overall design of this website was very affective. The home page loaded efficiently and was very appealing to the eye. The home page

Overall: The website I used for my bad example was called Kindergarten Games. The game for this website is unclear on what teachers or students are supposed to learn. It shows some requirement for multitasking but is not complex enough to really take something from this. Where to go for help is not clear and only the sponsor is listed. The author was not listed; only the game is "information" on this website. Content: The basic content is unclear for whether this game is for teachers or for students. The author is not stated nor links for help. The sponsor is listed as a game site for teachers' and children. Since the author was not listed I cannot determine if he or she is qualified to give information. The website also failed to give dates to validate currency; the purpose is not clear for who/what is going on. The game is not complicated enough for teachers and too much is going on to explain to kindergarteners. Overall too much is missing from this website for it to be a decent, valid place to seek help/information. Design: The website downloaded efficiently and has strong eye appeal; the sponsor was identified and there was a space to leave comments but no information to contact. The copyright date was not established nor was the most recent update. There is a tutorial telling directions how to play the game but not who it is directed towards or the objection of the game. The only links were leading to different games by the sponsors; the music went along with the game as did the graphics. It was not a big enough site and did not contain enough information to navigate through it.