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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.

Posted by Kelsey Potter on January 24, 2010 This website was designed for teachers and schools. Content: Entering into School World it was evident who the audience and what the content was intended for. The content of the website accomplishes the purpose clearly. There was no specific author for the website although the group that published the site was reliable and easy contact information was access able. The website was created in 2010 so it is still a fairly new site. All of the links and content are working appropriately and appear to be complete. The links and information on each of the links are easy to understand and sufficient to the content. There is a plenty of information for each of the links and for background on the website. The website is not biased but rather informative about schools using a content management system and a center for communication and education for the teachers. Design: The website loaded promptly and the homepage was an appealing to the eye. It was clear as to what the purpose of the website is and the different index tabs were descriptive to direct the reader in the right direction. The site sponsor was clear and background about the sponsor was also clear. Contact information has easy access and a 1 800 number was clearly identified at the top of each page. Copy right was easy to find at the bottom of each page. Directions for using the website were not provided but rather self explanatory to use. Each label had more specific labels underneath. The animations were for more of a decoration than a purpose. The website as equal access through different browsers. The organized information on the website was apparent and made the website very resourceful. The same goal is visible throughout the website although nothing was repeated. Summary: Overall this website is a very resourceful place to come for a teacher or a school. School World gives valuable information for the needs of diverse schools and teachers. Teachers

CONTINUED: Teachers have access to a website with content and design for the in the classroom and outside the classroom. School World is build by three elements including: "applying Web technology best practices, proactively listening to district and school personnel, and staying abreast of the education industry's trends and happenings." The website has accomplished many different awards in the limit time it has been offered. This is a very reliable, useful and beneficial website.

This site provides several examples of universally designed ebooks for students ages 10 and up. ebooks provide scaffolding techniques to understand passeges (editable by teachers), read content back to students, provide Spanish translations, and allow markup and note taking

Scott Chanthongthip on January 25, 2010 Overview: Although the website has seven books students can read from, it offers a helpful tool in learning to read while listening to the computerized voice. The computerized voice can be distracting to young readers though that cannot put aside the monotonous tone and lack of colorful personality a real teacher can provide. Manipulation of the tool bar for the story can help students highlight text, translates highlighted words from English to Spanish, and allows students to stop the reading to answer critical comprehension questions. The design of the website looks simple at first but I think if this a website to help students read it should be in simpler terms. Use of the computerized reading voice can read the whole page to students, so this can be helpful to navigate the pages. Content: Most of the content is laid out simply but it takes a while to get used to navigation of the different tools. Students that would use this site would probably have some background in reading already, as stated ages 10 and up by the UDL. It takes previous knowledge of reading ability to understand some of the more complex stories the site offers. Using the "Stop to Think" option asks listeners to pick multiple-choice answers that show the student comprehends the story they just heard. If readers miss the questions, clues to the right answer help the reader find the correct answer. As a teacher, I would use this site sparingly because I believe the computerized voice reading to students can bore them quickly. The website also takes away the ability for students to learn from their peers. The books used in this selection from the UDL provide just small glimpse at the plethora of reading material out there. The project team for the website consists of people with Education Doctorates , Master's of Education, and translators. As far as the content update, I could not find when its updates or when the site came into ex

Overview: Notes in Spanish is a great teaching tool so that students can listen to a variety of topics in Spanish at home or in school. There are different levels of podcasts ranging from beginner to advanced with many podcasts in each level. There are also packets available to purchase that help to comprehend and test your knowledge on the podcasts. Content: The content of Notes in Spanish is relevant to Spanish listening comprehension. The content is presented in a profession yet fun manner. The authors contact and background information is readily available. Both authors are qualified to present the podcasts because of their background with Spanish and fluency level. The site does not present the date last revised but new podcasts are added often. There are not any external links presented in the site but the site does provide sufficient information. Design: The design of Notes in Spanish is attractive and simple. The tool bar on the top of the screen makes for easy navigation. The site is simple and there are not too many links; there are no external links present. The use of multimedia makes a significant contribution to the site because the main information on the site is in the form of podcasts. The site is simple in its design but is effective in delivering quality information.

Michelle Hill February 24, 2012 Overview: The purpose of this website is to serve as a resource for instruction for 1st grade internet activities. Therefore, the intended audience is teachers 1st graders and 1st grade teachers. Available on this website are English activities online involving skills such as story listening, letter recognition, literacy activities sight words, and sentence structure and grammar. Also included are Math activities such as number recognition, patterns/shapes, counting, adding/subtracting and much more! There is also unit themes available for teachers of all kinds. Content: The content of the website was rated as very useful for my information needs based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. Some strengths of this website include the first look, how it was easy to determine the basic content of the site, the information quality, and the further information. The content of the site was well organized and easy to understand. Some weaknesses of this website are that information of the authors is not available, therefore I do not know if the authors are qualified to present information on the topic. Other weaknesses include that the content was not updated frequently, the last time being August 2007 and the fact that one link to another site was not working properly. Overall, there was an abundance of good content that will prove to be useful in 1st grade classrooms. Design: The design of the website was rated as very well designed and easy to use based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. First, the homepage downloaded efficiently and the website was speedy, which was a good start to the design. Some strengths of the website include that it was well organized, the copyright date was easy to determine, the site is easy to move around, and the content was presented clearly. Some weaknesses include that there were no directions

Candace Carder October 13, 2014  Overview:  The video focuses on the four seasons in a year, and is aimed for younger children. This video was published on January 14, 2013, and the category that it is focusing on is education. The video is intended for the audience age of 5-8 year olds. The videos information is all there and easily seen.  Content: The website talks about the four seasons, and sings about each season. The video first talks about winter, and how you build snowmen, go sledding, and how you need hats and gloves to go outside. The next season they sing about is spring, and how it rains for hours, and the flowers are starting to bloom. The next seasons, they talk about is summer and how you go to the pool, and how it is very hot outside. The last season the video sings about is fall, and in that season you rake leaves, and wear sweaters. The video then recaps singing about all four season in a year.  Design:  The video is set up to be a cartoon video that catches students attention. It is a song that will stink in your brain after you listen to the song. The video is made for younger students, it is supposed to catch young students attention. The video was pretty accurate and gave good information to students. 

The purpose of this resource is to help intermediate Spanish learners to learn the irregular verbs ser and ir and how to conjugate them in the present tense. There is a slight introduction and it is a very short video with lots of information. This is a great video to learn or review how to conjugate these irregular verbs. The content is short but well used. The instructor isn't shown in the video but her voice is very clear and she speaks slow enough to understand. There is no English in the video which could be difficult for some but its good listening practice. There are different examples and it is a good video to make the students think. It is a great video for a high school classroom and it is very accurate with the forms of conjugating of the verbs she uses. The spelling is correct and all the examples are correct and well used. This video contains examples that are both written and explained orally giving the students opportunities to answer the questions on their own before the instructor gives the answers. The name of the instructor doesn't appear but it is clear to know that she is a native Spanish speaker.

Lana Macdonald Aug 31, 2010 Overview: As the site indicates, it is for dummies. The content is very elementary for those who wish to learn algebra. A few reviews of the page state that it is a waste of time, yet others state that the site cleared up questions they have had for years. If the user of the site has some algebraic knowledge then the site is most likely not useful. However, if the user struggles with the terminology and basic steps of algebra, this site is for them. Overall the information given in the site is correct but the graphics make it hard to learn. Content: The author of the site is not given; however, the site is based off a well-known series of books that are considered creditable. The site is current, all links are updated. The content of the site is very vast, however the organization of the site allows the user to find what is needed quick and easy. The information given is very helpful, but since the information is given by video, the user may feel that the video explains too quickly. The resources given on the page are not very helpful in learning more about math. Design: This site is attractive, and uses up to date graphics to attract users. The site is easy to navigate and very user friendly. The format of the site is consistent throughout the pages. The new age technology may not work well for teaching math. The site employs video to teach math problems. This has some advantages and some disadvantages. Some advantages allow for the type of people who learn best by listening to learn easily. However, the videos can go fast for the user, and make it harder to learn. Another advantage is that a problem can be explained more effectively as the speaker walks through a problem. One solution the site might try is in addition to the video, have a few problems worked out below the video for a quick overview of what is in the video.

Sarah Schepp September 1, 2010 Website Evaluation #2 Overall- This website was created to give high school students worksheets they could do that would let them still have fun like kids. The worksheets focused more on engaging the students so they don't always have to do book work or listen to a teacher give a lecture. The worksheets seemed very useful but I didn't care for the layout or design. I couldn't find the information I was looking for very easily. Content- The content of having the information that gives students worksheet that is fun to them is a wonderful idea. This will keep the students wanting to do the homework. I couldn't locate any information from this website other than the copy right date at the bottom of the page and sponsor who's name was in the lower left had corner. Other than that I couldn't get any of the information and it made this website not seem so good. Design- The design was very flashy and full of graphics, this livened up the website and made it seem like students might actually like the worksheets that it provided. It had a black background with white words which seemed to make the words explode from the page. The information seemed more interesting. Everything was labeled clear and seemed to be easy to locate, it even brought up worksheets for elementary students.

Katie Hurrell January 21, 2010 Overview: The website transforming teaching through technology is a website that provides students with free plug- ins that allow them to play interactive games for learning on the internet. The intended audience is both teachers and students. The available resources are the programs that are needed in order for the students to use different websites. There is different websites and sections that students can visit to find a game that sounds interesting to them. This website seems like it could be hard to use but the design of the website makes it look not as intimidating as it could be. Content: This website makes it hard for the user to understand what the basic content of the site is. There is no information on the author but the website does talk about plug-ins which might be helpful to a student who does not know what a plug-in is. There is a contact person which is helpful if a user has questions about installing plug-ins. The content on this website appears to be complete and the content of the site is well organized and the site does offer a lot of information on the plug ins and the games that the website has on it. The content of linked sites is worthwhile and appropriate to the audiences needs/purposes. The site is very useful and worth bookmarking. Design: The homepage downloaded efficiently and the copyright date was easy to find. When installing a plug-in there is directions for the user to follow in order to insure that they have downloaded the plug in correctly. The links that are provided to other pages within the site are helpful and appropriate. The site is equally effective with a variety of browsers. There is sufficient information to make the site worth visiting and the information is clearly labeled and organized. The links are well organized and easy to use. A working link is provided to contact the website with any questions or comments. This website is complicated but the design

Olivia Mabie-January 24, 2010 Content: This website has multiple links used in the classroom for teaching with technology. There are many interactive activities for all the subjects aimed at elementary aged students. There were a few things I could not be found on the website such as when it was published and when it was last updated. Before using the links to the other websites you have to make sure the correct media players are installed on the computers, most of these are free. The website is organized in a way that would be easy for elementary students to find what they are looking for. With the topic titles at the top of the page it is easy to get to the place where they need to be in order to complete the assignment. Design: This website was very easy to navigate and it was made easy for the elementary students to navigate it too. There was not any distracting pictures or pop-ups that made it hard to find the links. There are topics/titles at the top of the page which will help find the different links for the subjects. Once the link is clicked on it takes you right to the homepage of the next site, it does not take multiple clicks to get to the website you want your students to go to. There was information I could not find on the website such as when it was published and if it had been updated recently. Once the other links are clicked on there are many multimedia uses in the new websites. Overview: This is a wonderful website for teachers to use because it gets students out of their seats and they get to do something on the computers instead of just listening to the teacher at the front of the classroom. Some students learn differently and teachers need to do more interactive things in the classrooms to get students to understand the subjects better. The site was very easy to navigate and to find the other links/websites found within the original one. This would be a site teachers need to keep in mind to let students learn in a different way.

Overview: Russian language interactive site with audio.

Emily Hastings Reviewed: 2/5/12 Kbears.com Purpose: The purpose of this website is to provide students with a fun educational environment. Intended Audience: This site is intended for Kindergarten through fifth grade. Available Resources: This site has its information on it with no need for links to other sites, but it does offer a link for a KBparent site. Overall Review: This website would be fun for students to use during their free time or as a reward for achieving a goal or some other assignment. It is a fun site for students, and could also be used in a classroom as a class or at home. It isn't very broad of a site, it only has a limited number of things to do, which may be hard to use at times and also could get boring. It is hard to navigate around unless you have sound and are able to listen to what each of the avatars are saying. Overall I think this site is more for fun and education at home, or on students own time, but is a fun site for them. Overview: This site offers information in many subjects. It has a lot of reading, so students need to be able to read. It is animated with many characters that talk and videos that are fun for students. It consists of many different things to do and learn about. Content: The content of this website is informative for students and fun. It has unusual ideas and activities, rather than your normal site. After a while on this site you might run out of things to do though, which may become a problem. Design: The design of this website is eye catching, but not very welcoming. It definitely interests you with the characters on the homepage, but is set up as if you were on a ship or something. Unless you're able to use sound this site is going to be quite useless for you, which could be a problem. It is harder to navigate around and the homepage isn't set up very simply so it could be a waste of time until you got the hang of it. Overall the design area is "cute" but unorgan

Content: This site is a monster. I was looking for a site to explain landmark cases in the Supreme Court. What I found is a site that not only explains but also gives political reactions and the aftermath of the decision. For instance, I clicked on Marbury v. Madison. This is the case that allowed Judicial Review. The site divides the case in two sections Resources and Activities. In the Resources section you can read about the case etc. The Activities students can read logistical information about the case for further understanding. Design: The design is geared to educate. The visual make you think of the Constitution a crinkly brown. I like how the homepage lists the cases on the left side and concepts that came from some of those cases on the right. When you click on a case there is a wealth of information that can further understanding of a case. Many of these cases are a little complicated and I feel that this site can tie up loose ends. It is even geared toward high schools, the sub title reads "one-stop shopping for activities related to key Supreme Court cases and concepts as mandated by State standards. Overview: This site is put on by the Supreme Court Historical Society, meaning it is rather legitimate. I would love to use this site in an activity for class. The site is rather bland but I believe that students would love to be directed to find info and be able to present that info to the class. I could even make them use technology in their presentation. This site is not a baby sitter in the least it is a way for students to use technology and not listen to a boring lecture.

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.

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.

Love this site! Simple... go on, pick a song or a genre of music that you like, put it in... then, boom! So much music that you like just coming up one after another. It is just such a great way to really listen to music you like and learn about other artist sound like some of your favorites. It is free too! After awhile, it may ask you to enter your e-mail and some information, but hassle free... and free!

Bryana Wilson September 20, 2009 Website Review http://www.sonnets.org/early.htm "Sonnet Central" is a site dedicated to all different types of sonnets in many different time periods. The author of this site, Eric Blomquist, has done an excellent job of putting the site together in an interesting and organized way. The site serves as an archive of sonnets and does a good job in defining the histories and form of them as well. It is evident that he is passionate about this style of poetry, and in essence, catches the evolution of it quite nicely. CONTENT The content of this website is evident in the title. "Sonnet Central" is full of many different types of sonnets. It covers all different kinds of sonnets from differences in location, time, and style. It includes sonnets from all over the world and has sonnets set apart in different periods- from the 12th century to the early 20th century- most of which are English- but includes quite a few Petrarchan as well. There are also links to sections that you can use to search, view an alphabetical list of authors, listen to sonnets being read, and even read criticisms. It also includes a forum for modern poets to post their own poetry and discuss the information presented on the page. It is clear that Mr. Blomquist's site is aimed toward poets and those wanting to get acquainted with the sonnet- and the material on his site is easy to interpret and understand. There is an email link for contacting Mr. Blomquist if there are any questions or comments regarding his site and it is located on the site's homepage in the opening paragraph. It was last modified in 2007, but given the subject- the sonnet- I would trust the material is far from outdated. It loads quickly and works on several different browsers. DESIGN "Sonnet Central" is put together in an interesting way. The information is fairly easy to find and is set up in a rather organized manner, including a table of contents on the main page.

Cody The purpose of this site is to teach Spanish to students in many different ways. It has different forms of relaying the information to students such as PowerPoint, handouts, listening activities, quizzes and vocabulary. The intended audience for this site is that of Spanish teachers. Overall I feel that the site is pretty friendly, but needs work to make the site more appealing. A large majority of the site is in English and makes it easier to navigate. There are advertisements on the right side of the site, but not too distracting or problematic. The content of the site is pretty useful. It gives you many options to teach students. They have a variety so that it can appeal to different kinds of students. It is easy to find on the front page and access. They give you suggestions on how to present different kinds of information like grammar, spelling and reading comprehension. It doesn't cover every single aspect but it does a great job of helping teach students at a high school level. They give you the opportunity to look at their culture as well. It is pretty effective for helping kids learn a language. There are many resources you can use to be an effective teacher.

The world's largest online music catalogue, powered by your scrobbles. Free internet radio, videos, photos, stats, charts, biographies and concerts.

This American Life is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.7 million listeners. It is produced by Chicago Public Media, distributed by Public Radio International, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.