Group items tagged

Samantha Cook 10/11/12 The Renaissance website on philosophy of that time is very useful for someone either looking for some background information on this topic or also for research for a paper. The Renaissance was a time period where there was a great movement into many of the ideas that we have today, like philosophy and the idea of not a large empire but smaller countries. This site gives a good overview of the philosophy side of that change, and how these thoughts started coming around. The information provided is good and accurate and gives a broad range that allows someone to either get a brief or go deeper. The purpose of the sight is to provide information. The intended audience for this sight is either high school students learning about the Renaissance or College students doing the same thing. They use this sight and the quality information provided as more of a summary then a full out research area, to give them brief ideas of the subject but there is so much deeper. The information provided is from all current sources nothing more than 1970s but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This is where academics at universities have gone through and interpreted the older writings into what is needed to know. There is also a large amount of sources which helps weed out the biased sources and ideas you can have by having different opinions added together. My overall opinion of this sight is it is a good sight for basic information, if you want to go deeper then you need to go elsewhere but it is a good sight to give a brief introduction into the idea of philosophy. It is pleasing to the eyes even without pictures and looks academic in that sense, I personally think pictures could make it better but it is fine without them. Overall it is a good trust worthy site.

Samantha Cook 10/11/12 The Crusade website is a very plain website. It contains essential information that is very useful to people doing research on the crusades. This information ranges from older texts from that era or new information from historians. The Crusades were many holy wars to obtain lands in the east that were religious areas. This information is represented well by many different scholars through this website in one easy place. The Crusade website is very useful to people in college mainly, some high level high school students could use the sight. The audience is high school students in college level courses, looking for information deeper than the basics provided by their teachers; also it is aimed at for college academics to be used for papers and background information that is found in one easy place. The available resources are from current historians interpreting things from archaeologists and from the writings of that time, and then also the writing from that time to be interpreted yourself. This is very useful information provided because it includes current sources and older sources that has less opinion in it. My overall impression of this sight is very high I used to for my webquest, and I did that to give the kids who would have done it a basic look at crusades which they could have easily done without much looking. This sight is also pleasing to the eye, it is not fancy in any way but it is organized well and looks very academic which helps its purpose. Overall I would use and trust the sight because it is not necessarily their opinion but actual writings for that subject through links of this website and I believe these are the best websites for historians.

Nathan Hissong 1/23/10 Content: The Worlds Smallest Political Quiz provides five questions concerning personal political issues and five questions about economic issues. Each question is followed my a matrix which includes whether you agree, are not sure, or disagree with the question. When you are finished with the quiz which literally take two minutes you are presented with a chart that shows where you lie on the "political map." Below the chart the site tells you where you are. For instance, mine is Liberal. Under that heading it explains what that political ideology means. The site also out lines the other political ideologies below yours Design: The design is rather modest in aesthetic appeal. However, in my opinion is appealing in the content it provides. The site that provides the quiz also has quotes from The Washington Post and USA Today hailing its legitimacy as a tool to understand the political system. In conclusion its content makes up for bland visuals. Overview: In my opinion, this site is very educational. I plan to use in my classroom. American High School students often have no idea where they stand on the political map. This quiz not only gives you questions to decide where you lie it shows you the other sides and shows you why you lie where you do. It is a good exercise to show how different the ideologies are and how extreme they are in nature. It is a valid teaching tool and is simple enough for complete naves to understand.

At this site, you really get connected to the business world! From stocks, investing, news, everything... this site has it all! As a young college student trying to get into the buisness world, I really appreciate this site. I can get a minute by minute look at how stocks are doing and the world of investing. I think this is actually a very entertaining site that I could get lost on for hours. I am just beginning to understand stocks and investing, so it is great to read personal comments and opinions posted by people along with actual real news.

This website is very simple, it's an English translation of the history of the Peloponnesian War written by Thucydides. It's organized well and the translations seem to be accurate. The vocabulary in this website is pretty advanced, so I feel that an account like this would work a lot better for high school or college students. Since this is an archive there isn't really any original work from the website's author, however there is a comment link where you can post and read comments from other people who have read this account, and get some new thoughts and opinions from there.

Brienna Gregor 10/11/12 Overview: This website is very useful for students, teachers, and other educators that want to learn more about volcanoes. This website is meant to stimulate the mind through comic book graphics that simplifies the learning objectives as indicated in earth sciences. Available resources include: plate tectonics, volcanoes, volcanic database, games, comics, teach, top sites, and more. This website is great for students and teachers in that it is exciting and easy to go through while serving as a helpful tool concerning lesson plans. This site would work best for students from late elementary to high school levels (5-12). In my opinion, the content and design of this website is well done. Content: At first look, this website looks to be professionally done. The content of this website appears to be current and correct however, the designers are apart of a ThinkQuest team called, "Team 17457". These teenagers did a very good job however; it may not be the most reliable source due to their age, inexperience, and living situations (all three are from different continents). Despite this, this website's information quality is very well done. Design: The design of this website is very well done in that it is very fast, it is easy to navigate, has many different sources of media, and the presentation of the content contributes to the website's purpose. Its design draws you in and makes you want to explore and learn the information provided.

This website is essentially an overview of the important events of the Trojan War. The website is clear and organized in chronological order. If you simply read the page top to bottom you get a clear and basic overview of the most important events of the Trojan War. This was written for basically anyone who wants to learn about the basics of the Trojan War. I read through and I feel that it could be useful for anyone in middle school or older due to the level of vocabulary. I feel that all the necessary content is there, however the design could use some work. Pertaining to content, this website is great. Everything someone would want to learn about the basics of the war is there. This website also brings a unique perspective about the war because of the link "The Women". It's not very often (especially in Greek or Macedonian) society that women's opinions or chronicles were valued at all, let alone saved like these were. Information on this site is very easy to find because the links and headings are clear, making it easy to find what you are looking for. The author's and bibliography section are done well, a background of the authors is present, and all websites are presented in order and correctly formatted. The pages about the important women may be the best of all. They included the original Latin text, and an English translation. They also include descriptions of how that particular woman impacted the war or society. Pertaining to the design, this website could use some design help. While it's nice and simple, there aren't many colors, for instance every page has black font with a white background. The images are useful and pertain to the website, but there aren't many of them on the main pages. The sidebar looks very nice, the top bar does as well, if this theme would have been utilized more throughout the whole website it would certainly add to the attention grabbing aspect of the website.

Design Evaluation: When a viewer arrives at this site they are greeted by a well-organized and appealing homepage. You can clearly tell what site you are on. The topics on this site are organized in a table of contents. A viewer can easily navigate through the site and the pages load easily. The sponsor and copyright are easy to locate. The same basic format is followed throughout the pages. The information appears to be updated regularly. The information and links on this site are relevant and worthwhile. Content Evaluation: When a viewer arrives at the site they can quickly determine the audience and purpose of this site; the audience includes teachers and parents of children with learning disabilities and the purpose of the site is informational. The information on this site includes basic facts about learning disabilities, links to financial assistance resources, and news about learning disabilities. All the information seems up date and accurate. This site gives information about the authors featured and lists of valuable links that viewers may find interesting. The content of this site is extremely relevant and meets the needs of visitors. Overview: LD.org is intended for teachers and parents of the children with disabilities. This site provides viewers with a wide range of resources including grants for education and the basic facts about learning disabilities. In my opinion this site is a wonderful resource. I can see referring this site to parents who need financial assistance for the children as well as using this site as a resource and guide to making lesson plans or filling out an IEP. This site has relevant information and links. I would strongly recommend this site to others.

Design Evaluation: When a viewer first arrives at this site they are welcomed by a colorful home page. The topics are organized in a table of contents. A viewer can easily navigate the site; the topics under each page are grouped to allow easy navigation. All the interactive games on the site work properly and are relevant to the purpose of the site. The copy right date can be easily located at the bottom of each page. There appears to be no dead ends and the pages load with ease. The overall design of this site is appropriate and relevant to the audience. Content Evaluation: When a viewer first arrives at this site the target audience can be determined quickly; the audience of this site includes teacher, parents and special needs children. The purpose of do2learn is educational. The information on this site gives parents and teachers tools to use and provides children with educational games that can help in overcoming aspects of their disabilities. The content is well organized and allows for easy navigation. The information seems up to date however the revision date cannot be located easily. The content of this site is appropriate for the intended audience. Overview: Do2learn is intended to be an educational resource for teachers, parents and children. The content available on this site includes basic facts about different learning disabilities, tools for teachers to use in the classroom, and educational games. To access some of the features on this site you need to sign up for an account; however a majority of the information is available without an account. In my opinion this site could be utilized in a classroom to assist with classroom instruction. I can see myself using this site as a reference source and I could see this site being used to help children with autism and Asperger's to understand nonverbal communication. Over all I feel this site would make a good resource.

Design Evaluation: When a viewer first arrives at this web site they are greeted by an appealing and when organized page. The topics of this site are clearly presented in a table of contents. A viewer can easily navigate through the pages to find information and each page loads quickly. The copyright date and sponsor are clearly displayed; the copyright date is located at the bottom of each page and the sponsor is located in the upper right hand corner of the home page. The information on this site is worthwhile and relevant to special needs education. Overall the design of this site helps its purpose. Content Evaluation: When a viewer first arrives at this site the audience can be easily determined; the target audience is made up of teachers, parents and care givers of children with learning disabilities. The purpose of LD Online is informational and to provide news related to learning disabilities. The content is well organized in a table of content that can be easily navigated. The content seems to be updated frequently; however a revision date cannot be easily located. There are no dead ends on this site and the links load efficiently. The information on this site appears to be accurate and error free. Over all the content of the site meets the purpose well. Overview: LD Online is intended to be a resource for teachers, parents and care givers of children with learning disabilities. Information on this website includes basic facts about learning disabilities, finding the help you may need as a parent or care giver, and links to other resources. In my opinion this site would be very useful to teachers and parents in order to better understand their children's disabilities. The content and design of this site meets the needs of the viewer. I feel I would use this site as a resource to gain further knowledge and keep up to date with new information on learning disabilities.

The purpose of this website is to inform the reader about how the human eye works.  The intended audience of this website is probably middle school students and up.  It is more for the general public than for scientists.  It provides information on the different parts of the eye and what they do.  It also discusses some of the problems that can occur in the eye.  The information presented in the website seems good, but there are some ads that can be distracting. The user is able to quickly determine the basic content and intended audience of the site.  The author's name is provided, but it does not give the reader any way to contact them or any of their credentials.  The sponsors of the site are clearly identified, as well.  The site was published on 2/10/10, which is appropriate to the topic because the human eye has not changed much since then.  The site is not frequently updated, but there are several links to other resources that work properly.  Comments are open on this site, and they provide other resources, as well as extra information and opinions about the topic.  The site is well organized and easy to understand.  There is not any bias on the site, and it provides most of the information necessary.  It is not at all interactive.  The information seems to be accurate, based on my previous knowledge, as well as other resources on the topic.  Its grammar and spelling are correct.

Sarah Skinner on January 22, 2010 Overview The purpose of this website is to give educators some new material for their classroom. There are suggestions on ways to use new tools to get your students more involved and more excited for learning. There are math activity instructions, blogs for people to read about different age groups as well. There are instructions to help a student learn to read music. My overall impression on this site was that it's very informative. Content This site is very easy to determine the basic content of the site. The intended audience is stated in the introduction paragraph that gives a little information on what the website is about. The author is clearly stated at the top of the page. There isn't a lot of information on the author. The sponsor is identified and contact information is available. The latest revision date is stated clearly on this page. The date is a little old but it has been updated in the past year. All links are working properly. The purpose of this site is mostly informational. There are no under construction signs on this page. The content of the site is well organized and is easy to understand. There is a sufficient amount of information related to my purposes. The content may be bias. Articles are written by different people saying what their opinions are. There is some interactivity and the information appears to be accurate based on my own knowledge. The information is consistent with similar informational sites and grammar and spelling are correct. Design The homepage downloaded efficiently but it kind of has a bland look to it. You can tell where you are immediately when you come to this page. There is an index to lead you to different links. The site sponsor is provided and there is a contact link available. A copyright date is at the bottom of the website. I am able t move around within the site with ease. There are no distinct directions for using the site, but it is pretty straight forward. The

Sarah Skinner on January 22, 2010 Overview The purpose of this website is to start getting toddlers interested in books. There are many storybooks available to read to toddler aged children. There are also themed sections for special holidays where coloring page and educational games can be found. My overall impression of this site is that it would be great for toddlers to be able to start getting ready for school activities. Content It is easy to determine the basic content of this site. The site tells exactly who the webpage is for. The author is not clearly identified and I am not able to find a link to find information about the author. The sponsor is clearly identified in the top right hand corner. There is a contact link available to receive more information if needed. The latest revision date is not available and it is unclear if the content is updated frequently. However, this site really does not need information updated since it is reading material for toddlers. All links are working properly. The purpose of the site is clear that it is informational and entertainment. The website looks complete and professional and everything is organized very well. All material is easily understood and has a lot of useful information. The content is free of bias opinions. There are interactivities available for toddlers that make this site more valuable. All information appears to be accurate and correct grammar and spelling are used. There are sites available for teachers and parents as well on the page which would be helpful. Design The homepage downloaded efficiently and is very well put together. There are clear titles and descriptions to let you know where you are. There is an index with a variety of different links to click on. The sponsor is identified clearly and there is a contact link to get a hold of the sponsor. There is no copyright date that I can find. The site is easy to get around in and the directions for using the site are provided and are wri

Overview: This Chronicle of higher education is a very useful website. Its purpose is to provide news and information on many topics and current events. It is accessible to anyone, but probably intended for educated adults. Content: This website contains a lot of information. Its content consists of that of a newspaper plus much more. It provides tabs for the homepage, which has many headings links articles, and video clips on current news and events. The Chronicle also contains several other tabs including news, opinion and ideas, facts and figures, topics, jobs, advice, forums, and events. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. The is avaliable 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 and achieves the intended purpose of informing and entertaining. Design: The chronicle of higher education is set up much like an online virtual newspaper. It has columns and headings like any ordinary newspaper but is also colorful and neatly organized to include many tabs and links. 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.

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

Hannah Streeter 2/1/2010 Overview- This website had great potential. Unfortunately, it falls short in my opinion. It's a spelling game, but its content is weak, and It doesn't do a lot to help improve or correct. Content- You open the website and come to an explanation page for the game, which honestly would be hard for anyone but a teacher to read if they were there to use the website. Once you start the game, there are five categories to choose from. when you open the topic, there are a bunch of pictures and a wheel of letters. you pick a word and try to spell it. If you get it right, they congratulate you, and you move on. If you get it wrong, the website only tells you you got it wrong. It doesn't do anything to correct you, or help you learn. I see this as a MASSIVE flaw. Design- There isn't much going on on the website. It is very simple. The pictures are clip art animation. I like the fact that the word is spoken, as well as the letters as you pick them. The letter wheel does this spin thing that seems cool but takes forever to load the letter you pick or find letters, due to the fact that it stops at the arrow, then doesn't reset so A is at the top, which is frustrating to me as an adult. There are no links to anything else, except the "contact us" button. So its kind of a cool idea, but it could definitely be instituted better.

Brian Peterson9/6/11Overview K5learning.com is a website targeted at parents who want their children to do really well in math or reading at a young age. Many resources are available to learn about the website before becoming a member. In my opinion this is a very good website for parents who want to actively be involved with their children's learning.Content As a nonmember of the site only a few things are accessible. These things help tell you what the site has to offer and even allow you sample the lessons available on the website. This makes it very nice to see if it is in fact something you would like your child to learn from. Design The design of the website is very simple but has enough flashiness to bring you into it. With a simple way to navigate the pages most anyone can figure out how to get around it quite easily. This makes it very nice for parents and their kids to be able to utilize this website more effectively.

Billie Slyman, 9/11/11 Purpose The Kidstorm site is actually a section of a larger site dedicated to storm chasing. The rest of the site is fine, but the kids section has, in my opinion, the best resources and information. However, the information, while good, is pretty basic and could easily be found on other sites. So my overall impression is that while this site is okay for information about severe weather, its real value is in the photographs and resources that can be found there. There are tons of links to other sites, some on the main kids' page for general weather, and then more on each page about a specific weather. These links lead to good sites and would be a valuable resource for a teacher or student looking for information. Content The content on this site is appropriate for students in 4-6 grades and for adults as well. It is set out clearly, but the vocabulary would be difficult for younger students. Again, the information is basic, although the extensive safety tips are nice, but the pictures are great. There are high quality photos of every type of weather covered and more. These can be viewed online, and it is stated on the website that students can use them for paper reports in class as long as credit is given. The external links given are useful and would also be a good resource for student research. Design The site is easy to navigate and nice to look at, interesting while not being overwhelming. There is a lot of text on each page, but there are also a lot of relevant photos, so it is interesting to read. It is easy to go from one section to the other without having to go back to the homepage, and the external links are always at the bottom of the page. It's a well put together site.

Billie Slyman, 9/10/11 Purpose The purpose of this site is to give information about all types of weather. This site could be used by students, but in my opinion it is better for educators based on the content and design. This site was made by Nick Walker, who is a meteorologist for The Weather Channel and a member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. He has also written weather songs to educate children about weather. There is quite a bit of information on the site and many links to other sites, the majority of which work. My impression of the site is that it is a very knowledgeable and credible source for information about weather, and a good resource for teachers who want to study weather in their classrooms. Content There is a lot of information on this site. It is divided up into different chapters, with each chapter presenting a different type of weather ("Snow", "Air Pressure and Wind", & "Lightning and Thunder", for example). The chapter will give an explanation of what that particular type of weather is, how it is caused and tips for staying safe in that weather. At the end of each chapter there is a section of experiments or activities related to the weather and ideas to discuss. The level of the content is good for the adults the site is more geared towards. It is put in simple language that would be fairly easy to translate for elementary students, but it's in depth enough to give a good understanding. The activities suggested are interesting and relate well whatever weather type is being explained. Design This page's design is functional and easy to use, but it isn't very aesthetically pleasing. The homepage has a grey background and black test, with just a few small graphics by links. It looks pretty boring, not a site a student would want to look at for long. In the articles, there are some nice pictures, but everything still looks plain and not exciting. However, everything is c

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 each individual subject. An interesting feature about this site is that it can save a student's progress in their math activity with an interesting activity called the fun arcade. This site is also very presentable with almost no ads 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 gives you different age groups to organize it easier. Content: This site contains different activities for different age levels ranging from 6 to 17 and up. On top of that each activity is separated into specific subjects, such as math and science. Further still the sites age group areas make it easy to organize for your current class. With its easy to navigate frame this site is great for teachers. Design: This websites design is extremely user friendly. With tabs to each age group and then tabs to each subject within that this site makes it easy to get students to focus on a specific subject or activity. It also has links to the different subjects at the bottom of the page and the top making it easier to navigate.