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Posted by Mitchell Clark 9/18/09: Lesson Planet is a search engine designed to save the effort of designing various lesson plans by providing over 150,000 teacher approved lesson plans and over 75,000 worksheets. This site provides material for all subjects in grades K-12 and also includes state standards. Content: This Education World sponsored site has an incredible amount of information that has been provided by many teachers in various fields. It has lesson plans for all grade levels and all subjects including math, science and technology, language arts, education, social studies, health, art and music, and it also includes research resources. Each lesson plan includes the author and date that the lesson plan was posted. Also every lesson plan is rated on a scale of 1-5 by other teachers so you don't waste your time searching through inadequate lessons. Another great feature about this site is that because teachers can post their own lesson plans, there are always new and relevant lesson plans. These plans are easy to access due to multiple links which are designated to different fields of education i.e. science or math. There is also a search bar at the top of the web page that allows the user to search specific lesson plans as well as narrow their search results to grade level and rating (1-5). Overall this is a well organized site that provides a wealth of knowledge. The only thing to keep in mind is that these plans are posted by individual teachers which could contribute to a partial bias in the lesson plan. Another thing to consider is that there is $40 dollar membership fee for this site which is an inconvenience, but this fee also discourages the submission of junk lesson plans and worksheets by other internet users. Design: This site is well designed and very easy to navigate. There are no advertisements or links to unrelated material. The sponsor of the site and contact information is clearly displayed at the bottom of the page as well as t

-Overview: Lesson Planet is an excellent resource for teachers to find ideas and lesson plans for specific topics and grade levels. They are able to type in exactly what they are looking for and it is just like a Google search engine just for lesson plans. There are other links to related articles and blogs for teachers, and there are places where teachers can access the standards. It is a very good place to create lessons from and gain ideas for teaching successfully in the classroom. -Content: The content is easily accessible from exactly what the teacher types in to find. There are specific tabs and easy instructions to help the teacher find what they are looking for. It is a very helpful resource tool that teachers can use to plan activities for specific subjects, for a specific standard and find worksheets and articles that relate to the topic they are teaching. There is a huge amount of content within the website that is easily accessible for anyone who would like to use it. On each page there are tabs to things that relate to the topic as well as a list of subtopics that are easily accessible as well. -Design: The creators are in the process of creating a new design that may be more visually appealing, but currently the design is very simple and professional. It has enough color and visual recognition tools to help you locate specific things quickly and find what you are looking for without creating distractions and taking away from the content. The search portion is big and centered on the top of the homepage so it is easy to type in and find exactly what you need right off the home page.

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Posted by Mitchell Clark 9/18/09: CliffNotes is a site that provides free summary-type information and helpful tips for just about anything education related. Content: CliffNotes is a site sponsored by Wiley Publishing that covers just about everything that is involved with education. This site provides free information for subjects such as literature, writing, foreign language, math, science, college, test prepping, and more. The articles found under these subjects are easy to cite but may not provide an author. One of the things that set this site apart from similar sites is that it provides information on topics such as getting into college, avoiding scholarship scams, AP test, college entrance exams and grad school entrance exams. Also this site is updated on a regular basis making the information up to date, but as mentioned before there may not be a credible author. This site also offers full length practice test for the SAT, AP Biology, AP English, and AP Chemistry, but these resources are not free. As far as organization goes this site is decent, it is easy to navigate the main subjects such as literature or foreign language but there is so much advertising that it can be both confusing and distracting when reading down the page. Design: Apart from the advertising this site is well designed and easy to navigate. There is a search bar at the top right of the window as well as multiple tabs that link to various subjects of education. The home page is bombarded with ads, but they are mainly advertisements for student travel programs, back to school supplies or the Army ROTC program. The sponsor of the site is clearly stated at the bottom of the page and there is a link to their contact information. This site uses very little graphics aside from their advertising, but the page is still visually attractive due to the well known black and yellow color scheme. Attributes: This site comes from a credible source for review or study purposes. The infor

Ron Morgan September 20, 2009 This website is intended to inform viewers of past, current, and future projects constructed by Christo and Jeanne Claude. The audience of the website would be any artist (or anyone for that matter) interested in art work that takes on a grandeur scale. The site is very informative and allows the viewer to search through many other art works. The site also has links to questions, errors made in reports about the artists, bibliographies, etc. Overall, the site may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but the website is very informative and the content is very interesting. Content Summary: Upon first glance the viewer can easily identify that the website belongs to artists and showcases their artwork. The artists appear to have hired a different person to run the website. Information about the artists is easily accessed by this website. A contact person is given; however, contacting the artists seems like it could be difficult. The website looks like it is updated according to the progress of the artists' artwork. All of the information given in this website is relevant and serves the purpose of the artists. The website also has links to a couple of other site related to the artwork. Website Design: This website downloads in a timely fashion. The website isn't the most appealing, visually, to me. The website, however, is very easy to navigate through. The index that is at the top of the website is straight forward and useful. The website doesn't have directions for help if it is needed. The artwork that is shown in depicted with either photographs or sketches/paintings. The artwork is the main focus of the website and the website is effective at showcasing it. The website has a lot of content and is definitely worth visiting.

This is a site mostly used by teachers for lesson plans within the art department. It is specific to the high school students but leaves much to be altered and adapted to other grade levels. The content on this page is very "short and to the point" plans for teaching students things like drawing hands, experimenting with other artists processes, and much more. The thing I liked about the content was the way you can adapt, alter, and integrate your own creativity and required learning into these lesson plans but that this gives you the foundation to build on. The design of the page leaves much be be desired though. General outlines of critiria, supplies, and objective with sparse thumbnail photo references of artist work or the process to be done with visual aid. None the less, this is a legitimate site updated regularly and used by teachers, adults, and even students since 1994. The lesson plans are also teacher submitted from working teachers from Florida and elsewhere.

The purpose of this article was to encourage teachers in their work and the impact that they have on students, as well as provide a few resources that have held true for the author, sixth grade teacher, Elena Aguilar. Mrs. Aguilar said that she received an email from a student who had taken her middle school English class and was now going into the same profession. On a personal side, I would like to note that my story is very much the same, so this caught my attention. The teacher recounts what she told her student, that middle school was and still is her favorite level to teach. She then shares a book, websites, and blogs that she has referred to many times throughout her many years of teaching. Visually, the website is appealing. The content is simple and organized. There were no graphics, but there really was no need for any here. The content is formatted in such a way that there are no distractions along the sidebar or even at the bottom of the page. I personally really enjoyed the simplicity of this article. The piece is only a few paragraphs long, but the message being relayed really only needs that much content. There are no spelling or grammar errors here and Mrs. Aguilar maintains a professional speaking voice while she relays a very personal story. The resources that she provides at the bottom of her article are also worth a look. Overall, the article is short and sweet, yet helpful.

Alyssa Maurer ITEC-2360 Prof. Craig E. Shepherd Web Resources Evaluation The website, Americans for the Arts (www.americansforthearts.org) is an interactive resource website that specifically dedicated to promoting, sustaining, and supporting all art education within the United States. The main intended audience of this website is educators, professors, students, and individuals interested in supporting the arts within their communities. The website includes the local, state, and advocacy for art education to precisely portray their purpose to their audience. The research for supporting the arts is included along with forums to connect to resources and alliances within communities across the nation. The website seems to be full of valuable information and ways to connect with others within your community to share and explore ways to support the arts. The content of the website is specific and to the point. The mission of the organization is easily found and the creators of the organization can be contacted directly through email. They have a newsletter section along with blogs that keeps the viewer up to date and able to comment and discuss topics online. Their research studies and publications are all uploaded to the website showing that they have dedicated research to proving the importance of the arts. There is a lot of content within this website which is almost overwhelming though when first visiting the site. It would take a lot of time to explore the entirety of this website. The design of the website is modern and nicely organized. The drop down menus allow for the design elements of the website to be consistent throughout the entire website. Important links to different parts of the website are shown in bold blocks that are in yellow and red, demanding attention. The images shown are usually of individuals allowing you to visualize the author and or the subject from a lecture that is summarized. Ways to connect to the website is shown through soci

Bridget Gegg-October 7, 2012 Overview The purpose of Into the Book is to teach students and help teachers teach reading comprehension using eight different strategies. It provides interactive areas for students to learn and it provides an area for teachers to reference. The audience is K-4 teachers and students in a language arts classroom. This website has an area for students that allows them to watch and use the eight strategies, and it provides an area for teachers to learn about the strategies, how to teach them and the standards they cover. Content The content of this website is addressed on the main page of the site, how it should be used, and whom it should be used for. The authors are credible authors and they are represented on the home page. It is unclear when this has been updated or if there are revisions being made, but the content is very relevant to both teachers and students. The content achieves the purpose of the site and it is easily used for both teachers and students. Design This website entices viewers immediately. It looks both fun and informative. It is really easy to move around and it is very clear which areas are for students and which areas are for teachers. The graphics are visually appealing and the sounds, pictures and videos are all very interactive and fun. It is very easy to navigate through each different area because everything is very clearly labeled with sounds to accompany it for younger students. This site is very well constructed.

Overview: This a site that provides a variety of free kids books online. It is intended for all early grade school students. The site has books from a variety of genres to download in pdf form. The design and content are both exception and this site would be great in the classroom. Content: Users can tell that the site is for reading kid's books and it is appropriate for a grade school audience. No authors are identified on the site, but it site blog identifies contributors and authors. There is no link for contact on the site, but the blog has communication capabilities. Last updated information is available at the blog of the site. All links are functional. In addition, it is easy to navigate. Content is complete, organized, easy to understand, and free of bias. The site is interactive in that kids pick what to read and do so. I explored several free book sites and this one is the cleanest with the most variety. The site does have links to other books, and how to purchase them, which serve its purpose well. Design: The homepage is visually attractive and downloads quickly. Navigation is simple and content is well defined. The site sponsor information is not available except at the blog, which provides a great deal of information. The site is easy to navigate, but does not include an index. All links are active. Some multimedia is used to make the site appealing. The website is available on a variety of browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. The content of the site is extensive and fun for readers. The content is organized, easy to use, and design is consistent throughout the site. No books are outdated and new books are added regularly.

Overview: This is a free site that allows users to create and publish their own stories after creating an account. It is intended for all writers, but has specific features for educators and students. Users do not need an email account and there is no minimum age requirement. The site has templates, artwork, and programming for book creation as well as teacher administrative capabilities. This site has excellent design and content and is perfect for the classroom. Content: Users can quickly tell that the site is for publishing stories and that it is appropriate for all audiences. No authors are identified, but it is clear that storybird is a corporation with many contributors and the content they generate indicates that they are qualified. There is a "contact us" link in the help section and there is an "about" section as well. Last updated information is available on all stories, but not on general site content. All links function. In addition, it is easy to navigate and there is a how to video. Content is complete, organized, easy to understand, and free of bias. The site is almost entirely interactive as it is based on creation. I explored several eBook tools and this one is the best one for teachers. The site does not have any external links, but all content serves its purpose. Design: The homepage is visually attractive and downloads quickly. Navigation is simple and content is clear. There are many resources to help first time users navigate and use the software. The site sponsor information is available at the blog and at the help section. There is a link to email for assistance. The site is easy to navigate, includes an index at the bottom of the page, and all links are active. Excellent multimedia is used to make the site look good. The website is available on a variety of browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. The content of the site is excellent for the classroom. The content is organized, easy to use, and design is consi

Basic website for the Color Wheel, the primary and secondary colors.

The purpose of this site is to educate young elementary students on the primary, secondary and tertiary colors. The webpage is fairly simple and straight forward and includes pictures for more visual learners. In addition, this website gives other fun activities linked to other topics: Seed Germination, Co2 reactions. Content The content of this webpage was 'worth bookmarking for future reference'. I found the sponsors of the page to be not labeled correctly, or given proper dues.. I couldn't find the contact information of the website author either. Overall this webpage is good for k-6 students in many different subjects. Design: This page was simple in design, and rather easy to understand. All the parts of each page were purposeful in contributing to the topic and making pages interesting. I found the homepage to be a bit bland with only a list for navigation to other pages, it lacked a personal touch. I did like, however, how it was broken up into grade level, then by topics. Quite useful for planning broad spectrum lessons plans. This page showed not date of revision but the 'about us' page says who the admin is. ~A.Rodriquez

The sites purpose is to provide a second source to Beowulf for the students in 11th Grade English. The site is composed of Beowulf translated into English as well as an index that has links to each individual section of Beowulf. I find the site to be exactly what it needs to be, an accurate, line labeled, online source of Beowulf. It is laid out very simply without distractions. The layout maybe dull, but it should be used in order to look up specific lines, so a lack of visual appeal is fine.

The site is intended to give students an example of the APA format, which is given clearly and effectively. The students will be of the 9th or higher grade level and should be able to follow the instructions and rules set by the site. The site itself also allows students to look into other writing style for future assignments when similar or different styles are required. The site has some visual appeal, an amount set enough to where a student would be able to more likely remember the website when the need for APA style rules are needed. Overall the site is simple enough for the basics allowing students to still try to remain original in their texts without just copying and relying on the site. The general setup of the site is enough to keep interest without interfering with the information it provides.

Audience: Parents, but with the provided information, it can easily be translated into advice for teachers, guardians or loved ones of a student. Overview: The purpose of this website is to provide parents with information about how to work with and help children who have anxiety disorders relating to school. Available resources that have been provided on this page include information on how to prepare a special needs child for school, how to help relieve a child's anxiety or depression, and ways to help a special needs child with homework. Though there were some minor visual and content flaws about the site, it does give good advice and is worth revisiting when needed. Content: This page mainly provided different approaches for parents to take and numerous tips to follow when dealing with their anxious child, but those tips and approaches can be very useful to parents and the main point of each tip is given immediately. Intended purpose was clear and in bold print. There's no wondering and translating what each tip "could have" meant or what it "was trying to say". The only thing that the website didn't provide was the last revision date. The website also provided additional videos, but they were not directly related to school anxiety---under the "Related Video" section, there were videos on ways to relieve breastfeeding problems, relieve separation and anxiety, and what as 504 Plan was. Though there are available articles given to further advance a viewer's knowledge on ways to help children with anxiety, or "special needs", the "Related Videos" (except for the breastfeeding problems one!!!) does mention other related anxieties and provides a useful way to help an anxious child succeed and feel comfortable in school (aka the 504 plan). This website is definitely one that is worth revisiting just because it does provide useful tips and points to help viewers learn about how to help an anxious child, without any word confusion.

Overview: I really like this website because it has different units that the students could work on at different times during the year. The audience would be late 4th grade or 5th grade working on US History and how we are affected by the decisions made back then. The different units really makes it hands on learning and very focused on the certain topics. The sources the site offers seem to be very straight forward. Again the page is more of a tool testing the students in a fun, interactive way. Content: The website is very straight forward with its purpose of giving the information on United States History and the different units that they website offers. There really aren't any visual aspects other than the first picture. They do have to use their mouse to move the items later on but the instructions are very focused. Design: The website does have a lot of reading that needs to be done but should be perfect for 5th graders. The author of the website is the Pearson Company who also does many other different educational websites and tools. The US History page that the students would be using is a branch off the main site and who created this certain page could be found on the "home" page. For the most part the webpage gets the point across.

Overview: This website would work perfectly for 5th grade students to be tested on the information that they had learned over the unit they were doing. There are many different sections that would relate to anything social studies related. The website is a little boring for my taste but the point of figuring out what the students learned is really tested with the different sections and questions. Content: None of the creators of the website are on the main page. I'm not quite sure who created the website but from the questions asked in the quizzes I know that the information is correct or I was just taught wrong. History is pretty unchangeable and the social studies part of it wouldn't change. Design: The design of the website is again a little boring but it is after all just testing what the students should have learned. I would update the look just a little bit. There are no pictures on the home page but some of the questions do have maps or other visual things.

Overview: The Constitution.org site has many purposes, including business, information, news, and finally persuasion. The site is directed towards a more literate and comprehensive audience or a higher level student, especially one holding conservative political views. The site provides links to other sites, including amend-it.org, nullifynow.net, and grand-jury.net, as well as many others. The site also links to basic informational places regarding the Constitution. Overall, the website was not impressive: it was confusing, disorganized, and biased. Content: The website definitely had an agenda, seen through its external links, advertisements, and some of the news articles provided. Unfortunately, the bias is not easy to discern. Some of the informational links are exactly that-informational, but often times difficult to comprehend due to some of the higher level subjects. There are blogs one can access, but there are not many interactive parts to the site. Design: The overall design of the site was poor. There were no organized labels for the different sections of information-ie Constitution, Economics, and so on. It was hard to maneuver easily. Many parts of the site did not look similar at all and it was hard to figure out what one was supposed to get from it. The links to the outside are easy to find. Finally, there were few graphics to make the site visually appealing. It was not pretty.

Posted by Craig Shepherd on 9/16/09 Overview: Wikipedia is an open-authoring encyclopedia. The purpose of the website is to provide information about any topic to the general public. Content is generated and reviewed for accuracy by the public. Although public documents can include inaccurate information--particularly on hot topics, much of the content is stable. Links to other pages generally function properly, and content is easy to understand. Content: Although maligned by many individuals as a site that promotes inaccurate information, Wikipedia has much educational merit. However, based on the Wiki style of web design, anyone can make changes to articles and can do so anonymously. This means the learned as well as the ignorant have equal access to contribute. Although references at the end of articles may support the credibility of a work, they do not guarantee it and require additional time to peruse. Because authors can post anonymously, it is difficult to tell whether the article is accurate, timely, relevant, authoritative, and so forth. Yet, recent news events highlight the work of this organization to increase credibility of their content. Additionally, one of the purposes of a wiki is to foster collaboration and group authorship. Although individual contributors may not be listed, inaccurate information can be quickly corrected--though it takes some understanding of wiki syntax which may be difficult for beginners to learn. Despite potential inaccuracies, Wikipedia is a good place to begin your research if you realize that contents may contain biases, inaccuracies, and unsupported claims. Design: The site is well designed. A common look and feel permeate web pages, ads and other distractions are not posted, graphics and other visual elements often highlight important points, and links to related articles are prevalent. Several languages are also supported. Modification and revision dates are clearly displayed and the wiki allows you to

Trevor Lenell The first website I am going to evaluate is Wikipedia.org. The educational site that we have been told to never use for a paper because it is editable by anyone. The intended audience for Wikipedia is someone who just wants a quick overview of the subject they are looking for. It does not cover in-depth content or have large amounts of research in the articles. Everything is available on Wikipedia. All you have to do is search anything in google and Wikipedia article will almost always be in the top three links to show up. The design of Wikipedia is actually fairly good. It loads quickly there's a table of contents for each page and it is easy to find the information you are looking for. The content of Wikipedia is where things get a little shaky when it comes to looking for quality information. Since anyone can edit any page aside from a few that have been locked the information of Wikipedia is not necessarily the best way to find information. We do not know who has edited the site or what their credentials are and we have no way of knowing whether it is a great set of information or a joke put on by someone with an internet connection. There is however a bright side. At the bottom of each Wikipedia article there is the references. These are a great tool to find what was used and what is available to use outside of Wikipedia with the same information. These references are a great way to find academic information from good quality sites and can be used when searching through Wikipedia to find actual research. The design of Wikipedia is pretty good. It works equally well on my internet explorer, Firefox, and google chrome. It loads easily, is easy to navigate, and easy to read. Each graphic and audio file on the site serves a purpose to support the material being read. Overall Wikipedia is a great site to navigate and its shortcomings stem from it being able to be edited by anyone. The next website I will evaluate is NationalGeographic.com. An ed

Morgan Kuchta September 1, 2010 Sparknotes.com Overview This site is a great resource for students who struggle with reading in school. The website provides book and chapter summaries and plot overviews along with character analysis for all main characters in each book reviewed. The books that Spark Notes provides information on are those that have deep and complex plot lines and character development that are often found in classrooms of all grade levels. Perhaps one of the most useful tools on this website is called "No Fear Shakespeare", which translates the old English of Shakespeare into modern English so that students might have an easier time remembering information and comprehending it. Although the site organization is poor and it throws too much information onto one page, I believe this website could be an extremely valuable resource to teachers who assign reading to their classes. Content At first look it is easy to tell where you are and what is provided, in general, on the site. The audience is pretty clearly defined as students but it is difficult to tell exactly who will benefit most from this sitel There were no listed authors for the site although there were authors listed for each of the book summaries done on each separate page with an email address attached. The revision dates are included on every book review and the links to related sites are all functioning. The information quality was incredible. Although it was not well organized, it is by far the most comprehensive literacy site that I have used in the last few years. The other links posted were pretty good, although most of them were just for the interest of the users rather than usefulness for help with English homework. Design The homepage download was no problem, while it was attractive to the eye, it was a little information heavy and a it was kind of hard to tell exactly where I needed to navigate. There were a LOT of advertisements in the margins and even in other areas of th

Randi McInerney September 15, 2011 Overview: The website "Sparknotes" is an educational and entertainment website with various study resources available. The information is most relevant to high school aged students, but late middle school and college students, as well as teachers, could also benefit from this site. College video tours, book summaries, analysis, and quizzes, and ACT/SAT/AP/GRE test preparation material, and news articles are also available. The content and design are effective and organized, but the advertisements can be distracting and seem overwhelming. This site can be abused by students wishing to plagiarize or to avoid reading a book, but has so many great things to offer if it is used appropriately. Content: There is a lot of educational material available on this site. Video clips, interactive tours, blogs, cartoons, and more can all be found on this site. There are various links in order to contact them, but no direct contact information like an address is provided. Besides educational material, there is lifestyle, entertainment, and dating information. I think that this may be distracting from the educational aspects of the site, but it makes sense because of the audience the website is intended for. Design: The site downloads efficiently and is visually interesting, especially for the intended audience of young adults. The site is easy to navigate, especially if you know what you are looking for from the start. In this case, the search bar will help you easily locate what you are looking for if it is indeed on the site.

Sparknotes is a resource aimed at high school and college students. It offers summaries of literary works as well as test prep. The main purpose of the site is to simplify in-depth texts down to a modern English level. Unfortunately, these summaries are not all that is available. The site largely consist of entertainment news. This aspect dominates the site, making it hard to find the reviews and study resources. Because of this my overall impression is that the site includes a good about of information for those looking for it, but is also a place where one can very easily get side tracked, rendering its information useless. It is worth a bookmark, but is not the most useful thing. The content of this site is very diverse. As for the literary summaries, there are over 100 on some of the best known works in many different subject areas. The site is up to date and loads easily. Most of the summaries are based off of the most recent publications of texts. The site is confused about its purpose. The summaries and text prep sections are hard to find while entertainment news is profusely advertised and easy to find. The educational sections are labeled in small black index style links, while the entertainment section has large magazine like spreads. Although the site has relevant information that is consistent and helpful, it is congested with much needless gossip that has potential for abuse. The websites speed is quite good. It loads very fast comparatively. The homepage is attractive, but is attractive for the wrong reasons. It is hard to find relevant information on the site (although there is a lot of it). This makes navigation of the site difficult and can easily suck the user into a "twilight zone." The site is strong on most platforms, even having apps available. Content presentation is mores streamlined on the app, but is congested on a web version. An administrator is available to answer any questions and provide further information.

Molly Nations The second website that I found is www.onlinefreespanish.com, a website that contains many different categories of activities and means of learning, from learning songs and watching videos to reading books and playing interactive games, there are many different means of learning Spanish on this site. The website was quick to load on two different web browsers and upon clicking on each learning activity they were also very quick to load. It is very easy to tell what the purpose of the site is as it has a clear titles, but this site could be for any age group and intended audience as there are several different levels of learning on this site, from beginner to advanced. Overall, I think the site is very engaging as well as informative and would be fun and effective way for students to learn Spanish. The page contains a lot of useful information including daily updates such as words of the days. At the very bottom of the page, you can find the copyright information (copyrighted in 2015) and terms of use. You can also find helpful links, as well as who the website was designed by (FreeCSSTemplates.org), information about them, and how to contact them. Upon searching for this organization, it seemed to me as though it was a credible source and an organization that would only upload accurate and informative information. It is very easy to find this information and the links to each category of this information take you to a page that is well put together and presents the information in a good way. The site is colorful, very easy to navigate, and organized in a sensible and appealing manner. The page is white with black writing making it easy to read. It also contains colorful pictures for categories giving students visual help as to understanding what each category is. The page is very easy to navigate and each category is clearly separated and well organized