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Charlie Florom 09/01/2010 ITEC 2360 Good Review/Web Evaluation on Tools Used in Education When looking for websites on Elementary Education Activities, I came across the website: www.makeuseofus.com. The author, Salkat Basu, has displayed the content in a way that is easy for the viewer to identify with. This Website is describing the benefits of "Google Docs Drawing Tool Makes Collaborative Drawing Easier." I t was clear the web site was aimed towards Educators, who were looking to teach with Technology in a classroom setting. This site shows a clear reference that the sponsor was Apple, although it was not clear the significance to the Author and provide background on Salkat Basu. Fortunately there was contact information of this subject and therefore they could easily be contacted to find out more information if needed. This website was last revised 24 hours prior to my viewing, which shows me that it is current and up to date. Makeusofus.com also appears to have links that work correctly and all the information is very up to date and frequent.

Overview: The National Geographic website is informational and entertaining it is Is full of startling photography and mind-expanding writing on space, the environment, animals, and even world music. Its purpose is to inform people on interesting news and events along with many entertaining stories and topics. Its intended audience is for anyone and everyone even a link for children. Content: There is so much content and information on this site. On the homepage there are top stories, videos, photos, and polls. There are tabs to photography, environment, travel, adventure, National Geographic TV, kids, and shop. There are also links to the magazine, news, animals, science, video, education, maps, games, music, blogs, movies, in the field, and a site index. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. There is available information about 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 The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date.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 design of the National geographic website is very organized and easy to navigate through its many links of information. It is full of eye-catching photos and colorful links and tabs. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention. There is a site index and search box. 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.

This website is highly recommended in the world of educators. National Geographic is a well-known magazine. The purpose of the site is to make their information more accessible. When looking for an article for a science report this is a good site to go to. The audience for National Geographic is from 5-100; they have articles designed for young children but also sophisticated articles for a more mature audience. Also on this website if you wanted a hard copy of the magazine you could subscribe. My overall impression was very good. The content of the website is easy to maneuver around and find. Because National Geographic is a well-known magazine you know that the information presented is reliable and accurate. The website has access to games and videos to further explore the concepts.  As for design, it scores just as high as content. The homepage is appealing to look at and easy to use. When searching for a topic many articles come up giving many different perspectives one could choose from. The site has many colorful pictures that make your research more appealing to conduct.  Overall this website is very well designed and easy to use. 

Overview: This website is fun and informational providing many items on common questions and articles. There is an updated homepage with photos articles polls, quizzes, and videos. This site aims to explain everything from DNA coding to car transmission problems in simple articles and videos. This site's intended audience is for adults due to the article and links provided. Content: This website provides up to date headings and topics on anything and everything you may want to know. It has tabs for adventure, animals, auto, communication, computer, electronics, entertainment, food, geography, health, history, home and garden, money, people, and science. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. There is available 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. All the articles also are valid and have an intended purpose to entertain or inform. Design: The design of howstuffworks.com is easy to use, organized and attractive. The homepage provides many interesting headings, photos, and videos. 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.

Overview The first website that I evaluated was howstuffworks.com. This is an educational website aimed at all age groups that can answer questions about how many different things work. The website offers a variety of different resources. An example of the resources would be how the site teaches skills that everyone should have on topics such as money. Overall, I thought this website was great. It's easy to navigate, and offers many different types of educational materials. Content Not only is this website educational, but it is fun as well. You can come to the website to find out something serious, but you can also come to find out something that's entertaining and fun. The content of the website is easy to understand for any age. Things are explained simply so that you can actually learn at your own pace. It's also easy to find out about the website by clicking on the "about us" link at the bottom of the page. There you can find who sponsors the site and where the content comes from. Design The website is very easy to navigate through. As soon as you get to the homepage you are faced with many different tabs and also a search bar so you can find exactly what you are looking for. In addition to the tabs, there are resources such as videos and blogs that you can get access to through the site.

Overview: This websites main focus is to breakdown simple mechanics of almost anything from how a toaster works to economic policies of the year 2011. This is a source to explore the world around us and understand the things that we encounter and use daily, as well as providing a guide for users ion new endeavors into of learning. Concept: The classification of materials found within this writing is more vast than an encyclopedia. It includes multi-media and interaction presentations to gain the attention of the reader and create a better understanding. The material can become more complex and technical, but can be a resource for any researcher. I would recommend for teachers seeking to better explain concepts or to satisfy the curiosity of a learner. Design: Clean, simple, and precise. This website has a rather challenging searching process, but a pursuing researcher can use the search tool to peruses topics that coincides. The clean layout of the material and explanations make the learning process something to be a part of. As well as a social network application installed to share the knowledge of "how stuff works".

Beau Pitt 1/31/2011 mises.org Overview: The Ludwig von Mises Institute is an educational website with a clear bias towards the education of the Austrian School of Economics. Its main purpose is to advance "the scholarship of liberty in the tradition of the Austrian School" of economics in opposition to the commonly taught theories of John Maynard Keynes. The website is generally directed towards more advanced students who are interested in a more practical view of economics and is particularly geared towards those individuals already interested in the subject who wish to further their education. This is a very powerful website that offers updated daily articles, audio and video presentations, blog discussions, various events, and even offers online courses through the Mises Academy. Additionally, there are a variety of links to related social networking sites and information sites that greatly add to the quality of the website. The website further expands on its quality by presenting a well-designed home page with an attractive "coat of arms" style logo that catches the eye and helps to achieve credibility. Content: At the first look, the user of this website is able to determine the basic content and audience of the site simply by reading the title. Authors are clearly identified and information is provided about who they are and it is even possible to e-mail the author about their articles! All information is presented either as daily updated articles or in an archives section with dates provided for when the contents were first published or presented. All links are current and work properly. The site is very well organized and easy to navigate. It is clearly biased in favor of Austrian Economics and more conservative principles, but the information is accurate and well-researched. There are many educational options and activities that aid in furthering the user's understanding, and articles are all reviewed by the operators of the web

Chelsey Lynch 1/31/11 * Overview: The purpose of this site is to aid students in higher level math classes with problems they may be having and provide further resources. There is an extremely wide variety of available resources on this site. There is everything from enrichment lessons, games, puzzles, links for graphing paper, and overviews of any math content areas. This website contains a great deal of information, but it is not organized very well. At first glance this site looks like it could be very helpful, but once you spend fifteen minutes trying to find what you are looking for it seems a little useless. * Design: This website is attractive and has an interesting layout upon first glance, but after further examination is clearly not very user friendly. The material on this site is far too broad to all be in one site. There are several topics to select from and once you click on that it takes you to another page where you then have to make another selection to actually get where you want on the page. The copywriter date is current and visible, but there are too many advertisements on this page to focus on anything, much less, mathematics. * Content: The basic content of this site is noticeably math but I find the bullets to select from rather broad. Information about the author cannot be found on the website, though there is a link to e-mail them. This leads me to wonder if this information is relevant or even accurate. The sponsor of this site was also very difficult to locate. This site is meant to be useful for higher level math classes, such as high school classes, but I found the help links difficult to understand. This site does contain links to the right of the page for other math related sites. This links worked, and were much more efficient than this one.

I have used the website www.TheMathWebSite.com in my classroom for the past 6 years. By using the internet technology fully in the math classroom, teachers spend less time in preparation/marking drudgery and more time interacting and helping your students. It is intended to be used to assist math class instructions by providing typical examples and solutions to most high school level math topics. 1)  Begin with Bellwork. Choose some questions from a Quiz or Test Sheet, and give out to the class via paper, blackboard or projector.  Let students mark their own or each others. 2)  Give a Quiz on yesterday's topics for marking.  Students can mark their own, each others, or the teacher can mark.  Everyone can do the same quiz, or a different quiz via paper, blackboard, projector. 3) Present the Class Lesson  using examples from the Quiz or Test Sheets.  Show questions and solution steps on a projector or overhead. Present as many examples as needed. Click on the question and the solution steps appear or disappear. OR Present the Class Lesson  via the Lessonboard using the mouse drag & drop method. The lesson can be created and presented line by line via projector/overhead or blackboard. OR Present the Class Lesson  via the Lesson Sheets. The Lesson Sheets only present one question or example at a time. Click on the question and the solution steps appear or disappear. Present as many different examples as needed. 4)  Give some Practice. Choose examples from the Quiz Sheets which allow immediate student checking of answers from the bottom of the sheets. Tests have answers that can be clicked out. 5)  Present a math Diversion such as a Puzzle, Activity, Game, or Enrichment topic to maintain their interest in math and to put some fun into the class. 6)  Assign the Homework. Show students the source of extra practice sheets on the website if they or their parents wish to get extra

Overview: The website is great and has many different websites that teachers can use for free to assist them in their everyday teaching. Diigo.com is number three on the list. This website is not only just for bookmarking but gives websites for research, different apps on Google, and even lesson plans. Content: The content of this website is very helpful. It gives teachers so many good tools. There are websites for templates and lesson plans, research and reference, bookmarking, games, reading and writing and the list goes on and on. I think it is a great tool, maybe for more than just elementary school teachers. Things such as Diigo and Google Maps can be used at any level. I would use this website in my classroom and for my own benefit. Design: The design of the website is lacking in flare which could cause people to easily overlook it. It is very easy to navigate though. It gives you the link to the website and a short explanation of what the website is used for. All of the links are up and running and work how they are supposed to. The one thing I really didn't like about the website is the amount of advertisements that were on it. It could cause someone to question the credibility of the site. Overall, I think the site was designed well.

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: The website Activities for ESL students is one that focuses mainly on the speaking aspect of English. In this sense students are able to quiz themselves on their knowledge of English vocabulary, grammar as well as complete activities such as cross word puzzles that works on these concepts as well. The targeted audience for this website is clearly ESL students although there is a little bit on there that is meant for teachers as well. External links are provided in which students may find other beneficial information, as well as videos/ podcasts that aide in their English learning as well. Overall this website focuses on the mastering of the English language and provides students with the tools to work on their grammar and vocabulary in a multitude of ways. Content: The content of this website is simple and easy to understand. It is well organized and the main ideas remain constant throughout. The links that it provides for resources are relevant and easily accessible. Overall there is one main focus and the website does a great job of remaining constant in it while still providing a variety of ways in which to learn the material. The information providers were not clear for this website, but the information was consistent and similar throughout as well as up to date. I was quite impressed with the material it provides for the students as well as videos in which they feel the children may be able to most relate. Design: The overall design of this website is straight to the point and easy to use. All links and graphics worked and seemed to be up to date. The information was relevant and worthwhile visiting. The audience it was intended for can effectively as well as efficiently use it based on the way in which it is organized. Information such as the currency and author were more confusing to navigate, but the links for helpful resources are truly beneficial. Overall the design of this website is one that is sim

Overview: This website's purpose is to provide practical life vocabulary skill lessons for English as Second Language learners. Teachers create and submit quizzes using every day English Language and students complete the quizzes using their English knowledge skills. When an answer is wrong the site tells you and shows the student what is right and why. There were also instructional videos and other games. Content: This website had an abundance of tests that English as Second Language learners could take to better their classroom English skills. There were also 49 different language options to take a quiz in both the learner's first language and English. The main quizzes were divided into grammar, vocab, and crossword categories and grade level and difficulty level could easily be chosen at the top. There was also a for teachers section that explains how best to use the site. The downfalls to the site were that revision dates and author information were not easily found. Design: This website was easy to use, organized, and had a clean appealing look. I feel that the amount of English on the front page of the site may actually be overwhelming for ESL learners and the teacher would probably have to get the student set up where they need to be in order for the use of the site to work to its potential. The site sponsor and contact information were not easily found and neither were the revision dates. Overall the site's content made it worth coming back to for ESL learners help.

Content: This website is no frills and does not have external advertising. There are not games or a lot of graphics. But, it does serve a purpose to help students practice grammar. Many of the activities come in many different languages and can be switched between English and the other language. The content is free of bias, and the activities are created by teacher volunteers. There are also links to other resources like videos and blogs to help ESL students. Design: It is a very basic design, which makes it easy to navigate and has no distracting advertisements. The graphics that are used in certain activities are useful and serve their purpose, but no additional graphics are used. As far as I can tell all the links are current and work properly. There is a good amount of content and it is split into different areas of expertise, something for beginners all the way through more difficult concepts. Purpose:The quizzes and puzzles are useful for practicing English concepts and also can be used to quiz yourself in foreign languages. For example, someone in a Spanish class could quiz themselves on verbs or some other Spanish vocabulary. Audience: I believe that student from grades 2 on up could make use of this website. Users could be learning English or learning a foreign language. Resources: There are links to podcasts and more interesting things for ESL students. Impression: Overall I like the fact that there is no advertising anywhere on the website, and it is nice that they give you the option to contribute to the activities. Since the quizzes can be made by various people, teachers should choose the appropriate activities for their students.

Overview: The target audience for this site was primarily for any student at the high school elvel or above because the subject involved writing reserach papers. Content: Content is a little less informal and unorganized. The topic of the site is clear from the title but gets a little murky as you scroll down. The site goes from information about writing research papers to a blog about writing in general. There is no table of contents either. The info. about how to write a research paper seemed okay to me as far as I could tell. There were quite a few commercial ads and links to other sites that somewhat pertained to the website. The latest revision was not found Design: Page downloaded efficiently, although the homepage was not that appealing. There was no multimedia on this site. I think that this would be a last resort stie if someon were truly tryign to fnd info. about writing research papers.

Overview: This is a daily blog for all ages; it provides random facts about the world around us with simple illustrations. Content: The information found within this site will baffle you. This is not a source for research or subjects, but gives an opportunity to interact with things you would have no interest in. For example "Kissing causes Tooth Decay" to "George W. Bush was a school cheerleader". With humorous illustration this provides education that I believe would lighten the mood in classrooms and begin to engage students getting them ready to anticipate the random fact they may learn tomorrow. Design: This website is simple to access. The new fact appears daily on the homepage, and archived facts are easily accessible. The design of the site is using simple colors to make it easy to navigate, as well as the illustration are humors depictions of the fact displayed using better understand the information.

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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