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Peggy Hall August 31, 2010 Website Evaluation Overview: I reviewed the website, Reach Every Child which is a website that helps teachers establish lesson plans. I believe the point of this website is to link the viewer to other websites that have information (i.e. lesson plans, facts, and data) about certain subjects. It is mostly a resource for teachers and students looking for information in whatever subject they need to discover more information in. I feel like this website could use some more content in explaining its overall use, but it does have a lot of great links for the viewer. This website needs to be enhanced, but the meaning behind it is good. It took me a little while to completely understand how this website works and the author's credibility and contact information is lacking. Content: As I previously mentioned it was not easy for me to decipher the overall objective of this site, I knew it dealt with lesson plans, but how those lessons plans were presented and used on the site was a little confusing at first. It is known on the webpage that Horace Mann developed it and that it is founded by educators for educators, but it does not have a bibliography page or link describing who Horace Mann Company is. It addresses in its disclaimer that if there are any questions to email them, but there is not an email address. This website does have over 5,000 resources and different links which I do find beneficial. However, it does also mention that you could hit a dead end and to not be discouraged. It is not apparent how current the information is that is being displayed on the webpage. This site does have some organization, but lacks a clear homepage. There are a lot of links which do not clearly explain where they will be taking you next. Design: The design is lacking. It did not catch my eye appeal when I first looked at it. It is all one color and has a simple font. Nothing really stands out to me or makes me want to visit this site. In fact the desig

Overview: Education world is a web site for educators to find up-to-date resources such as lesson plans. It's really easy to use. It provides users with valuable information or material that teachers can use for their benefit. It's free for all to use and provides other helpful links. Content: This site provides lesson plans, web resources, tools and templates, technology information, infomation for new teachers, professional development, etc. It provides tips for teachers to meet the common core standards. Teachers can look up site reviews and see which sites education world thinks are good sites for them to look at to get more information. Design: The design of this web site is fairly easy to use. It is well organized. It can be a little intimidating because there are a lot of links with information, but it's easy to navigate through if you're looking for specific content. It's got good graphics and easy to view.

Educaiton World has so many resources. A teacher could look for hours for find lesson plans, subjects, and worksheets that could fit in with their lessons. The content is excellent, but it is a little it overwhelming when you look at it. Just take your time. The design is okay. It may take you longer to go through to find what you are looking for.

Cole Baumann January 24, 2010 This website helps teachers build their lesson plans and assists them to help the students. I could see this being a really good website for new teachers due to all of the lesson plan designs for any category of learning such as history, or mathematics, English, and literature. All subjects have different sections in the website showing how to make a lesson plan. For example, there is a lesson plan for a Kinesthetic, visual, and auditory method to teach students about the U.S. Constitution. I find this site to be very helpful for teachers that do not know how to teach a visual learner or a Kinesthetic or auditory learner. The website is very easy to navigate with a lot of fun little bits everywhere. There is a search bar in this website so that teachers can type in whatever they are looking for and find anything from how the Roman Empire fell to the book The Epic. There is also a whole section in this website devoted to video so if you are not much of a reader you can watch these videos and find new ways to teach in the classroom. This all helps teachers grow and become more successful in the classroom for the students. This website is good for any new teacher to learn how to finally develop lesson plans and be effective to all three ways of learning. Also, it could be good for teachers who want to teach the same thing, but they want to do it in new ways each year which keeps it fun and exciting for the students and the teacher. This website has many educational videos which is also very good for teachers to demonstrate other techniques of teaching.

Posted by Erika Jeffs on 1/24/2010 Overview: Math Apprentice is designed to show kids that math is used in the real world, and not just the obvious careers like an accountant, but other developing areas such as graphic design. The students get to pick from 8 different careers, and explore the features of the line of work they choose and do some hands on math related activities. These activities make the website very interactive. The site is designed to use in the classroom for middle school students, but could also be useful for high school students as well. Content: The website clearly states the purpose of the website and the audience, in fact, it has a tab specifically for this information. The "About" tab gives and overview of the entire website. Sponsor and contact information is easy to find, however the authors of the website are unclear. The site was copyrighted in 2009 and is fairly new, so it should be up to date. The links are relevant to math and are in working order. This site is very interactive and gives many examples of math in the real world that would come as surprise to many students. There is also a tab that gives teachers a detailed description on how to use the site in the classroom. Math Apprentice's sole purpose seems to be to educate and not to sell anything. The website is easy to navigate and well organized because there is only four tabs. Everything seems to be accurate, up to date, and correct as far as my knowledge. Design: Math Apprentice loads very quickly, especially considering all of the interactive features the site provides. The home page is attractive, easy to navigate, and the format is held constant throughout the entire site. Copyright and contact information are easy to find. Directions for using the site are easy to find and very helpful. All links are working properly and quick to load. The site specifically states that the site works best with Safari or Firefox, and that there may be some bugs th

Keenan Zimmerman 2/1/2011 Review: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ Overview: PBS teachers is a part of the PBS website but it is not readily available from the pbs.org homepage. Because of this I feel it is worth writing a review for PBS teachers even though there are other PBS sites that have been reviewed. PBS teachers is a place for teachers to find resources or lesson plans for their classrooms. The site is easy to navigate and is very well done. Content: The content in PBS teachers is outstanding. There are many, many pages with resources for all subject areas. This includes projects for preschool teachers all the way up to seniors in high school. The site looks to be updated regularly and gives links to other sites that contain more content for a teacher to use. The site seems to be free from bias and is easy to understand. The authors of the material are identified. Design: The design of the site is great. The homepage is inviting and easy to look at, it is not cluttered with ads and the colors blend well together. The site is very easy to navigate being sectioned into different grade levels which are further sectioned by content area. There is also a search tool which works rather well. All the links seem to work correctly and an A-Z list which is very useful when using the search functions to find a specific link. The site uses drop down tabs which makes it very easy to narrow a search and find exactly what you are looking for.

Ben Lebeda pbs.org/teachers 9/14/11 Overview: pbs.org/teachers is a website that is devoted to teachers and providing them with resources and lesson plans on a wide variety of subjects at all grade levels. In addition to the lesson plans, there is also a discussion board in which educators can discuss topics such as special education, the necessity of the arts in school, and a multitude of other topics. Another feature of pbs.org/teachers is the professional development section that can be viewed by topic. This section provides information for educators who wish to continue their education by taking online classes on specific subjects. Content: This website made a very good first impression, as it was easy to tell that this website was intended for teachers and contained resources for them. All the lesson plans that I saw came from PBS, either from the teacher site, or from an educational TBS television program. I had a hard time finding many publication or revision dates, but none of the information was outdated, and it was all credible. It was clear that the activities and resources were intended for educational use in a classroom. Design: The design of pbs.org/teachers is effective in that it is simple to navigate around and find the desired subject. It is organized according to grade level, and then further broken down by subject matter. The ease of access and amount of information available makes this website a very valuable teacher resource, no matter what subject or grade level. There were several advertisements for other non-related websites, but it was not really distracting or overwhelming.

Nicole Sutton 9/5/11 Overview: The e learning for kids website is a nonprofit foundation that provides free and fun learning activities on the Internet. The website is for ages 5-12 but can also be used by people in the education department, parents who want to connect and learn what their kids are learning, as well as game developers who want to contribute. e-learning for kid's hopes to be a better source for children 's learning through being available through the Internet so it can be accessed from anywhere. It's free and offers course content in math, science reading and keyboarding. The website helps children master these important basics so they can be successful in their future lives. e-learning has many partners and supporters; there are also helpful resources such as a media link that connects you to new, case studies and other important information. Content: The e learning for kids website is very easy to navigate, and is very high quality. There is a very nicely laid out home page where you can click on the grade level you need. Below the grade level there is a list of subjects you can choose from. There is also a choice of languages to choose from at the very top of the page. Once you click on a grade or subject it gives you a list of fun and helpful activities as well as what grade it would be best for. The content of the site is very helpful and well laid out. The website seems reliable as well because it gives you a list of board members, executive team and advisory board so you know exactly who is involved in the website and what they do for the site. Overall I got a very good impression from the content of this well laid out website. Design: The e-learning website is very easy to navigate and very pleasing to the eye. It is colorful and lays out all the links that you need on the home page. There is a clear area to contact the creators of the site and sponsors or partners were very easy to determine. The copy writes date is clear and the

This site tells you everything you need to know about Montessori teaching methods.

Kristin Gaines September 11, 2011 Overview- Overall, this site is very useful and is designed to teach users about Montessori teaching methods. The intended audience is teachers, but it would be a useful site for parents as well. The available resources are all relating to the Montessori Company and not to other links. This website is definitely useful and is a good site to use when exploring teaching methods of early childhood. Content- The content of this site is very reliable. It is updated frequently; the last time it was updated was just 6 days ago. The only problem with this website's content is that it is biased towards Montessori teaching. This is not a huge problem though, because any user would know that it is biased because the web site developer is Montessori. Design- I could not find any faults in the design of this site. Everything from the table of contents section to the obvious copyright date, this site lays out everything a user needs in order to navigate through its contents. I would recommend this site to others, because it is laid out so neat.

This is a poor website about early childhood education

Kristin Gaines September 11, 2011 Overview- The purpose of the site is to inform users of children's play in early childhood education. The intended audience is parents and teachers. There are no available resources for this site and all the sources used are very outdated. This is not a credible website and should not be used. Content- The content of this website is outdated by over 13 years. It has not been updated since it was originally created and there is no way to contact the author of the article on the website. The purpose of this website is not reached, because the content can't be used since it is old data and research that the information was based on. Design- The design of this site is about as poor as its content. The site is lacking about everything a site needs to be considered a website. The only content on the whole webpage is a very outdated article about children's play. There is no table of contents, sponsor, contact person, multimedia, or links. Nor has the site ever been updated. Overall, the design of this site is lacking in every aspect possible.

Elise Verley September 9, 2011 http://artofsciencelearning.org/ Overview: The site is a resource for using art to help students understand science. Its intended audience is teachers and is developed by The Learning Worlds Institute. It is a great idea but they don't have any ideas available for how to combine science and art. There are several conferences listed to attend, this is their primary focus currently. This may be a young site and there will be more information available on the site soon. Content: They have articles of research available that proves that using hands-on artistic approaches to teach science attract and retain students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. They have related websites and articles listed so there are more sources to find out more information on the topic. Design: It is a basic website, that is easy to navigate the information available on the site. There is not a search function but the information on the site is easy enough to find that it may not yet be necessary. There is an RSS feed that has their most recent postings as well as profiles on social networking sites. There is a forum for teachers to interact and share ideas.

Billie Slyman, 9/11/11 Purpose The purpose of this site is to give students a resource to learn about weather and how it affects people. There is enough information to be useful, but it's not overwhelming. There aren't any links to outside sites, which is a drawback. However, I still think this is a valuable site because it has good information, interactive content, and is well designed for students to navigate. Content This site does a good job of achieving its purpose of providing information for students. While there is a good amount of information, it is put in simple language and organized in a way to make it easy for students to understand. Many of the sections have interactive multiple choice questions, where students can click on a button and a text box will pop up and tell them if they are correct. The content seems accurate to me, and the developers (the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, for example) seem qualified to present this information. Design This website has a very nice design. Everything looks interesting for students but is still well organized and not cluttered. It is easy to find the information you want and navigate around the site. Also, the information on each page is split up into sections and has lots of pictures interspersed, so it isn't a huge block of text that could be intimidating to students. The pictures and charts are all relevant and aid in understanding the information given.

Overview: The purpose of this site is to serve as a professional development aid for teachers as well as a classroom tool. It covers all grade levels and all subjects which makes it useful for the whole school or a whole school district. Design: The design is kind of all over the place. There doesn't seem to be any unifying theme or color scheme. The home page is boring to look at and has too much coming at the viewer all at once. It was also difficult to figure out what the primary purpose of the site was. Content: The content is actually pretty good but the site is really more of an educational catalog rather than a free aid for individual teachers. This site then only becomes truly useful if a school pays for it. The "interactive" history section was dreadfully disappointing as there was nothing interactive about it. Overall I would not use this site in the future but it still has uses for some school systems.

Overview: This site is mainly for teachers to help improve their skills and knowledge and by providing information that is useful for them to view for free or purchase. Although this site can be helpful, I think it needs some additional work. It provides videos and workshops for teachers which can be beneficial. Content: The content is clear and easy to navigate although I had a little trouble finding the lessons for students or teachers. One problem I noticed was I couldn't find other links to web sites. The authors weren't clearly identified and there was no information on them. This site is also for others to use. There are lessons that students can learn from on their own at home. It covers Arts, Foreign Language, Literature and Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and History. Teachers and students of all ages can find lessons or material to learn from. Design: The design of the web site is good. The homepage is organized. Other than the homepage, I didn't notice many graphics; however, there are videos of workshops that teachers can view from their own home. The other pages could use more interesting graphics and this site needs to provide other links to other sites.

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: ESL Lesson Plans and Resources is a website that does just that provides hyper-links to ESL lesson plans as well as other ESL resources which include activities for ESL learners. The targeted audience for this web site is mainly for teachers, although it could possibly be used by secondary education students in the completion of activities. The whole purpose of this web site is to provide links to web sites with available resources for web sites and pretty much anything else that teacher's may need for ESL. If one needs help with ideas for lesson plans or activities or even games for an ESL classroom, this web site is highly beneficial. Content: The overall content of this web site was helpful in the sense that it provided helpful links to ESL lesson plans, activities, ideas etc. However, the information provider was quite difficult to determine due to the fact that there was no one specific site, it was simply a web site full of other sites. The information currency was also a little difficult to determine as there was no date of when it was last revised. This may be an exception for the website, itself, did not have updates or an author but the links to the other websites may have contained the separate information. Overall the content of the site was well organized and easy to follow, all of the hyperlinks seemed to be in working order and beneficial to the search I had done. Design: The overall design of this website was not the greatest, yet it was still usable. The home page did not have an appeal to my eye upon first glance, however with each hyper link contained a description of what it was. The whole web site had the purpose of giving links to other useful websites which could possibly be why there was no currency information and or information in which to contact the web site developer. Although it is easy to navigate and headers clearly define what each link is used for, there is always room to improv

Billie Slyman, 9/11/11 Purpose The purpose of this site is to provide resources for teachers for teaching weather. It's part of a larger site that has resources about all kinds of topics. There are websites, print-out activity sheet and Power Points. Although there are a lot of links, about half of them don't work, and there isn't any information on the site about how the sites are found and who runs the site. My overall impression is that this site has some good resources that could be helpful to teachers, but the link you want might not work, and there's no guarantee it is a good site. Content There really isn't any information (that I could find, anyway) about who develops or maintains this site, or any indication of when it was made. Although there are a lot of links to other sites, there is nothing about this site. There is a link to "Contact Us", but who is "Us"? However, it is nice that the links are divided into separate themes, like Weather, so it is easy to find the topic you are interested in. Design The site looks pretty plain. It's really just a list of links. However, this does serves the purpose of the site. It doesn't really have much reason to look nice because most people won't be spending a lot of time there; they'll be on the other sites. Although, even though the site is plain, it still manages to feel cluttered. With the links in the middle, navigation menu on the left and ads on the right it can be a little hard to stay focused. But the site is functional, and it can be helpful to have a large amount of sites about the topic all put together.

Overview: The website has a lot of links that one can use to follow into more detail about each linked word/subject. The author is an RN and it the website was reviewed by an MD and updated only a couple months ago. Content: There are a lot of links with each subtitle. There is more to learn then just social development. It is very informative; also you can look at Spanish speaking sites. Design: I think they could make it prettier with the links under the subtitles, and more information next to the links. But the website is easy to follow overall.

Posted by Kate Guerrieri 9/18/2009 Title of web page: The English Teacher- Lesson Plans for a Creative Writing Course Content: This website offers an entire 13 week lesson plan for teaching a creative course. The lesson plan is broken up into different sections that a teacher would cover for the 13 weeks. Each section covers a different topic and offers links to other websites that offer additional information or examples. There are writing prompt ideas and ideas for different assignments a teacher might consider using. If it meets all the state requirements of a teacher's location, it would be a good source to use for developing a lesson plan. If not, it is a general guide for what a creative writing lesson plan should look like. Design: This web site is split into thirteen sections, in correlation for the weeks that the lesson plan is made for. Each section has a description of what is being taught and ideas on how to teach it. There are examples and links in each section. It is easy to navigate and user friendly. Attribution: The site seems credible. Anyone can use this information as long as they cite the page. I couldn't find the copy write information on the actual page but it is part of a larger website that would have it.

Mike Wilson Site review September 18, 2009 Dr. Saul's Biology in Motion Introduction Biology In Motion is a relatively simple website designed to provide engaging animations for basic biology concepts. The site is designed for both teachers and students. Student level is Junior High School but could be easily used for entry level 10th grade Biology. Teachers can use the site for in class presentation. Teacher tips for in class use are provided. There are 9 animated self guided lessons and/or games. These lessons are information correct and convey the material to be learned very well. This is an excellent site targeted at specific biology topics. Google ranking of 6/10 - Excellent with 61 backward links. Content Evaluation First Look The home page clearly in both text and graphics conveys the purpose of the site. All the key information is above the fold. Information Providers Biology In Motion is a creation of Dr. Saul, a university Biology Professor and Web game / site developer. Links to Dr. Saul's credentials and additional websites are top left on the home page Information Currency While the site has not been updated for 4 years, there is not a need to do so. The science content is fundamental concepts that will not change. The graphics are age appropriate and play quickly. Information Quality Site is fully functional. Each interactive lesson through the use of text and animations teaches the subject concisely. There are Google link ads on each page which I do not like from a pure educational standpoint. On the other side, the ads are not obtrusive and what are a few extra bucks in a teacher's pocket. Design Evaluation Speed All pages and graphics load very quickly. Animations are well designed but are not speed bulky. Home Page Very appealing and all critical information to keep you on the site is above the fold Ease of Navigation All lessons are linked from the home page and need to know information is top lef

Clayton Christensen 9/20/2009 The purpose of the site is to inform new math teachers of some things that they should keep in mind when starting their new teaching career. The intended audience is both new and experienced teachers concentrating on math teachers. The site provides links to lesson plans, math calculator sites, and many different sites helpful for a math teacher. Content: The content of the site is geared towards teachers looking for interactive assignments with their students. The website provides many links that allow teachers to navigate to other sites for further information quickly. The website provides a link to free lesson plans that will help teachers get an idea of lessons they may want to use that day. The website has not been updated since November 2007, but I believe the content is very helpful. The website shows the many rewards that it has won since it was developed. Design: This website is very simple it is very easy to navigate as all of the links are in a very organized list that is easy to find. The website is not extremely attractive because there is not a lot of color but because of this the site makes it easy to navigate to the other links. All of the links worked effectively and took me to the described site. The website however not particularly attractive it is very easily navigated and useful.

Posted by Tanisha Daugaard on September 21, 2009 This site is mainly intended for middle school teachers, but it can also be used as a resource for students. It focuses on English, writing, and reading. It is a great site to find lesson plans, electronic books and manuscripts, and other useful information for the classroom. Content: This site is very well organized. It is divided into three sections: English, reading, and writing. It has numerous links to other sites dealing with each subject area. It appears to be updated frequently and the website developers also take input on what other sites would be good to add. I feel the content achieves the purpose quite effectively. Everything just flows together. It is easy to understand, and each link has a description of what can be found on the site. The authors appear to be qualified in middle school education. In general, the links work properly and route the users to other useful, creditable sites. Individual contributors are not listed, but an email for the designers is provided. This site also clearly labels the new links that have been posted. Design: The site is designed very well. It is clear of ads and other pictures that are not related to the subject. This site is easy to navigate. Each site that is linked falls under one of three categories. Each graphic serves a purpose and the site doesn't include anything that distracts the users. There is enough information provided that makes the site usable for teachers and students. It covers many areas under English, reading, and writing. The site is modified and the updates are clearly marked. Everything is well organized and easy for anyone of any age to use. Attribution: Using and quoting information from this site can be tricky. Some links clearly state who the authors are, but others don't at all. Overall, I think this site is used more for getting ideas than actually quoting someone. The information provided is very useful, but one has to be careful

Mike Wilson Site review September 18, 2009 Science Buddies Free Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools for Serious Students Introduction This is a very detailed and comprehensive site to facilitate student science fair projects. It can be used by the casual science fair student though the stated target student is the serious science student. Detailed information is provided for students and teachers K-12. The site is supported by 30 major science and technology corporations and is run by a staff of 18 not including the Seagate IT people. Anything to do with a school science project, this is your stop. Google ranking is 6/10 with 321 backward links. Content Evaluation First Look The home page and site are by no means fancy. Simple and clear what the information is and where to go on the site. The depth of the site is extensive. As you start your information search you can easily select your target grade level. Information Providers The purpose of the site, sponsors and fact there are real scientists involved is clear. Information Currency Site is fully operational and current. No daily revision date is given but 2009 Copyright is in place. Extensive links to other sites from each specific science project page for additional information. Information Quality Content is extensive, selectable for grade level. Very well organized and effective science fair development and projects for students, teachers and parents. Massive resources on the site itself with additional links out as needed. Design Evaluation Speed Science Buddies is very well designed to be a quality information site. Fast loads. Very text oriented, limited and simple graphics with properly sized thumbnails to keep page loads quick. Home Page & Ease of Navigation 9 tabs across home page top or easily 9 home pages. Actual home page is 85% above the fold. Very easy and quick to move around the site. The 'Topic Selection Wizard' is very functional, grade, gender, subject

Posted by Allie Parrott 09/17/09\nEducation World as it says on the site is "an educator's best friend". On this site there are ideas for lesson plans, education games, and even ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Content: This site has a ton of information. Although there is information for all ages, it seems more geared toward elementary school teachers. There are links for every subject. Math practice, punctuation of the day, and writing instructions are all in one spot. However there are five main categories to make a teacher's research quicker. These include: Lesson Planning, Professional Development, Technology Integration, Administrator's Desk, and School issues. There is even a convenient search bar located at the top of the page if the previous options do not fit that teacher's needs. The site is updated daily. This is extremely beneficial for a returning user. There are a lot of links and buttons to push before the user reaches their destination, but once there the information is clear. Most lesson plans are completely done for the user. There are also educational game instructions ready to be printed out. It's very easy for teachers to use. Everything is copyrighted by Education World and they can easily be contacted by selecting the link at the bottom. I would consider this site very credible and useful tool. Design: The design is fantastic. The most important links are at the top of the page in bright colors. Almost every link is in alphabetical order, making it easy to come back to a particular one. It is very colorful and flashy. There are a lot of advertisements down the right side of the page, but surprisingly they do not draw attention away from the information. The links work flawlessly and quickly. The feature that lets one searcher on the world wide web, or strictly in Ed World is also a helpful element of the design. Attributions: I would feel save using this site to get ideas for my class. There is contact information.

Allison Lindgren September 21, 2009 Website Review http://www.aboutdarwin.com/credits_01.html "About Darwin dotcom" is a site dedicated to the life and work of Charles Darwin. Its layout is classy and goes well with the information being presented. The author of the site states his credentials and citations clearly. I think it would be a good source of information for anyone researching Darwin. The bibliography is very complete which provides alternative source of information for someone looking for additional information. Since the information is organized and presented in easy to understand terms with little scientific jargon I think it is geared towards high school students. Content Summary: The content of the site is obvious even in the URL of the site making it easy to know what information the site provides. The author is clearly stated with a whole page dedicated to his credentials and the citations of all the information in the site. The links all work well, but it has been over a year since the site has been updated. I think that is okay, though, as Charles Darwin is not a developing topic and not a lot of new information needs to be posted. Maps and pictures enhance the content of the site, and information is well organized into links on the homepage. T Design Summary: There were no problems downloading the page. The colors and graphics of the site are appealing and interesting. The layout is very simple which makes navigation easy. Each link clearly states what information it will take you to. It is a good source of information about Charles Darwin by someone whose credentials make the site credible and worth visiting.