Group items tagged

World War II in Europe: The purpose of this site is to give a general overview of the events that happened in Europe during World War II. It gives specific dates of the events that happened such as the Invasion of Poland. The attended audience of this website is 10th grade Modern American History students. The available resources on this website are good, reliable sources that give information about this topic but also about other countries in World War II. My overall impression of this website was that it would be a good website to use for a project that involves World War 2 in Europe because it can give the dates of events and a little information about it. Overview: This article is about World War II in Europe and the dates of the events in Europe. The strengths of this website are that the dates are accurate and that they do a good job of listing all of the dates in the corresponding year and that it doesn't just give the important dates. The weaknesses of this website are that they do not give a description of the events. Content: The content was strong because the dates were accurate and because the list of events had both major and not as major events. The content was weak because it did not have a clear author, had little information about the event, and did not discuss the role of the event. Design: The design was strong because it was easy to navigate around the site; it was well organized and knew where you were at all times on the site. It was weak because it did not have a lot of pictures and they could have done a better job of drawing the readers in.

Bridget Gegg-October 7, 2012 Overview The purpose of the Boston Tea Party Historical Society is to provide information, media, and studies on the Boston Tea Party. The intended audience is anyone interested in learning more about the event, but it may be difficult for a younger audience to comprehend the material without help. This website provides an overview of the event, participants, pictures, documents, descriptions, and a case study of the event with links leading to other sources of information. This website provides a place to gain information on all aspects of the historical event and it gives the viewer resources to further their research with a case study of the event and a link to the case study in its entirety. Content The basic content of the site is very clearly represented as soon as the viewer is quickly taken to the webpage. The website is created by the Boston Tea Party Historical Society which is a non-profit organization and they provide an area containing contact information. This website is designed to preserve the history of the Boston Tea Party so it can be trusted that the information contains no bias. The content is not being updated frequently because it is about an event in history, but it gives a great deal of information that any viewer might need concerning the event. Design The website does not have a very strong eye-appeal, but it does appear to be professionally created and it doesn't have the feel of being randomly made as some webpages do. It is easy to navigate and the navigation bar at the top of the page is clearly emphasized and it is not hard to understand. The links and graphics are of good quality and are related to the topic of the webpage. The format is consistent throughout the whole site and it is very well designed and easy to use.

Overview: This Chronicle of higher education is a very useful website. Its purpose is to provide news and information on many topics and current events. It is accessible to anyone, but probably intended for educated adults. Content: This website contains a lot of information. Its content consists of that of a newspaper plus much more. It provides tabs for the homepage, which has many headings links articles, and video clips on current news and events. The Chronicle also contains several other tabs including news, opinion and ideas, facts and figures, topics, jobs, advice, forums, and events. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. The is avaliable information and the authors and researches for the different articles. The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date. The links also are easy to use and work properly. The information and content presented is not biased and achieves the intended purpose of informing and entertaining. Design: The chronicle of higher education is set up much like an online virtual newspaper. It has columns and headings like any ordinary newspaper but is also colorful and neatly organized to include many tabs and links. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention. The sites also provide copyright informational the provider is clearly identified. The links are clear and helpful and all the information including the photos videos and articles serve a clear purpose to the site.

Gary Allen Jan 23, 2011. Overview: As the title suggests, this is a website designed to help kids learn about American history. The site is authored by a man with much experience in presenting history for kids and includes a link to his biography. Content: This site contains many easy to follow links, a glossary, interesting facts, a search box and even some educational games to help present the content. Also included are links to other sites of similar content and a weekly newsletter. There is no date for the last revision of the site, but there is a link to contact the author and ask questions.  Design: The site is fairly simple in design with the main navigation across the top, another menu of links down the left side, and ads on the right side. The lack of flashy elements helps the site load extremely fast however. Navigation is very straightforward and clearly labelled.

Overview: This website's purpose within in a classroom could be for research papers and projects. Each student could choose their own topic and then navigate the links easily to learn more information with concise bullet points, pictures, correlations to current events, and related games. This website included topics in several areas but primarily history, geography, economics, and government. Content: This website has a wide variety of upper elementary social studies information including even broader topics of history, geography, government and economics. The home page had a general toolbar that provided information about the site and the creator. On the left side was a huge bar that linked to many specific history topics such as current events, teaching resources, timelines, and maps. Once you have clicked on a topic from the side bar there are even more links to even narrower research areas. This would be a good site to use for students to create a research project about a topic that they are interested in. There was only one link found that was not up-to-date. Design: The design is not very appealing especially for young children it initially looks a bit bland. Once you have picked a side link and narrowed your topic there are visually appealing pictures and games to go along with the information being taught. The home page took a while to download and had an ad that was generated more towards adults pop-up. The site is easy to navigate following all working links. The website did not work well in Internet explorer but did work well in Google Chrome.

Brianna Gillespie 9/14/11 OVERVIEW: This website is to teach students about the many different subjects related to social studies. Students can use this website to answer almost any questions they could have about social studies. This website is mainly for older children because it has a lot of reading that may be a little difficult for younger children to comprehend. CONTENT: The content includes current events, games, economics, geography, presidents, states, and many more. Within each subject are a variety of links to choose from. Each link is focused on a main point of the subject. There is also a section on the main page titled "This Week in History" with some facts about a certain event that happened in the past. DESIGN: The design has some color, but is a little bland. However, each page has a piece of clipart on it, so it is not completely boring. Children would be able to navigate around this website fairly easily too.

Sara Scribner 1/23/10 Overview: This website called Beeswax is meant for elementary students to inform them of current events in a fun, interactive way. It is a new website so the creators are still looking for feedback to improve the site, but it is a great tool for students to learn about current happenings in the world. Currently it is only updated twice a week, but for elementary students I believe this to be sufficient. Content: Information presented on this website is high quality. Its purpose, to present news, is clear, complete, easily understood, and is interactive. Contact and sponsor information are current and available. There might be potential bias on this site however because of its sponsor, Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The amount of information offered on this site is sufficient, but the teacher would need some background knowledge about the event. An advantage to this site is that it is free of advertisements. Design: Beeswax communicates the news in a fun, interactive way and is aided by graphics that you click on to see the related story. It has a unique organization that is effective yet appealing. Sounds also accompany your actions as you navigate the site.

David May 1/23/11 This site is very educational. Great information with a reliable source. Too much advertising the museums. Overview: The website of the Smithsonian museum with a fun educational spin. The site has a few games with animations that are well put together. The games have good images and great animations that put complex things in simpler terms like comparing a planet size with a beach ball compared to a golf ball. The site overly advertised visiting the actual place too much. Everything that was clicked on encouraged visiting and it got very tiresome very quickly. Content: The site is very easy to navigate and find what one is looking for. There is a constant sidebar with information about where you are and what things are easiest to link to.. They list the curator of the museum who is in charge of the content on the website. The copyright of the website is 2010 which shows recent content on the website. There is an informational theme to the site, but the clear objective of this site is to get visitors to the museum. Design: The website is very well put together. It is impressive with the amount of graphics and page design that they put in effect on the site. The problem is that if users don't have the latest flash player they will have to download it and go through the download process. If this is for students the schools might restrict the ability to download the software. The website other than over advertisement is good for information and reliable for what one is looking for.

Laura Rice 2/5/12 Overview: The purpose of this website is to expand educational knowledge and resources for education. The intended audience ranges from educators, families, and students. This website provides many resources for public use. The educators are provided with resources for field trips, professional development organizations, lesson plans, resource library, and online events. For families the website provides information about what is available at the Smithsonian, time you can spend together as a family, and events families can do together. The students are also provided with information about the Smithsonian, topic they can explore, secrets of the Smithsonian, and events available for kids. This website is a great source to a variety of people. The links to each page provide a lot of information useful to educators, families, and students. Content: The website is extremely useful to all types of people from educator, families, and students. Teachers have access to lesson plans for all subject areas ranging from K-12th grade. Teachers are also provided information about taking a field trip to the Smithsonian and the programs it has to offer students. The tab for educators also has a link to online events that are taking place. For families the website contains different activities the Smithsonian has to offer as well as activity sheets for children. Students are provided with events at the Smithsonian that may interest them, as well as topic they may enjoy to see there. Overall the content is very educational and centered around what the Smithsonian can offer to others, and also provides lesson plans that could help educators in their future career. Design: The overall design is easy to understand and information is extremely easy to access. Tabs clearly identify the intended audience from educators, families, and students. Under each tab there are others that provide information useful to each age group. At the bottom of the page ther

Katya Larson February 2013 Overview: The purpose of this website is to visually map major events in history chronologically. There are brief descriptions of the events for each map. The audience is for educators and secondary level students. There are many map and picture resources under the "Maps & Modules" section including previous editions of the website. I think this website is well set up because it is easy to navigate to the time period of your choice to see the corresponding map. It is nice that there are brief descriptions so you can easily review what the map is about. I think it is a very easy to use and useful site.  Content: The content is accurate and easily accessible. The maps are interactive and user-friendly. There are many links within the site to access different content. The content is free of bias and informational.  A possible downside is that there are no dates of revision, but there is evidence that the content has been revised in the past because you can view past versions of the website.  Design: The website itself does not attract the eye readily. While the information is easy to find, there are few graphics or colors that are appealing (excepting the interactive maps). The information is clearly labeled and the maps have useful descriptions. It may not be "fun", but this is a very useful site. 

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

Overview: The purpose of this site is to show simulations/animations of biological processes. It's more related to higher-level biology classes but there's basic animations for mitosis, meiosis, and cellular respiration that would be useful for high school students. This is a really great site, especially for college students because there's more complex processes that will be more easily learned with these animations. Even though there's not as many for high school students, it's still a good resource and has the main processes that high school biology students will need to know and understand.  Content: the content of this site is quickly determined: all of the animations available are clearly visible and laid out. Authors and copyright information is available for each module when clicked on. The date posted is within a few years of todays date so it's pretty recent. The quality of this website is phenomenal - the animations are easily accessed and understood. There are also links to other science current event topics upon clicking on the science in focus tab. Design: The homepage downloads quickly. Each topic is clearly noted with tabs for different services. The page is very user friendly, each module is where it would seem to be. The multimedia use is phenomenal - the animations are very useful for learning different biology processes. It is browser compatible with its use of IOS or flash. There is a lot of valuable content for biology students as well as links to other science current events. 

Katharine Johnson September 19, 2009 National FFA Organization Introduction: The National FFA Organization website is a great insight to what is going on in the organization. It gives you events that are going on throughout the nation. Not only that but it has separate lings that can help you find careers associated with the organization. For FFA members it can help them find scholarships and learn about the many opportunities associated with the organization. Content Evaluation: First Look: The homepage is inviting. All the main components are bold and the site is easy to navigate through. It is obvious that the intended audience is for sure high school FFA members and also can be used by Agriculture teachers. Information Providers: The authors of the materials are not clearly identified. However knowing the FFA organization I know that the National FFA officer team has a lot to do with the sight along with the advisors and the employees of the organization. The site sponsors are sighted with a ling on the left hand side. Information Currency: It does not say exactly when the site was last updated. Even though the site does not say when it was last updated it is obvious that it frequently gets updated in order to keep up with all the events. All the links to other sites are current and in working order. Information Quality: The purpose of this site is informational in nature. The content of this site is effective in doing this. It informs the audience of all the news and updates that are happening. The site is also well organized. The main ideas are bold and eye catching while the information and links are all under titles. Design Evaluation: Speed: All pages and graphics load very quickly. Home Page: The homepage is attractive and eye appealing. All the information is clear and organized. Ease of Navigation: The site is easy to navigate. All the information is clear and organized and helps you find what you are looking for easily.

Posted by Allie Parrott 09/17/09: Homework spot is a site that simplifies the search for popular homework topics assigned to students K-12. It can also be used by parents and teachers. Content: This site covers a variety of topics. There are even virtual field trips. Other benefits this site provides are SAT tips, current events, and how to write a great book report. Students can find almost anything they need here. The site was last updated today. The incoming information is always fresh and relevant to what students are learning today. There are not only articles from their own authors, but also links to articles that may provide better information for the student. Information is presented in a clear manner. The sight is sponsored by a bigger company StartSpot Media Works Incorporated. HomeworkSpot would help any child navigate their way around the internet. It is also beneficial because the sites that are recommended are credible well researched sites. Design: The most helpful part of the design is that is separates the topics in to age groups. There are a number of links under the heading "Elementary" and the same goes for the headings "Middle" and "High School". This way there is no time wasted, looking but information that is above a child's head, or below their level. The only flaw in the design is that the user has to click at least links to find what they are looking for. However, once they find it the information is most likely exactly what they are looking for. There are Google ads, however advertising is only on the homepage and is kept to a minimum. Attributions: The most helpful link for this is the "About this Site" link. It gives the user all the necessary information about what the site is about and who is running it. It makes the purpose very clear. This would be another site I would recommend due to its fairly obvious credibility. \n

Jared Mohr-Leiva October 13, 2014 Sometimes, planning for class gets difficult, even for "easy" classes like English. Thankfully, there are resources for that. "Tes.co.uk" has a page chock full of them. However, since it is a U.K. site, they are not by grade, but by age (11-14, 14-16, and 16+). Regardless, that allows a pretty close estimate (within a year) of which grades correspond to which age group. The category list includes a large array of sub-subjects in English. These include Drama, non-fiction, Prose, and Writing. These are front and center on the page and vary depending on which age group the reader is teaching. Clicking on any of these subjects will open a new page filled with worksheets, activities, and PowerPoints. For example, clicking on "Drama" will bring up "8 Minute Madness - Creative starter activities" and "Romeo & Juliet: Powerpoint Synopsis," just to name a couple. Tes.co.uk is very blue-oriented, as well. The age-group category box is a deep, bold blue, front and center on the first page. Categories are bold and easy to find. The "sub-subject" pages are displayed as a list, again using large, bold letters. There is also a sidebar allowing the reader to narrow their search by sub-topic, type, format, or event. There are also categories at the very bottom to specify whether it is a special needs course or is applicable to the entire school. "Newest" and "Recently recommended" appear at the top of the screen alongside the number of results.

Jared Mohr-Leiva October 13, 2014 Sometimes, planning for class gets difficult, even for "easy" classes like English. Thankfully, there are resources for that. "Tes.co.uk" has a page chock full of them. However, since it is a U.K. site, they are not by grade, but by age (11-14, 14-16, and 16+). Regardless, that allows a pretty close estimate (within a year) of which grades correspond to which age group. The category list includes a large array of sub-subjects in English. These include Drama, non-fiction, Prose, and Writing. These are front and center on the page and vary depending on which age group the reader is teaching. Clicking on any of these subjects will open a new page filled with worksheets, activities, and PowerPoints. For example, clicking on "Drama" will bring up "8 Minute Madness - Creative starter activities" and "Romeo & Juliet: Powerpoint Synopsis," just to name a couple. Tes.co.uk is very blue-oriented, as well. The age-group category box is a deep, bold blue, front and center on the first page. Categories are bold and easy to find. The "sub-subject" pages are displayed as a list, again using large, bold letters. There is also a sidebar allowing the reader to narrow their search by sub-topic, type, format, or event. There are also categories at the very bottom to specify whether it is a special needs course or is applicable to the entire school. "Newest" and "Recently recommended" appear at the top of the screen alongside the number of results. 

Overview: The purpose of this website is to give teachers tools to help engage student learning about U.S. history. The audience of this website is history teachers all the way from elementary school to high school. The available resources of this website are teaching materials for teachers, content about numerous historical topics, and a section about the best practices for teaching history. I like this website because not only does it offer history content to teach, it gives teachers tools to help engage students in the material. The quality of this material is high and is well organized and it is eye appealing to visitors. Content: At first look, visitors to the website are able to know where they are and it is made clear who the audience of the website is. The authors and sponsors of the website are made available and contact information is provided. The only negative point about this website is its information currency. There is no last revision date, only a copyright year. The quality of information is great. There are numerous links to sources about various historical events and there are links for each grade level as well. There are also quizzes on the website to help enhance student learning. Design: The speed of this website is high; the homepage downloads immediately. The main page is very appealing and the content is accessible from three different tabs on top of the page. The information regarding authors/sponsors is also accessible at the bottom of the page. The navigation of the site is good; however, there are no directions available to visitors for navigating the site. . The site is compatible with various browsers and the content of the website is well organized and is plentiful.

Overview: The purpose of this website is to provide historical information about the legacy of the U.S. Navy. The audience for this website is anybody interested in learning about the history of the U.S. Navy. The available resources of this website include a list of different research topics, education programs, and various highlights of significant naval events/topics. This website is an effective informational website. It is not the most attractive site, but the vast information/resources within it make it worth visiting. Content: At first look, it is clear where one is. There is a graphic for the website and a quick scroll down shows various topics regarding the U.S. Navy. The information in this website is clear and useful. Many topics are available for research and for those with an interest in the U.S. Navy. The only downside to the site is that no revision dates are provided. The quality of information is great. With or without prior knowledge of some topics, the information is accurate and easy to understand. There are other additional resources provided as well. Design: While the design is not the most attractive, it does serve a clear purpose. Sponsors are identified under the "Support Us" tab and links to their sites are provided. This site is very efficient in that it is easy to navigate. In just a couple clicks, one can find the information they need. Internal and external links to graphics and multimedia are provided in the site. The site also uses the same format throughout the site, also making it easy to navigate.

Overview: National Geographic always has great information dealing with many different history or social studies events. I really like their website because the 5th grade students can navigate to this website and research a topic. The topics are straight forward and even have pictures to help the students understand what their reading about. I'm sure that if the students wanted to learn more about the topics they could research farther from this website. National Geographic has always been a key leader in what is new and coming up in social studies and other areas. Content: There are so many different topics and articles that the students can read I would highly recommend it to other teachers. You know exactly where the information comes from and if it wasn't true you know National Geographic wouldn't publish it. It is a very trusted source of information. A lot of the information on the website will change with new events. Design: As I was learning about the website I found myself wanting to read some of the articles that they offered. I stopped to read about the tattooed mummy and found it really interesting that it was a female but in the place where the mummy is from there was only male kings. Obviously if they can draw in a 19 year old college student with just a picture and a title the students shouldn't have a hard time finding something their interested in. The website has of course the yellow color scheme but also has other little pictures that offer some intriguing items. I'm probably going to read some more after I'm done with this!

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

Overview MyHistro is a multifaceted site. It's main purpose is to aid history teaching by providing interactive maps that display the locations of historical events. It also is trying to jump on the social networking bandwagon by allowing users to create their own timelines with maps of their own lives. It also does the same for businesses. For educational uses, this site can be used for middle school students and above. For middle school students, some discretion needs to be used when choosing which parts of the site to use. It might be a good idea for the teacher to operate the site on a projector. For networking uses, I would recommend that only adults use this site and even then with discretion as by doing so you put your personal information out there. My initial impressions were that this site is very professional and has a ton of content to explore. It is a site that is very engaging for both educational and other uses and could really be a good motivator for kids.

This website was meant to give a lot of information about World War 2. The language of the site requires a fair level of literacy, making the intended audience teenagers or older. This site offers numerous links and timelines and a good outline of the events of World War 2. However, the design is poor, and there seems to be a lack of authors or sponsors. This website makes a poor impression.