Group items tagged

Website discussing figurative language and common literary terms. 

Overview Code Academy is a website that is used to promote the proper teaching of different computer languages to people of all ages. It is mostly aimed at people who are in computer science classes from middle school through college. The site has a number of corporate sponsors as well as many 'teachers' that donate their time to creating lesson plans for this site. They really advocate the teaching and learning of these computer languages. For being programmers, the site is actually fairly simple and had some glitches on my computer. I will attribute that as much to the computer as much as their programming.

Emily Lewis 4/15/15 This website is the teacher's website on PBS.org. It is called PBS Learning Media and provides lessons and resources for grades pre K-12. The website is intended to be a resource for teachers to use when looking for lessons, videos, games, or activities. Overall the website looks helpful and well put together. The content of the website ranges from a variety of lessons and videos from different providers. The name of the provider is clearly posted under the link to the resource. There is a list of media types you can select from such as images, documents, webpages, videos, lesson plans, and more. There are various subjects and grades available to use. The website is current and presents quality information that achieves its intended purpose effectively. The content is consistent with the standards and free of bias because it is merely a way for teachers to find resources. The design of the website is very pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate. The homepage is attractive and there is a column on the side to easily narrow down your search. This column includes grade level, subject area, language, accessibility features, permitted use, and media type. The websites that appear on the page include a picture, a title, the media type and the name of the provider, which makes it very easy to navigate. The option to find resources in Spanish or English can help teachers cater to the students with English as a second language.  Overall the website is very well designed. 

Overview: Russian language interactive site with audio.

Mandy Schumacher 1-24-10 Overview: Internet 4 Classrooms is a website with many components. The purpose of this website is to help teachers use the Internet effectively. On the "Home" menu the user can choose to visit any of the seven links posted. Those include: Grade Level Help, Links for K-12, Technology Tutorials, Assessment Assistance, Daily Dose of the Web, On-Site Training, or About Us. This is a free website that is designed to help teachers find free Internet Sources to use in the classroom setting. Content: This site is full of information and consists of many separate components. This site is mainly visited by teachers who are hoping to find a way to integrate the Internet into their classrooms. From the site the user can choose a specific grade level and subject. Once the user has selected a grade level and subject a list of sites that can be used for classroom instruction appear on the screen. For example, if the user chose Language Arts for Elementary Students, sites such as "American Literary Classics" or "Brain Food" would appear and the user would then choose one of those links to instruct their students. These links can take you to anything from a list of good books to read in the classroom, word puzzles to challenge your students, or anything else related to Language Arts for Elementary students. Design: The website is somewhat organized, however, it can be a little confusing to navigate since there are so many separate links on the Home page. There are also several ads which can become distracting. Overall this site provides good information for teacher and students about using the internet as a learning tool.

Jackson Miller 1/31/11 Overview My first site is an internet site designed to help people learn the English language. This is an interesting site for me, as I want to be an English teacher. The site is really for people who would like to better their English as a second language. The site offers great resources for any student as it has tests and quizzes they could take, basic grammar and usages in the English language, and even access to online teachers for aid. Personally if I was trying to learn another language, I would definitely want a site like this one to help me. It just has a great variety of tools, members, and advanced technology to aid in learning English. It seems like a great site to me. Content As far as content goes it fulfills every requirement. It is a very easy site to navigate around right off the bat. It is very clear what the goal of the site is, and what it is meant for. All the staff involved in making and maintaining the site can easily be found at the bottom. It was revised very frequently, so I'm entitled to believe it is revised often. The information is all laid out in a good order, and they have really anything I could think someone would need when learning English. Design It really is not the prettiest site in the world. It's very bland and orderly, but for a strictly educational site like this that is not a bad thing. It's a very fast site, from all the hot keys. It is constructed very well. It is easy to find exactly what you are looking for very quickly, and everything on the site is aimed towards helping people better their English.

Overall of Website This website is a great source for helping students learn in all different styles and with different subjects. It teaches you things from time management to studying to different ways you can prepare for tests. It also has a list of different languages that you can choose from so everybody can use it. The purpose of the website is to help students with schooling in many different ways. It is very organized and easy to find what you need help with. It's a great student help. Content of Website The information providers are pretty clear about who they are it is found at the bottom of the page and you can find out more about who they are. Information Currency is clear the last time the website was evaluated was 2011 by SGS annual report and the material seems correct. The information Quality of the sight is good you can tell the main purpose is to help students better understand schooling. The website is very well organized and the spelling is all correct. Further information is that all the information is appropriate and helpful. Design of Website The speed of the website is very fast it has a good speed. The website has a cool look to it and all the different languages are on the left side which makes the website interesting to look at along with pictures and ads on it. The tables of content really organizes the site very well. You can easily navigate through the website all the buttons and links work. Every link has a specific purpose and it describes what that is before you click on it. There is a lot of information on the website but its easy to get to and understand.

Lindsey Carter 9-4-2011 Overview: DrGrammar.org is intended for individuals with English questions ranging from grammar and word origins to common errors in English. The site is provided by the University of Northern Iowa and is edited by the UNI Department of Languages and Literature. Overall, I was very impressed by the amount of information the site provided, although it was slightly less organized than I would have hoped. Content: At first look, the basic content of the site and intended audience is very clear. The author of the site is also identified, and a link is available for the user to find out more information about the university. Users may also contact the UNI Department of Languages and Literature via email from the site. A date of the last revision isn't clear, but the copyright date is. All links work perfectly, loading quickly and effectively. The purpose of the site is informational, and it is quite effective and complete. The information on grammar and common mistakes is given along with easy-to-understand examples. The website is free of bias, and additional resources are available via link to Purdue University. Design: The website's homepage is not the most attractive. The title and sponsor of the site are both clear, and an index does exist to guide the user. Directions are in place to help the user navigate the site and find the information they seek, but the titles of the index are not clearly categorized. Again, the date of last revision also isn't clearly identified, but the overall information is helpful to those with English inquiries.

The content for this site is very well put together. It is a site where you can go and start a new language and you can either start a free trial or pay to use it. It might be similar to Rosetta Stone. It has a easy to use box that will start you with the basics of the language you are trying to learn.The design is simple you have the unit and lesson at the top of the square saying what one you are on. On the left had side there are boxes with learn, review, write, and speak. Once you have completed all of those levels you are able to use the skill builder exercises to improve your skill. In the middle of the box is a picture with the word of phrase you are trying to learn. Underneath is a rewind play and fast forward button so you can move back and forth from picture to picture. I think that although this could be done from beginning to end I didn't find a way for someone who already knows some words. I also don't think that the exercises were very fun and one would get bored after a while and either stop paying attention or their motivation would die so they would want to do something else.  I am also not sure who the author is or what date it was updated, the only information it said was copyright in 2011.

Michael Gonzales September 13, 2011 Overview: This website is perfect for any educators who are considering teaching Spanish as a foreign language in their classroom. This site focuses on information regarding Spanish vocabulary and grammar. It's filled with activities that you can easily incorporate into your classroom that will stimulate students to have fun and learn. It also provides additional information of projects that you can use in your classroom. Content: This site is filled with files that you can print off and give to students within your classroom to help them comprehend more Spanish words and grammar. Many of the worksheets allow you to color in the words and also provide excellent visual aids to help comprehend more information. The web page is very easy to navigate; this particular page revolves around Spanish themes. There are also several links to games and items that you can print off to test your students in the classroom. This site also offers you to explore more fully and see what else the company has to offer such as templates for holiday decorations and as well over 100 themes that apply to kindergarten through 3rd grade. Design: The design of the website is very simple and straight forward; the links and texts boxes do not look complex and are very easy to access. The webpage itself is a little boring, only supplying the viewers with pictures of images of what it has to offer. I have taken a few HTML coding classes and I can see that this is something that I can easily duplicate. The site is not complex but the information that is provided is perfect for teachers and students alike.

overview Instantes is a link in the Spanish.culture&language website. It's a poem which is based upon the conditional use of the verb. the links contained in the poem reinforce the conditional use of the verbs in the poem with pictures and definitions of the words used. Content The page contains the poem and the guidance references necessary for learning the use of the verb tense being taught. Design the site is designed to reflect the poem that is written upon its page. The page opens to a sunset at the beach. scrolled across the top 1.5 of the page. inside the right corner of the image lies the links to the poem, the author, verbal and grammatical exercises. It is an effective way for a student or steacher to learn the language and utilize instructional technology.

Overview This site is for grade levels kindergarten through high school. It has so many different subjects that you can access from Reading and Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science, Language, and Foreign Languages. To help the students prepare for these subjects for tests, quizzes, or even homework, this website has test prep for all grades and subjects. This website has puzzles, printable activities, and critical thinking exercises for students to engage in and have more fun on the website. This website also includes information for teachers. Teachers are able find lesson plans and worksheets for their classrooms. This website is very well layed out and easy to navigate for teachers and students. My observation of this website is good. Content There are so many different subjects you can learn about, and every subject has different content that contains important information that you can learn about. You can learn about anything! This website mandates that you be a member in order to be able to make use of all the activities and information. Design This website design is very easy to maneuver and navigate through. The subjects are surrounded by many different games, puzzles, and critical thinking activities that students can access. It is very well organized and has great pictures and themes. This website clearly shows that it is very informative and promotes interaction by the student or teacher.

Mitch Sexton January 20th 2009 The page provided by BBC about German culture and language seems to be a very interesting and educational tool to be used by anyone looking to learn about Germany. With so many different links and fun games it is impossible to search this site without learning at least a little bit about Germany and its culture. I feel that this would be a useful tool as a teacher because not only does it provide the site in German but it also gives you news updates, live television feeds, weather and even quizzes about cultural events. The intended audience is obviously any person that is looking to learn about Germany. But it also provides a more in-depth look with the television feeds and translation into German. I think that this is a wonderful site for anyone but a particularly great site for students that will be in my classroom.

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

A rap song that describes different figurative language terms. 

2-5-12 Overview This website was designed by the Okaloosa School District in FL. It has sections for the administrators, parents/community, students and teachers to be involved in fun learning. The student resources have many sections such as Brain teaser, Student games, Principal's Club (more games and activities) and Practice activities. The student games are organized by subject and by age level. Activities are easy to find and easy to use. Overall, this website is a good source for students and others in the community to find games, activities and other resources for learning. Content This site has a lot of information for a wide variety of audiences. In student games, there are sections that are then broken down further into different skills in the subject. Overall categories include math, language arts, science, social studies, technology, games for fun, research and homework resources, search engines and preschool games. Once you choose a topic within the subject then links to games in this subject come up. For example, when you choose Number Basics within Math there are 13 different links to games. Each link has a description of what the game teaches or practices. There are a lot of information and fun activities on this site. Design This website is very organized. The whole website is broken down by who will make the most out of the resources. Once in a section such as student's games, it is broken down further and further to really find a game or activity that fits what you want the students to practice. It is not too complicated to get to, it is simply systematized. This makes navigating the website very easy and allows you to spend more time doing the activity you were looking for instead of searching for it or sorting through games that don't fully match the topic. I really like the organization of this website and how easy it is to use.

Overview The purpose of this website is to help parents learn about ASL and sign language with their infants and toddlers. The website also talks about the advantages of teaching your infant/toddler sign language so that they can communicate clearly what they want so that there is no confusion on what they want. Content The content is awesome on this site, it is all up to date, easy to navigate, appeals to the viewer's eye, etc. The information on this website is all completely informational and non-bias. There are other links for help for other needs on for instance how to do a particular sign in ASL for your child. So overall the content of this website is great. Design The design is also very great on this website. The speed is excellent and works very quickly with any browser, it is very easy to navigate, and there is not any use of videos on the website however the use of the images are used appropriately. The currency is also up to date.

The specific article I chose from this website is aimed at anyone interested in stories regarding the English language being taught internationally. The site itself holds a lot of articles in regards to a lot of differing subjects, so it can be a site for all people and all ages. This specific article discusses the lack of proper English education and English educators within other languages, and discusses how, with the right teachers, students learning English in other places would be much better off. The purpose of the site is very clear. Authors and sponsors are noted, and the last revision date (2015) is at the bottom. Content seems up-to-date, and the articles and the content within the articles seem like they are written by credible authors who know what they are talking about. The content is informative to those who care to read about the specific articles, and provide adequate information for those who are interested in them. The home page is very eye catching, and the images and links on the page seem like they all have a purpose. The site is very easy to navigate, and the design is great. I especially liked the fact that you can scroll through the home page and the article titles are in bold but they also have a brief description and lead in that makes you want to read the articles. The contact information of authors and sponsors are given. Overall, it's a very well-designed site.

Scott Chanthongthip on January 23, 2010 Overview: National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is a free website offered online to help teachers us visual aids to teach mathematics. The content is from the Utah State University and is edited by the university. Content is easy to navigate and understand because it focuses on students from K-12. Content: The National Teachers Council of Mathematics five content standards are listed vertically in a grid, while the grades for each of the standards are listed across the top of the grid. Navigation based on the content standard and grade level appropriateness is accessible because of this organization. Teachers just need to find the content standard and line it up with the appropriate grade level. Although the site has a version that it offers to schools many of the virtual manipulatives are easy to use as long as one's computer has JAVA capabilities. There are four different language options for the different virtual manipulatives, so it makes it easy to use in bilingual settings (English, Spanish, French, and Chinese). The main reason for this website is to offer teachers with computer technology to teach manipulation of different math areas when the physical manipulatives are not available. Teachers can also use the site to help explain concept clarity of hard to understand math functions. Design: The initial web page offers a grid of math standards and grade levels from K-12. Teachers can click on the appropriate link and it will lead them to more options on different subjects in the content areas. None of the links are broken for the virtual manipulatives. Design of the website is updated often by the USU. NLVM also allows users to select from four different languages.

Kaci Philpot Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide teachers and students with fun, interactive Math manipulatives online, because manipulatives help students to see visual relationships in Math and help to actively engage students. The website has the following standards for math education; numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis & probability. Each standard has four different age groups to choose from: pre-k through 2, 3 through 5, 6 through 8, and 9 through 12. This website is one of the very few educational websites I have found that is free and clear or useless information and clutter. Content Summary: This website content quality is very high; it has an index chart on the homepage with grade levels and math standards. Each box on the chart is linked to a page of full of various virtual Math manipulatives. If you navigate to the credits page you can see who is in charge of creating what, however it does not provide information about or credibility of those individuals. It also does not have revision dates. But the site is well organized and has very rich content. The manipulatives are an excellent way to get students excited about learning math. Total yeses: 19 Total no's: 2 Total N/A: 3 Design Summary: The homepage of this site is very easy to navigate and understand, but it does not have very strong eye appeal at all. But the manipulatives are very useful and all have clear directions if necessary and all internal and external links work properly. It does not appear to have any outdated content, if Mathematics can even be outdated. My favorite link on this website is the link to the Spanish page. This would be very useful for teachers with ESL students; it helps to ease the language barrier. Total yeses: 22 Total no's: 2 Total N/A: 0

Chelsey Lynch 1/31/11 * Overview: This website is for the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. The intended audience of this site is teachers, and students of all ages. The available resources are a wide array of virtual math manipulatives. This website is extremely useful to teachers because it provides children with a firm grasp on concepts by letting them learn directly through physical objects that enable students to visualize relationships and applications. * Design: This website is attractive and very easy to navigate. The main page of the website contains a large grid system which serves as a menu for the math content area and grade level. All information to contact the sites provider is given, and all the information is current. The instructions for the manipulatives are very easy to follow and the site even provides examples when necessary. This site has adequate graphics, though the music and sounds in games is a little dated and sometimes annoying. * Content: The authors of this site appear to be highly education and experts in this field. The purpose of this site is very clear and the content achieves the intended purpose effectively. This site is extremely interactive, well organized, and easy to navigate. I have personally used this site numerous times and love it. The only things I wish this site contained more of are links to websites that are similar to this or had further information.

Jennifer Olmstead 01/31/2011 Overview: This site is full of very useful information. My over all impression of this site is very good. I think that the site has good reliable information. The only thing that is wrong is that the author information is not provided. To me, however, this is strongly over shadowed by the information that is provided. I will most definitely be using and referring this site to other people. Content: This site is very well organized and very easy for people to navigate that want to learn spanish but are not fluent enough to read the table of contents in spanish.All of the content that i reviewed was correct, current  and very accurate. However, the author is not clearly identified nor is there contact information given. The site links are all working effectively. The purpose of this site is informational and that is very clear. All of the information serves a purpose. The information is definitely unbiased and all factual.   Design: The design is very efficient and concise. It has good graphics and eye appeal that all serve a purpose. The table of contents is and other sites are all very  user friendly. Navigating through the site is totally easy. This site provides enough information  to teach someone a basic knowledge of spanish. This site is compatible with many different servers. The format is uniform through out the whole site.  There is not a last updated date but the information, because it is a language is not something that really changes. The entire site is easy and purposeful.