Group items tagged

Katrina Swanson - February 25, 2013  Overview: The purpose of this website is to engage young children in elementary school but specifically focusing on a kindergarten aged level. It allows students to explore different games and activities regarding letters and numbers as well as incorporating the use of technology. There are numerous resources for children available to use from this website such as learning their numbers and letters while using a computer.  Content: The content of this website is pretty decent. From the first look of the site, the user is able to determine what audience the site is intended for and also to tell the basics of the site. There is no clear author or creator provided due to the fact that it is a student oriented site and not a site with "specific information." The site works properly and all the links provided are available and easy to access for students. The purpose of this site is very clearly indicated that it is for entertainment and learning at the same time. It is very well organized and easy for young children to maneuver around and interact with. Grammar and spelling are correct and this site has great content for students to learn about letters and numbers.  Design: This website is very intriguing by first look. A student would be enthused to use this site and eager to do the activities. The pages are attractive, and easy to access the different links to games as well as other things on the site. The site is very user friendly for young children due to the fact that they can easily go around the site. Lots of pictures, colors, and sounds are used all throughout the site to engage the children as well. It is also a great site because although it looks fun and intriguing it is also very informational to young kids.  Great website!! 

Michelle Hill February 24, 2012 Overview: The purpose of this website is to serve as a resource for instruction for 1st grade internet activities. Therefore, the intended audience is teachers 1st graders and 1st grade teachers. Available on this website are English activities online involving skills such as story listening, letter recognition, literacy activities sight words, and sentence structure and grammar. Also included are Math activities such as number recognition, patterns/shapes, counting, adding/subtracting and much more! There is also unit themes available for teachers of all kinds. Content: The content of the website was rated as very useful for my information needs based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. Some strengths of this website include the first look, how it was easy to determine the basic content of the site, the information quality, and the further information. The content of the site was well organized and easy to understand. Some weaknesses of this website are that information of the authors is not available, therefore I do not know if the authors are qualified to present information on the topic. Other weaknesses include that the content was not updated frequently, the last time being August 2007 and the fact that one link to another site was not working properly. Overall, there was an abundance of good content that will prove to be useful in 1st grade classrooms. Design: The design of the website was rated as very well designed and easy to use based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. First, the homepage downloaded efficiently and the website was speedy, which was a good start to the design. Some strengths of the website include that it was well organized, the copyright date was easy to determine, the site is easy to move around, and the content was presented clearly. Some weaknesses include that there were no directions

Jacqueline Twiford Web Site Review September 20, 2009 http://www.abcya.com/first_grade_computers.htm This first grade website allows you to incorporate technology with your students by allowing them to do activities for learning. This webpage has activities for grade levels K-8 which is helpful for bringing technology to all grade levels. On this site it allows students to navigate the web with voice instruction, and has large navigation buttons for easy understanding. CONTENT On the "ABCya" website it allows students in the first grade to play interactive computer games to learn concepts such as the alphabet, drawing, lowercase and uppercase letter matching as well as mouse exploitation. This site has a list of activities that students can use in helping them learn some of the essential concepts they will need to know. DESIGN The design of "ABCya" is a very colorful and organized webpage. Having a large display for navigation buttons and voice instructions makes introducing technology to your young student very easy. The design of this game site is very easy to use and explains in voice as you go. The webpage's load very quickly and easily. Also, if there is something you do not understand, all you have to do is click on the icon for a description of what the icons meaning is. "ABCya" has a design that will allow you to use it in a short class period without having to run from student to student helping. This design is like having an assistant with each student explaining how to operate it. Wonderful for the introduction to technology in the classroom, without the time frame fear (not having enough time) that most teachers have with using technology in the classroom.

Whitney Lindt Purpose: I think that the purpose of this website is to provide parents and teachers a safe website to send their children to. There is so much that one has to worry about on the internet these days it is nice to know that there are safe websites for the younger children out there that they can learn from. Overview: I think that this site would be great for teachers and parents of young students to use. It seems that more often than not students are learning with technology and they think it is fun and it keeps their attention and this website is great for that too because it is so visually attractive. The main focus of this sight is numbers and the alphabet which is perfect for 1st graders because that is the main focus in the classroom. And this website provides links which would help the students not only learn the material but practice what they are being taught. Content: The content of this site is perfect for what 1st graders will be learning in school. As a teacher I would even recommend this website to the parents of my students so that they knew their children were going to safe websites. There are storybooks on this website which would just be fun for the students to go to or for teachers to use in the different subjects they are teaching if they can apply it. Also there are links that can have the students work with spelling and the alphabet and also numbers. This website might also work for younger students than 1st graders because there are some really easy ways of learning numbers and letters on this site. Design: This website is wonderful because as soon as it opens it would have the attention of 1st graders in school and it would keep them attracted to the website. This website is really easy to read even though it has a lot of colors. It is also easy to navigate instead of just a table of contents the different areas and links of the websites are split into different boxes with pictures on them so it makes it easy for a little kid to

Wonderful website for first grade learning games. There are games for letters and numbers

Michelle Hill February 24, 2012 Overview: The purpose of this website is to serve as a resource for furthering education and academics at the elementary school age. Therefore, the intended audience is teachers, students, and even parents. Available resources include games, pintables, apps, and videos for the subjects such as math, English, history and more. These resources are for ages Pre-K to 6th grade, and vary depending on the subject being learned. Overall, my impression of the website was that it was a great website that can aid me throughout my teaching career and will definitely be used in the future. Content: The content of the website was rated as very useful for my information needs based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. Some strengths of the website included first look, the information providers, information quality, and further information. More strengths include that the site clearly stated the audience and basic contents of the site, information on the authors, the content was complete, information was consistent, and there were other links to other sites included. Some weaknesses of the site included that the information currency was either not provided or not applicable. The latest revision date was not provided, therefore I could not determine if the date was appropriate, so both of these were considered not applicable. Also, I had no way of telling if the content is updated frequently. Overall, the website provided a lot of content that will be useful. Design: The design of the website was rated as very well designed and easy to use based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. Some strengths of the website design included the speed, home page, ease of navigation, use of multimedia, browser compatibility, content presentation, and availability of further information. It was all very well organized, the contents were clear, every

Michelle Hill February 24, 2012 Overview: The purpose of this website is to serve as a resource for instruction for teachers. Therefore, the intended audience is teachers of elementary aged students. Avaliable on this website are kindergarten through 1st grade lesson plans involving all subjects, such as math, science, language arts, and more. Also included on this website are lesson plan fillers, integrated projects, graphic organizers, and classroom management tools. My overall impression of the website was that the content was very useful and the site itself was well organized. Content: The content of the website was rated as very useful for my information needs based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. The first look at the website was good; I was able to determine the intended audience as well as the basic content on the site right away. The strengths of the website include the information providers, information quality, and further resources. Everything in these sections were included and to my belief of great quality. However, the weaknesses of this website were that the latest revision date was not provided and that the latest revision date is appropriate to the material. Another weakness was that the site did not probice interactivity that would increase its value. Overall, the content was good. Design: The design of the website was rated as very well designed and easy to use based on the fact that the total number of "yes" answers outnumbered the "no" answers. First, the homepage of the website downloaded in a speedy manner and efficiently. Strengths of the home page included the clearness of the page, the contents in the site, and more. However a weakness was that the site did not have a very strong eye appeal. The navigation was also a strength of the website, it was easy and clear as to how to move around the site and directions were not needed. Other strengths of the design were

Overview: It is very obvious upon entering this webpage who it is designed for, as it states in bold at the top of the page within tabs: "For Clinicians, For Patients, For Institutions, For Educators". I'm not sure it could get clearer than that. Also very obvious is the purpose. The biggest words on the page are: "Tap into the world's largest clinical community". I think this is a very credible website because all of the articles and websites within the main website are edited and written by doctors (MD). The biggest downside to this website is that you must subscribe to the website to see all of the content and a subscription is very expensive. Design Summary: From my first look, this site appears simple, yet very easy to navigate. There aren't a lot of bright colors or images to distract from the information of the page, which is beneficial, because you can find what you are looking for immediately. At the bottom of the page, the site provides a list of sponsors or partners including; Society of General Medicine, The Endocrine Society, American Academy of Family Physicians, Wolters Kluwer, etc. I had no problem using the website in Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer. The information is very up to date (as the name suggests!). Finding contact information is also simple (1-click) and they provide a phone number, fax number, many special purpose email addresses, and an address for an office in the United States, as well information for their international offices.

Mandy Schumacher 1-24-10 Overview: creativewritingprompts.com is a website that is intended to provide teachers and students with hundreds of different writing ideas. There are over 300 prompts on the site and all of them are easily accessible. This site can be a very useful tool for educators, or anyone who enjoys writing. Content: This website is targeted at anyone who is interested in writing. Creativewriting.com provides the user with 346 different writing prompts. The prompts can be used to create poems, stories, or other creative works. The purpose of this site is not purely informational however; this particular website is also a commercial site. Along the side of the page there are ads promoting online courses, a journaling kit, other books, and there is a list of "sister websites" displayed on the bottom. Copyright and information about the author is easily accessible on the bottom of the site as well. Design: The site quickly downloaded to the homepage. The homepage is really easy to navigate. There are numbers assigned to each prompt. All the user has to do is place the cursor over any of the numbers for the prompt to pop up in a text box. The ads along the side and bottom of the page serve as a distraction but overall the site is easy to navigate and well organized. There are also links at the bottom of the page

Overview: The purpose of this website is to provide Spanish language teachers with a resource for learning tools and lesson planning. The links are helpful and the content is easy to understand. It's not an elaborate website, but is simple and to the point in design. I feel there could be better information in this website. Content: When arriving at this website, you immediately know it is designed with teachers in mind. The authors have a link at the bottom of the screen and look to have won a number of awards for their information on this website. Some of the links don't work which leads me to believe the site isn't that up to date. The Lesson Planning section really isn't that helpful because the links take you to other sites that either don't work or require you to buy products for your classroom. Design: The homepage isn't that appealing to me. There are a number of advertisements that make the site feel it isn't real. It is easy to navigate using the toolbars even though some don't work. There are links to other languages. There aren't many graphics on this website, but I don't believe they are necessary in this instance.

Becky Stewart 1/24/11 Average site Content: The site is a little complicated at first glance, and there are a lot of different options. Without looking into it as much the site looks very complicated, and its difficult to find a starting point for it. Its hard to tell what the exact purpose of the website is, and who it is exactly for. The author(s) are very hard to find on this website, however the site is sponsored by the government which gives it more legitimacy even with missing authors. The website has a lot of extra information about location, phone numbers etc, but there is no simple way to find out when the site was last updated. The site has plenty of good information, as well as many links to bring the user to different areas to look more in depth into anything. This site is probably used more for adults because of how complicated it is. However, The information on the site seems to be very good and a good resource if used correctly. Design: The site had a lot on the homepage, but downloading quickly. There was no significant wait time for everything to load. The home page is very strong and makes the site look very credible. The bottom of the home page has a list of links that the user can go to on the site, and seems to be pretty organized. The links work well and bring the user where it says its going to. The site is well organized and isn't completely overloaded with videos or pictures. Plenty of addresses and phone numbers are located in a link at the bottom of the page. Overview: The site http://www.ed.gov/ is a site designed for teachers a students. There are no advertisements on the page to be distractions, and the site seems very educational. The purpose of this site is to inform teachers and help out students who may have questions or concerns. In some ways it does this for teachers as well. This is a complicated site so it wouldn't be for younger st

Ron Morgan September 19, 2009 This website is intended for anyone interested in movies or graphic design. The website showcases a number of movie posters that have been designed by an artist in the field of designing movie posters. The website has a number of links viewers can check out. The site has some contact information and advice for anyone interested in the field of designing movie posters. Overall the website is successful at its purpose. However, the artist's name was not able to be found. Content Summary: This website is pretty straight forward and the viewer can easily see what the content of the website is. The information provided about the artist and artwork is sufficient. Credit is given to the appropriate entities. For example, the website was designed by altlab.com. The work however, doesn't seem to be all completely up to date. But the content is appropriate and useful to the viewer. Design Summary: The website is unique in its design and it works well. The information given in useful, informative, and relevant. The links are numerous and appropriate. The presentation of the artwork is done very well. There is also a short summary discussing the specifics of each poster.

Overview: This website is intended for students and teachers to practice their math skills. It offers free math games for students from grades kindergarten to seventh grade to help them learn and practice their math skills. This math site has tons of high quality interactive activities, ranging from basic skills like shapes, numbers, adding and subtracting to advanced skills like rounding, fractions, multiplying and dividing. I think that teachers would find this website useful for their students to use in or out of the classroom to form a better understanding of simple math. My overall impression of this site is that it is a fun and educational way for students and teachers to learn more about math. Content: The main purpose of this website is to provide a place for students to practice their math skills by playing games and activities. When first coming across this site, I found that it was difficult to see who the intended audience was, but after further observation I found that the site was full of math activities for students. The content of this website is well organized into different categories of math and provides directions on how to play each game. The site also offers an overview on the subject selected that one can view before or after the game they play. From going through this site I found that the external links that are provided are not for math but instead for other basic school subjects, which may be helpful. All in all, children would benefit the most from this website because of its fun and easy way to learn math. Design: The graphic design of this webpage was not as attractive as it could have been. I found that the way information was presented may not be the most appealing to young children and at times was hard to navigate. The graphics were appropriate for the site and the games were presented in a way that children could easily understand. This website is defiantly a fun way to teach math to younger children.

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. 

Derek Peil 10/7/2012 Overview The informational website tculibrary is designed to set forth a substantial amount of resources for an audience of communication students. Many of these resources are internal and are intended to instruct students on the arts of creating an effective public speech. The external resources guide students to rich websites full of vast databases on rhetoric. With high marks on the evaluation guide, I recommend this site to educators as a source of information on topics related to communication. Content Credible information is strongly used throughout the website, and is indicated via highly organized titles. All of the links load quickly, and are up-to-date. The last revision of the site was on August 27th, 2012, indicating its accuracy and relevance for modern educational settings. Contained within the site are many links to library databases. The website provides lucid instructions on navigating through these databases, making the process of acquiring research extremely hassle free. A single weakness, or rather an inconvenience, is seemingly all the error to be found within this website. When following the link to Opposing Viewpoints, the audience is required to login using Texas Christian University credentials. This limits the usage of this site to TCU audiences only. In light of the overpowering strengths of this site, a small confinement of audience such as this is more than acceptable. Design This website appeals to a modern audience with its clean colors and organized display of information. Copyright and authorship claims are easy to spot at the top and bottom of the sites. Along the top of the homepage, a list of tabs provides simple traversing to and from links. Also, the website is full of external sources that carry the same standard of credibility as the home site. Although the website contains some graphics, it may lack the number to create a completely attractive website. Nonetheless, the pictures the site do

Casey KarchOctober 7, 2012 Overview: The purpose of this site is identified right at the header, "E-learning tool designed to facilitate teachers' work and enhance the learning process." Kubbu is intended for teachers and educators, helping them with design and evaluation of lesson plans. Resources are a little slim, but users can create games, quizzes, and crosswords with ease.  Overall, this site is not eye catching, not overly informative, but gets the job done for helping educators. Content: First look on this site is mild; there is not much to look at. There are no true information providers but the content of the designs for teaching tools is very well done. The quality of quizzes, games, and much more is fascinating; they will be an important tool for instructors. Since there is no information, there is no way to get more information. Design: Speed of loading the home page is very efficient. The home page itself is not overly flashy, but it lacks a lot of information. Navigating is easy, links are clearly labeled and few in number. Multimedia is evident in the teaching tools, making the tools requires different forms of media. As before, the presentation could use some work, maybe some different colors. Information is available to contact the designer further.

Content: This website includes a large amount of content about teaching English to students that speak a different language as their first language. The content is easy to determine based on the home page. There is adequate information about the author of this site including her credentials. However, it is unclear about when the information was last revised. The site includes a tremendous number of links that takes you to websites where preschool to grade eight students can practice their English through doing a number of interactive activities. The site also includes lesson plans as well as information on how to effectively teach English as a second language. This website would be a very effective teaching tool for teachers and even parents that are trying to teach their children English. Design: The design of the website allows people to navigate it easily. It also loads very quickly and efficiently. The homepage includes clear information immediately about where you are and what the contents of the site are. There is information about how to contact the author of the site. The links listed all contain descriptions of the site that they take you too. Most of the links work properly, however, there was a couple that could not be found. The site contains a very large amount of information that can be extremely helpful resources for ESL or any teachers. I was unable to find the currency of the information, however, at the bottom the date for how long the website has been up was listed. Overview: The intended audience of this website is ESL teachers and the links provided by the website are intended for students from preschool to 8th grade because it provides interactive learning activities for them. The purpose of the site is to provide teachers with resources and information on how to effectively teach their students the English language. The site provides an abundance of helpful activities that can effectively teach students. Based on the conten

Overview: The purpose of this web page is to analyze the significance of F. Scott Fitzgerald's color symbolism in The Great Gatsby. The audience is based around a high school-level English class. No information about the author is given, although it is implied that he is a high school student.Overall, this is a well-written essay that provides a number of insightful points that would be helpful in a classroom setting. Content: The content of this essay is particularly strong. It is well organized, despite the lack of a document map, and a reader is easily able to understand the purpose of the site. The author is identified, although virtually anonymous. The site cannot and does not need to be updated, as the content is timeless. While no specific further information is given, the content can be used to drive discussion and can be traced back to the novel. Design: This site doesn't have a strong design. It is a PDF of an essay. There is no form of ornamentation. This is good in the sense that it doesn't distract a reader from the content of the essay, but is simultaneously bland. However, the design of the page is infinitely less significant than the content, which is the critical piece of the discussion and the purpose of the site.

Overview: This site is useful for an overview analysis of The Great Gatsby. The audience is not clearly stated, but the reading level is at about a high school level, so it is applicable to a number of grade levels. The resources available are clearly stated at the bottom of the page. Overall, this site is a beneficial site to use because the content is significant and could inspire strong discussion. Content: The content of this site is very important, especially when it comes to giving students the necessary background knowledge for The Great Gatsby. Additionally, it provides new ideas for discussion, such as the proposed "good driver/bad driver" metaphor that is supported through the text. The author and associations are easily identified. This page also gives a significant list of works cited and resources to further aid learning on the subject. Design: This site is poorly designed. It is bland, the font is standard, and the text is in large chunks. It could have easily been broken into separate pages or more paragraphs and broken up with images. Beyond that, though, the site is still very useful because of the content that it focuses on.

Fun math practice! This website helps improve math skills with adding and subtracting numbers up to 20. There are also several other practice lessons that will give students practice.