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

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

Katie Hertel 1-23-2010 Overview: PBS educational games, videos and activities is an educational website for younger early childhood children. It teaches through many of the popular kids education television shows such as Barney, Author, Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, etc. There are available resources to parents and teachers to make sure this website is teaching their children in an effective way. Overall, my impression of this website was that it is an easy effective way to entertain your children through educational ways that are fun and entertaining. Content: As I explored on the website I found that it was easy to navigate. There are links formed as circles that have a picture of the educational animated television shows that kids today are familiar with. When clicking on these links it pulls up that shows official website which has clippings of the show, fun activities, and games related to that specific show that help younger children grow familiar with what they are learning outside of just the game. The information that is taught can be a reliable way to help teach children. Along with reliable material it has supported detail of the sites publication information. Design: This site is well designed and easy to understand how to access what kind of educational experience you want. It is very appealing, especially to a child's eye. Not very many irrelevant advertisement interruptions appear to be a problem. Although a lot of sources on this website prove to be a safe and reliable way of helping children learn, it is also obvious that it is for money purposes as well.

This website is an educational game site for kids. It is mainly based on PBS kids television series but it provides games in all different subject areas and has links for parents and teachers on "how to raise spectacular children". There are not a lot of outside links on this site to access other information, but the authors or the Public Broadcasting Systems seem like reliable authors and the content is great! I don't think a lack of outside sources takes away from the site at all. The content of this site is very educational and informational for students and would be easy to incorporate into lesson plans for an interactive way for students to test their knowledge. One thing that may be a set back is that the games are mainly based off of PBS kids TV series so it may be distracting to the students to have their favorite episodes one click away. The site is sponsered by PBS though so no extra ads or additional distractions are present! The site also has the terms of use and privacy conditions easily accessible and provide log-ins for students so that they can save their work and progress for later which is great! Each game also provides easy step by step instructions as well that can be read or heard so students can get the most out of their gaming experiences. The design of the website is great as well. The home page not only includes interactive links that move when you hold your mouse over the top of them, but it also has audio as well to bring students in. The games are very interactive and there are so many that every student should be able to find something that they enjoy doing! The colors are bright and the navigation is incredibly easy which makes students want to come back for more. Any questions that they may have are answered within the games which also helps subdue any frustrations that may arise. Overall, a great site for kids that would be easy to incorporate into lessons!

Colter Huhn 1-25-10 The purpose of this site is to watch informational videos and read articles on science programs from PBS. The intended audience is all ages that can understand the material which looks to be about middle school age up. The site has many different science based categories with videos and interactive articles. Overall the content is very useful for exploring science television programming further with articles and online video on certain science based programming. The design is very professional and well layed out. The content is very good on this site, with a few minor flaws. Upon first look its fairly easy to tell the content for the site and from it know who the audience is. The information providers seem clear with the sponsor (PBS) being clearly identified and the makers of all videos. The currency seems very good with new material being added constantly and all links working properly. The quality of information is great with a clear educational purpose which is well executed. Every archived program is well organized into categories with easily understandable links and information. Many programs can be watched online with teacher links making the content very interactive. All information seems relevant and correct. The only flaws I found were no direct authors were shown or their contact information, but you can contact PBS. Also, I couldn't seem to find a date of revision, but all program dates are shown. The website design itself is also very professional. The speed is great and the site is compatible with both Firefox and Internet Explorer. The homepage is very attractive, clear, organized and all sponsor and copyright information is easily found. The navigation is simple with good organization of programs into categories and links. All videos are fantastic and relevant and the pictures represent these. The content is perfect for getting involved in science topics through documentaries and videos. There are plenty of links from eac

A great site for Science videos and documentaries. Includes links for teachers to utilize these as well.

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. 

A free and recent production of Hamlet provided by PBS. This excellent production features the actors David Tennant and Patrick Stewart.

Stephanie Mecca 2/5/12 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide information on different types of art and the artists that work with art. The site includes the Art 21 episodes and short videos that can be seen on the PBS TV channel and includes written blogs about the Art 21 artists that are featured in the episodes. The intended audience is not just for education uses but anybody can enter the site to learn about art. Teachers could use this site to teach students about different artists and about the types of art. There are some links to the PBS site that provides other resources but there are not many other resources. Content: From the main page the viewer can see that the site includes information about artists and includes videos and episodes. The intended audience can be seen as art-seeking individuals by just looking at the overall art theme. The site douse include a whole section about the site and the people who work on the site and on the Art 21 episodes. You can read about the sites policies and terms of use, you can also easily email any of the board of trustees. The content of the whole site serves a general art purpose including current and past art. The site is well organized but doesn't clarify the currency of the information, meaning it doesn't include revision dates or updates information. Design: The overall design of the site is appealing, with the bright pink color and clear pictures. There is an easy-to-read top menu that you can click on and the copyright is at the bottom of each page. The site is easy to navigate though there are no directions on how to use the site. There some links to the PBS web site but not many other external links. The video files load easily and are clearly seen and heard. There is a lot of information to make it a sufficient site devoted to artists and art. The site uses the same basic format throughout and provides contact information for further information.

Good first site to gain base knowledge on subject.

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.

Art 21 is a site dedicated to informing the public about contemporary art of the 21st Century. Providing video of today's Artists at work, in their studio, and behind their thoughts and inspiration of their work. Depending on what medium the viewer is most interested in you can search by a multitude of processes such as Installation, Sculpture, painting, mixed media and more. Or you can watch videos by season all throughout this site. This content educates the audience beyond the borders of their own understanding of art and answers the difficult questions viewers develop when viewing contemporary art. I believe this site is very efficient at educating the public about art. There is a surplus of artists on this site that everyone is sure to find one they can connect to. The videos are engaging and attention catching. All you have to do is press play, and let the learning begin.

Webquest website

Overview: the Between the Lions website is a very good website for both students and teachers. It gives teachers ideas to make reading and learning more fun for young students. It also has games right on the site that students can enjoy and learn to read without really knowing they are learning. The games do take a little long to load though and I'm sure children would get very impatient with that Content: The content of this website seems to very reliable. There are stories kids can read themselves, there are video clips and games. They all seem to be helpful and very fun. If I found them helpful I'm sure the young learners would too. The website also offers tips to teachers and parents about how to help their children and students have fun while reading. It does not give a specific age group. Design: The layout of this website is very user friendly. It is very easy to navigate. Children using this site would have no problem at all figuring it out. It is very colorful and designed cleverly. On the home page when you scroll over the picture they talk to you. For example, if you scrolled over the words stories, the character would say "stories". I think the design is great I would use it in my classroom.

Overview: This website is very imformative of the stages of social development in children. It also gives links for parents to follow into other websites if they still have questions. It includes birth-5 years old Content: The content is done in bullets, so it isn't detailed. But with the minimum it is able to get a lot of information across. Design: The design is easy to follow and graphics are cute and really fit the site.