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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.

Korinne Thoren 14 September 2011 Art Project-Powered by Google Overview: The purpose of Art Project is to allow users exposure to some of the world's best works of art without ever having to leave their home or classroom. The website is geared to older students, I think this site would work well for anyone middle school aged or older. My overall impression of the site is a good, I particularly like the quality and quantity of artwork users have availability to and the virtual touring is fun; the only thing I did not like was that it took a while to get used to the virtual tour navigation tools, however there is a instructional video provided on the website for users. Content: This interactive, virtual touring website gives its users access to 17 of the most world renowned art museums, allowing users to view all works of art or tour the museum virtually. This makes for exposure to thousands of famous pieces of art over a very unique and fun experience. The site also allows users to view very high quality, detailed photos of the art that can be zoomed into, which would not be found through just a Google search. Each painting contains the title of the work and the artist, but no mediums or dimensions are provided. There is a "create an artwork collection" feature that allows users to compile their favorite works, which could be useful for studying a specific movement or time period. The website does not provide contact information for the site creators or links to the actual museums. Design: The overall design of Art Project is superb. Upon opening, the site really draws users in because of the changing and vivid, zoomed up view of artworks used as the background. The listing of museums and artworks on the left-hand side is very clean and simple, thus making for a very appealing website design overall.

Kerensa Aris 10/12/12 North Carolina and the Civil War The purpose of this site is Civil War education. The intended audience is students, teachers, parents, etc. It is appropriate and educational for any age level. Resources available on the site include links to external sites, pictures from the museum, and interactive media such as videos and virtual tours. My overall impression is that this is a very high quality site maintained by reliable sources and very well designed.  The website was very well designed and easy to use. All pages load quickly and are compatible with multiple browsers. The homepage is attractive and you can tell where you are immediately as well as the site sponsor and the index is readily available. Navigation is very easy, links work properly, and directions are provided for virtual tours. The site contains vast amounts of information that is easy to find and revised often. However material is not added often as the entire site is about the Civil War.  Based on content, the site is very useful for information needs. The content and intended audiences are quickly and easily determined. Authors of the material are clearly defined and information about the authors and sponsors as well as contact information are provided. The purpose of the site is clear, content is complete and well organized, and information is accurate and sufficient for user purposes. Interactivity is provided through various media. Information is reliable and educational. 

Rebekah Asay January 23, 2011 Purpose: The purpose of this site is to allow people across the world to see the amazing sites in Venice and to be able to book a vacation there. The website also provides a lot of information about each tourist site and the history of Venice. The site is directed towards anyone who wants to know about Venice or travel there someday.This website has a virtual tour uploaded, audio guides, and HD movies. Content: This website has a great design that is easy to navigate and attractive to the eye. It has verifiable information about each location in Venice.

Ryan Magrum Sept 15th, 2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to teach student about the frog system through a virtual dissection. The dissection lets the user display the organs of the frog in any combination with or without skin and skeleton without the mess of an actual dissection that many of us have done in high school biology class. The site is strait forward with a big frog picture to click on to start the dissection and various links to other information. Content: The first page has all the bureaucratic business with the contact info, the site creators and developers. There is also a link or two to other pages with more sites like this one and pages with more information. The dissection is a little disappointing. When one highlights an organ or set of organs the organs are sitting there like a real frog on a dissection dish. For a virtual dissection I wanted to see clickable options with descriptions and information (click on the heart and a box with info on the heart of a frog pops up). For a dissection, the pictures accurately depict what an actual frog looks like without the mess of a real dissection. The only other criticism is one can't physically touch the parts of a frog which is one of the benefits of the real life thing that the internet may never have. Design: The website is plain in nature. There are no fancy pictures or visual effect to draw a person into the site. I believe the site is there purely for educational purposes. The title page is white with black print and blue hyperlinks. There are no advertisements. The interactive frog brings the user to the page where the user can play around with the frog parts and view them and how the parts fit together. The art involved is somewhat primitive but the parts are colored and one can tell what they are. This interactive page is plain as well. There is no commercial aspect in this website - it is obviously for educational purposes.

Overview: This site is so cool; I wish i knew about it earlier. I was refered to it by my current math professor because we are discussing manipulatives in his class now. Manipulatives are usually the little blocks and shapes kids can use for learning math. On this site, they have a huge variety that extends beyond that. It can be used by students of all ages and of any skill level. Content: This site has a huge library of different manipulatives broken up by the age group that would most likely use them. They also have some information about the site and how it came about. I had no problem accessing any aspect of the website. Design: The site is really easy to use. The first thing visible when you open the site is a big grid breaking up the manipulatives by grade level and the sub-subject of math it deals with. All you need to do to access the manipulative you want is click on the square in the grid that it corresponds to and find exactly what you want on the big list. I think something that could improve the site would be to include a better discription of each different manipulative. While it is easy to navigate and well designed, I think the site could have been made more aesthetically pleasing.

This website contains virtual manipulatives for all grade levels in Numbers & Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, and Data Analysis & Probability. These virtual manipulatives help the student understand the formulas, principles, and concepts in mathematics and science.

This webside is the virtual museum located in Hiroshima with many specail exhibits online. Overview: This website is for people of all ages who are studying the effects of the Atomic Bombing on Hiroshima. It includes several special exhibits, including an exhibit on Sadako Sasaki, a famous young girl who died of leukemia from the bombing several years after. This is pretty much a virtual tour of the museum that is in Hiroshima, and is up to date. Content: The content of the site is not really defined. At the top is a welcome banner that says "Let's Look at the Special Exhibits". From here the students will have to brows the different exhibits to use the one that I want them using. There are no authors listed, or a copyright date. Finding the Sadako Exhibit is fairly easy. The links to the exhibits are all working and easy for students to use. There is a link to a list of contributors for this exhibit which is easy to find. Design: The color scheme of the website is a little dull. Once you get into the exhibit there are a lot of good photographs, the text is in bold and easy to read. Links to the displays are very clearly marked. The photographs are all clear.

Links to educational resources within (or about) Second Life and virtual worlds

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

This website is a great FREE resource for teachers, administrators, parents and students looking for ways to incorporate technology into their classrooms. The site not only provides lesson plans for teachers but ways to help students succeed and excel for administrators and parents as well as homework help, step by step math help and games for students! There are a lot of outside links to sites that are all easy to access and navigate which is great! The content of the site is great and has been very well organized. Discovery Education does offer upgrades to gain more access to resources, but the free resources available are enough to last any educator for weeks! All of the lessons are organized by grade and then content area as well which makes it really easy to find exactly what you are looking for. There are also tabs for contact information, privacy details and terms and use which are great resources for teachers to familiarize themselves with. I think older students, probably middle school aged or older could utilize this website a lot easier than younger students because of navigation design, but the site is still great for students. The step-by-step math helper is an awesome tool for students that are having difficulty with math homework and so is the homework helper because it allows students to meet virtually and help each other with their homework with the help of educators and tutors. The design of the site is geared more towards teachers or educators, but it is still highly interactive and is easy to navigate. There are a lot of links to outside sources and they are all current and easy to operate. It is also easy to read and understand all of the lesson plans presented as well as understand the overall goals of the Discovery Communications company. The entire purpose of the site is to acheive excellence in learning and that is obvious by the design of the site. I wouldn't let students just get on the site and try to find their own way aro

Deneé Chintala October 7, 2012 Overview The purpose of quibble.com is for someone to create a poll, survey, free response question and many other different questionnaires. This site would be helpful in a classroom by creating a different way of asking questions for students in fun interactive way. The audience could be for virtually anyone who wants answers to any question, it's a very open site. With it being free it is easily accessible and has links to make multiple forms and surveys. Content There is little to no information given on this site but that makes it so the instructor could form the information to the classroom. This website is for teachers to create something with their own content. The use of this site would be for the format of quizzes and surveys rather than looking for a place for students to completely interact with the site. The authors are not clearly stated and it doesn't seem to have a last updated date, but it is an interactive widget site so the information isn't crucial to be updated rather than the technology to be current. Design This site is easy to look through. It would be easiest for an instructor to post the url to the quiz or post it on their class website. It's a very user friendly tool when it comes to implementing it into classrooms.  All of the links are working efficiently but it is a heavily advertised based site which causes some distractions on the page. This makes it hard to focus on the main point of why we would be using this site.

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.

When looking for different techniques to use in a classroom setting, I came across a website called www.southernworlds2010.com. While viewing this web site, I first notice that there is not very much offered on the site and it has limited information. The target audience could be applied to as anyone that is involved in the Education system such as a student, parent, teacher etc. The basic concept behind this web page is to explain how virtual worlds can be used to reach children in their educational studies. Although this may sound like an interesting topic to read about, there is no Author given and therefore no information describing who wrote this. All that was provided was what the idea came form the Tasmanian Department of Education. There is also no sponsor given on this web page. This website was also only added a couple days prior to my finding.

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.

a. Overview: The first thing I noticed about this site is that it is a dot-com site. Even though this is the case there are virtually no advertisements. There is a section on the bottom of the page that you can subscribe to this site through RSS feed, google, my yahoo, my MSN, and my blogline. b. Content: The content of this site is very strait forward that this is a site for educational purposes for all ages and audiences. The "about" section contains the authors/owners of the site and why they built the site. There is contact information included. This site is dedicated to sharing knowledge to other teachers. The menu bar includes kids activities and lesson plans. There are no costs involved in this site so it is accessible and easy to use. The only problem is that the credentials of the authors is not listed anywhere which makes the site slightly untrustworthy. c. Design: I personally enjoyed visiting this site. The content was put together very well with the readings enjoyable. What I liked about this site is the homepage specifies that this is an educational site. The homepage is professional and inviting. Each menu bar is linked well to other resource pages for further explanation on the subjects. This was the first website so far that mentions home schooled students and the teachers.

Caroline Wittman (Virginia) January 31, 2011 Overview Ology is a fun website that allows children to collect virtual trading cards and use them to make online projects as they learn about different science topics. The list of topics is varied, including anthropology, archeology, astronomy, biodiversity, the brain, climate change, earth science, genetics, marine biology, paleontology, water, and zoology. Each area presents a plethora of interactive applications for children to explore: games, animations, quizzes, and suggestions and guidance for completing simple offline science investigations and experiments. There are also book lists and other helpful internet sources that can be consulted for further information. Content Ology is sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History. Accordingly, information was accurate and up-to-date. It was also well organized and communicated on a level that elementary school age children can understand and relate to. Information is also in line with what is covered in the typical elementary school science curriculum. Although specific authors of articles are not usually listed, it is easy to find contact information for the sponsoring organization. Links to other internet resources were relevant and informative. Overall, the content of the site serves to ignite children's curiosity about the natural world. Design The Ology homepage, as well as its interactive applications, downloaded quickly. The overall design is appealing to elementary school children, incorporating lots bright colors and bold shapes. Navigation is simple, even for young children. The major areas of the site are located in an obvious place on the homepage. Information is easy to locate within each of these areas. Directions for games and other interactive content are very straightforward and explained clearly. Close inspection reveals that each detail of the site's design works toward enhancing children's learning.

Amanda Larsen 1/23/11 Overview: This is a website for cooks whether amateur or professional to find virtually any recipe. It could be used by children as young as middle school age up to the elderly. By creating a profile the user can collect recipes in their "recipe box" and also give reviews on other recipes that they have tried to help future users. Content: The content is immediately visible on the home page with images of tasty dishes. A search bar and tabs of different food subjects make for easy navigation and a quick search to just what the user is looking for. At times the site can be cluttered however, with different advertisements and links to many different sites. But, the links are relevant and useful for a cook. Design: The search bar and tabs prove to be most helpful in a quick and concise search. Because the users can create a profile, advise and reviews are helpful in picking recipes for the most successful cooking experience. The site is dynamic in that it provides information for healthy cooking, How-To cooking, holiday cooking, etc.

Rebekah Asay January 23, 2011 Overview: This website offers a 3D close-up-look of earth and the features on it. Content: This website is fun and interactive. It allows you to scour the globe and look at the features on it. It would be useful for a geology class in learning about geological features. Design: The design is easy to use and is fun. It is virtual and interactive.

Virtual manipulatives for mathematics

This is a virtual salmon dissection game. It is actually pretty good for being free. It offers a lot of interaction for students.