Group items tagged

Lauren John 1/31/2011 http://www.learn4good.com/kids/learning_spanish_online/free_lessons_for_children.htm Overview: Although the web design is not as well put together and eye catching as the first site I reviewed, it fared much better on the checklist than the first. The site is much more organized and user friendly to navigate, with working links and activities that don't require membership. They also are available for contact and do not require any downloads/installation of products to participate. It is fairly obvious what the site covers and the content available for free versus the products you can buy. This page is effective, efficient, and conducive to several learning styles. I would use this site in my classroom someday in the future. Content Summary The content of this page is clear and indexed well so that the user can very quickly navigate to their desired lesson and know exactly what they will be learning about. I was impressed that not only the information providers were clearly identified, but the currency and the quality of the site very obvious. They also had a variety of categories to learn about, which in a language site is very desirable. All the links worked correctly and were worthwhile to the learning taking place. It covered all the areas of the content checklist with ease. Design Summary: I was happier with this site than the first for several design reasons. First of all, the homepage that downloads is not only fast, but the only place you need to go. The first site had a homepage that then took you to another menu that asked for a download before taking you into the learning space. Although it doesn't have the same eye appeal, I knew what the content was and who the sponsors were with ease. They were also available for contact! The menus had clear pictures and labels to help the user navigate efficiently, and the directions to the learning games were clear and easy to follow. Everything seemed to be in its appropriate plac

Overall: The website that I chose for my good example was Mrs. Herbies Kindergarten Web site. This was a website for teachers to go to get help setting up their own websites. It had links to example pages with ideas of what would be helpful to parents to know what is going on with their kids' school day. I tihknk this is an example of a good educational website because it was organized well, it was bring and had relevant graphics. The website also showed that it was recently updated and had contact information in case of questions. Content: At first glance it is easy to determine basic content, you know that this is a teacher website creator by the graphics and titles. Both the author and sponsors are listed through titles and at the bottom. All of the links were up and running. They all were worthwhile examples of her work or links to email in case of help. Design: The website uploaded quick and efficiently in multiple browsers. It is colorful and really catches your eye even as it begins to download. As I mentioned copyright, sponsors, author and clear titles were all present. Information and links were easily directed through and were current, useful information. The same format was used throughout the whole site. Last date revised was listed as 2011.

This Web site is great because it allows you to create custom worksheets for several different subjects including math, science, social studies, foreign languages, and handwriting. You can also choose the grade level you wish to customize for--everything from pre-K through middle school.

Softschools.com provides free math worksheets and games and phonics worksheets and phonics games which includes counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division algebra, science, social studies, phonics, grammar for 1st grade, second grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade.

Nathan Wonnacott 9/9/11 Overview: The Smithsonian Institution web page is a way to allow people to access the galleries without visiting the museum and provides insightful ways to teach students as well. The target audience is parents, teachers, and even students. Some of its topics are history, science, art, and technology. I believe this site to be a very useful tool in educating. Content: The first impression of the Smithsonian webpage is a sense of variety. There are pictures of exhibits and links to others not depicted. It doesn't appear childish, but more for anyone interested in American history. Once I explored, I found that the links work successfully and are full of up to date information. The website does leave out links to other sites, which limits resources to the site alone. It also doesn't specify an author, leaving only the sponsor to be contacted. Design: The setup is both fast and easy with organized pull-down menus. The pictures and references to their exhibit are detailed, useful, and attention grabbing. Activities are also available, and help to locate new information. The pages are current, last revised on July 6, 2011. The site is effective and worth visiting.

An online text book for teachers

Ben's Guide to US Government Overview: The purpose of this site is to either help students k-12 learn about our government and its history or help a teacher use it as a learning tool. The obvious intended audience is parents, teachers or students. The site has links to the government's web pages because it is sponsored by the government itself, those links and pages have thorough information as well. Overall my impression was positive, I think the way it is set up and targeting a more vast audience is efficient. Content: From first glance it is obvious what the site is about and who it is intended for. There isn't a direct author, but a page sponsor who put it together and revised it, the Government printing office themselves. They provide a link to contact them as well. The site was updated in 2009 which is pretty current, not much has changed if at all with the government and its history in the past two years. The quality of all the information is outstanding, providing links to each grade level for information for them as well as teaching tools for teacher and parents. In order to learn a few different things it takes interacting by clicking through pages which enhances the use. Further information outside of the site is shared through links on a separate page. Design: The basic design of this site is directed towards kids with a cartoon image of Ben Franklin displaying the page for viewers. The page is clear and easy to navigate; everything seems to work correctly. This guide to US government is presented in a well organized way with plenty of information making it worth visiting again.

Elise Verley September 9, 2011 http://www.ecoliteracy.org/ Overview: This site is dedicated to schooling for sustainability, which they have branded "Smart by Nature". They offer resources to teachers to learn how to teach their students how to live sustainably. The site houses a series of essays, books, activities, lessons and resource listings to use as a basis for teaching students to live sustainably. They also offer seminars and workshops that educators may attend. This site is an excellent resource for a "Green" education Content: It was great to see a place where it was easy to find sources for Ecoliteracy. They offered resources in many different topics including: Climate change, health and nutrition, pollution, population and may others. It impressed me that they were interested in creating a relationship with educators to continue to offer them ongoing support. Design: The web design of this site is user friendly and easy to navigate. The top navigational menu made it easy to find the topic you were looking for. Then the sub-navigational menus allowed me to zoom in on essays and events on particular topics. The contact information was listed many places on the site, encouraging educators to interact with this growing community.

Billie Slyman, 9/11/11 Purpose The purpose of this site is to give students a resource to learn about weather and how it affects people. There is enough information to be useful, but it's not overwhelming. There aren't any links to outside sites, which is a drawback. However, I still think this is a valuable site because it has good information, interactive content, and is well designed for students to navigate. Content This site does a good job of achieving its purpose of providing information for students. While there is a good amount of information, it is put in simple language and organized in a way to make it easy for students to understand. Many of the sections have interactive multiple choice questions, where students can click on a button and a text box will pop up and tell them if they are correct. The content seems accurate to me, and the developers (the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, for example) seem qualified to present this information. Design This website has a very nice design. Everything looks interesting for students but is still well organized and not cluttered. It is easy to find the information you want and navigate around the site. Also, the information on each page is split up into sections and has lots of pictures interspersed, so it isn't a huge block of text that could be intimidating to students. The pictures and charts are all relevant and aid in understanding the information given.

Whitney Lindt Purpose: I think that the purpose of this website is to make a website available that teachers could send their younger students to. This website makes it a fun way for students to learn and it also gives them time on the computer which they need to move up in school. Overview: This site has great links that teachers can use in their classroom and with some direction could actually send their students to and students could probably easily navigate this sight. There are many activities for the children that would make learning fun and keep the younger students' interest while the teacher is teaching them how to navigate a computer or just about any subject because this website goes over almost every subject in some way. Content: The content of this site is very useful especially with the younger students in grade school because it is easy to navigate through and teachers would be able to tell their students where to go and the students would be able to do it themselves. The other thing that I really like about this website is it has links to sites that could help students learn and then it has sites that students could just go for fun such as coloring pages. All of the links off of the homepage of the website would serve great use in the classroom and just for parents to send their kids to without having to worry about the safety of the internet. Design: This site is easy to navigate because the table of contents is in alphabetical order. All of the links from the home page work extremely well and one can navigate through this site quickly.