Joe Backstrom 10-21-2013 Mr. Gschwind's Math Classroom Overview: This website was allegedly designed by a teacher. Its purpose is to help both teachers and students increase their mathematical literacy by attempting to create a rewarding learning environment. It is broken down into what should be 4 main components; Middle School, High School, Classroom Technology, and Homework. Content: The Middle and High School links take the user to pages containing links to Mr. Gschwind's current Middle and High School classroom activities which students will find engaging and teachers may find intriguing. The Classroom Technology page contains several working links to great sites such as virtual manipulatives, geometer's sketchpad, and math games. Unfortunately, the Homework section is under construction. Design: The majority of this site was originally designed very well. However, it appears that many of the links have not been up kept. Luckily, this did not seem to be a problem on the Classroom Technology page. Also, no official author is cited nor is there any method of reaching the author to ask questions.
Math Games and Activities Overview: This site was created by Bonnie Adams, an independent elementary mathematics consultant. Its purpose is to sell educational material. It targets both teachers and parents of elementary students in hopes that they will buy the author's supplemental lesson material. This site is very misleading. Content: The content of this site is fairly misleading at first. The author presents the material as though it will be fair use educational material, but in reality it is a for profit site. It is website site full of resources, but one quickly realizes that none of these resources are free. Often single examples are all that one can find per age group in the introduction. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this site. Design: This site is designed very elegantly. It is very easy to navigate with a great table of contents on the right side of every page. The author's information is easy to find and there is full contact information if one had any questions. The design also does a good job of initially disguising the true capitalistic nature of this site.
Coolmath Overview: This was created in 1997 by Karen and Phil, two people who once hated math and now love it. It is a site totally based on encouraging the use of math games. The site has a goofy premise that engages children and makes them want to explore what games are available to them. Furthermore, it presents the material in several organizational patterns so that the information is readily available. Content: The content on this site is broken down both by subject and by grade level. There is also entire other portions targeting parents and teachers. The entire site is covered with links to math games, but the best part is that ALL of the links actually work. Also, there is a subsection that contains math lessons in case the situation calls for a little more structured education. Design: I have not seen a website that has been designed better than this one. The colors and overall theme make it extremely appealing for the entire audience. Plus, with so much content, it would be more than easy to get lost if the structure wasn't designed so perfectly.
Mr. Gschwind's Math Classroom
Overview:
This website was allegedly designed by a teacher. Its purpose is to help both teachers and students increase their mathematical literacy by attempting to create a rewarding learning environment. It is broken down into what should be 4 main components; Middle School, High School, Classroom Technology, and Homework.
Content:
The Middle and High School links take the user to pages containing links to Mr. Gschwind's current Middle and High School classroom activities which students will find engaging and teachers may find intriguing. The Classroom Technology page contains several working links to great sites such as virtual manipulatives, geometer's sketchpad, and math games. Unfortunately, the Homework section is under construction.
Design:
The majority of this site was originally designed very well. However, it appears that many of the links have not been up kept. Luckily, this did not seem to be a problem on the Classroom Technology page. Also, no official author is cited nor is there any method of reaching the author to ask questions.
Math Games and Activities
Overview:
This site was created by Bonnie Adams, an independent elementary mathematics consultant. Its purpose is to sell educational material. It targets both teachers and parents of elementary students in hopes that they will buy the author's supplemental lesson material. This site is very misleading.
Content:
The content of this site is fairly misleading at first. The author presents the material as though it will be fair use educational material, but in reality it is a for profit site. It is website site full of resources, but one quickly realizes that none of these resources are free. Often single examples are all that one can find per age group in the introduction. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this site.
Design:
This site is designed very elegantly. It is very easy to navigate with a great table of contents on the right side of every page. The author's information is easy to find and there is full contact information if one had any questions. The design also does a good job of initially disguising the true capitalistic nature of this site.
Coolmath
Overview:
This was created in 1997 by Karen and Phil, two people who once hated math and now love it. It is a site totally based on encouraging the use of math games. The site has a goofy premise that engages children and makes them want to explore what games are available to them. Furthermore, it presents the material in several organizational patterns so that the information is readily available.
Content:
The content on this site is broken down both by subject and by grade level. There is also entire other portions targeting parents and teachers. The entire site is covered with links to math games, but the best part is that ALL of the links actually work. Also, there is a subsection that contains math lessons in case the situation calls for a little more structured education.
Design:
I have not seen a website that has been designed better than this one. The colors and overall theme make it extremely appealing for the entire audience. Plus, with so much content, it would be more than easy to get lost if the structure wasn't designed so perfectly.