ITEC2360

Overview: The purpose of this site is to serve as a professional development aid for teachers as well as a classroom tool. It covers all grade levels and all subjects which makes it useful for the whole school or a whole school district. Design: The design is kind of all over the place. There doesn't seem to be any unifying theme or color scheme. The home page is boring to look at and has too much coming at the viewer all at once. It was also difficult to figure out what the primary purpose of the site was. Content: The content is actually pretty good but the site is really more of an educational catalog rather than a free aid for individual teachers. This site then only becomes truly useful if a school pays for it. The "interactive" history section was dreadfully disappointing as there was nothing interactive about it. Overall I would not use this site in the future but it still has uses for some school systems.

Overview: This site is mainly for teachers to help improve their skills and knowledge and by providing information that is useful for them to view for free or purchase. Although this site can be helpful, I think it needs some additional work. It provides videos and workshops for teachers which can be beneficial. Content: The content is clear and easy to navigate although I had a little trouble finding the lessons for students or teachers. One problem I noticed was I couldn't find other links to web sites. The authors weren't clearly identified and there was no information on them. This site is also for others to use. There are lessons that students can learn from on their own at home. It covers Arts, Foreign Language, Literature and Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and History. Teachers and students of all ages can find lessons or material to learn from. Design: The design of the web site is good. The homepage is organized. Other than the homepage, I didn't notice many graphics; however, there are videos of workshops that teachers can view from their own home. The other pages could use more interesting graphics and this site needs to provide other links to other sites.

Good historical maps.

Perhaps a reflection of his eventful personal life, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni's art such as his Painted Arts depict figures in a forceful position and this is heightened by the colors that the artist use. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an artist during the High Renaissance period and he is often considered as the complete Renaissance man together with Leonardo da Vinci.

Ancient Egypt

This website provides background information and classified recipes of tapas.

The intended purpose of this website is to have students review their knowledge in organizing and representing data. Each part of the session includes problems that students can experiment with.

This website includes an activity to help students have a better understanding of how to formulate questions and gather data to answer the questions.

Melanie Lenhardt ITEC 2360 2/2/2012 Publications and More The purpose of this site is to teach people about special education and the things that go along with it. It has all of the basic information that you need to know about dealing with it as a parent or someone in their life and useful intervention strategies. This site also has different links to satisfy a variety of needs. I would say the intended audience is parents, but is also informative for anyone. I think that overall, this website is very well designed, easy to use, and very useful for my information needs. Content: I would say that most of this website was very well put together, but there were a few things that they could do to make the site a little better. The site didn't really have a specific author/authours to the site that was clearly identified. We don't really know who they are or any information on them, but we do know how to contact the people about the site. Design: The design of this site is also very well, but could also use a little changes to make it better. I didn't find any directions on how to navigate the site. It seemed self-explanatory though, so I'm not sure that it is necessary to have one or not. I also think that the website could use more videos and images to present information on special education and the things that go along with it. There is not a last revised portion that I saw on the website, the only thing I saw was the copyright date. Last revised is important, and could definitely use that on the site.

Melanie Lenhardt ITEC 2360 2/2/2012 The World's Leading Website on Learning Disabilities and ADHD The purpose of this site is to give information to a variety of different people on learning disabilities and ADHD. It has a section for educators, a section for parents, and a section for kids. It is aimed towards all different people who may need resources on dyslexia for example, or many other disabilities. It also talks about the basics of these disabilities and how to get help from experts and so much more. Overall, I thought this site was very informative and the design of it was good. Content: The content of this website wasn't bad at all, but could use a little critiquing. The main thing that I noticed was the purpose of the site wasn't completely clear. The title didn't really explain much of what you would find on the site. You have to read more into the site in order to tell what the purpose was. It also doesn't have a last revised section anywhere. We don't know how recent the website was updated. Design: The design of this website was also good, but could use a little more color. The first page was eye catching, but the rest of the site is mostly white. Also, it doesn't talk about directions to the site which could be useful for some. Although, the site is very easy to maneuver through.

Design Evaluation: When a viewer arrives at this site they are greeted by a well-organized and appealing homepage. You can clearly tell what site you are on. The topics on this site are organized in a table of contents. A viewer can easily navigate through the site and the pages load easily. The sponsor and copyright are easy to locate. The same basic format is followed throughout the pages. The information appears to be updated regularly. The information and links on this site are relevant and worthwhile. Content Evaluation: When a viewer arrives at the site they can quickly determine the audience and purpose of this site; the audience includes teachers and parents of children with learning disabilities and the purpose of the site is informational. The information on this site includes basic facts about learning disabilities, links to financial assistance resources, and news about learning disabilities. All the information seems up date and accurate. This site gives information about the authors featured and lists of valuable links that viewers may find interesting. The content of this site is extremely relevant and meets the needs of visitors. Overview: LD.org is intended for teachers and parents of the children with disabilities. This site provides viewers with a wide range of resources including grants for education and the basic facts about learning disabilities. In my opinion this site is a wonderful resource. I can see referring this site to parents who need financial assistance for the children as well as using this site as a resource and guide to making lesson plans or filling out an IEP. This site has relevant information and links. I would strongly recommend this site to others.

Samantha Snethen- Feb. 5, 2012 Overview: This particular site offers lessons for elementary school students on geography and geology. The site offers no links to other related websites and overall had a poor general design and layout. The lessons were very short and did not differentiate the material for different grade levels. The site seems like a good idea but does not offer enough for users. Content: The site did not list any authors or sponsors or any contact information for users to ask questions. The site also did not give a last revision date so it is impossible to tell how up-to-date all the information is. The information was organized into chapters on the different subjects of geography or geology; these chapters were easy to navigate but contained very little information in each. The site is also missing links to related websites. Design: The site lacks appeal visually and all of the graphics provided for each chapter do not make any significant contribution. It also does not provide directions for navigating or using the site. However, the information was organized and is easy to navigate. The worst part of the design are the large, distracting advertisements for other websites that are placed inconveniently in the middle of the page for each section of each chapter.

Stephanie Mecca 2/5/12 Overview: The purpose of this site is to help students learn about the Renaissance in a fun and interactive way. The graphics and navigation tools are fun and interesting. The intro to the site is very fun and intriguing. The site includes a lot of information about the people, places, and art of the time. The interactive questionnaires are fun and keep the viewers interested. There are two working links to different websites that serve as other resources, one of which is the Allentown Art Museum which created the website. The intended audience is both students and teachers. Though the site is mostly for students to interact with, there is a tab for teachers which helps with lesson plans. Content: Although the content is easily determined and the quality is good, there is a problem with some links. Mostly the links about the authors of the site and the contact information are not working and one pop-up says "under construction". There isn't any place that lets the viewer know when the site was last updated either. The site is very interactive though and keeps the viewers interest and the interactive traits keeps increases the value of the site. The one good thing about the information about the authors is that the link to the Allentown Art Museum is working, so you can look about background information about the website there is needed. Design: The biggest problem with the websites design is the broken pop-ups that contain all of the information about the website authors and the contact information. There aren't any direction to using the site but those are not need very much, since the site is pretty user -friendly. The graphics and animations are what make the site interesting. The reanimated artwork that talks and makes sounds helps make the site more interactive and entertaining. The currency information is not working but the external link to the Allentown Art Museum is working. The overall presentation of the site is

David D Castle 2/7/12 Overview: The site provides access to worksheets, lesson ideas, and other classroom activities, but requires yearly subscription. There are links to other educational websites (some free), Facebook, and Twitter. School subject pictures immediately grab your attention and provide links to worksheets, but without being a member it always brings up a "join now" page. Content: The content presented on TeachFuzz would be very useful for elementary teachers because it provides not just worksheets but lesson ideas, calendars, themes, and other miscellaneous activities. The links to other sites work well, but none of the links within the site are available without subscription. There is both a toolbar of subjects near the top of the page and a set of large graphics depicting the subjects. Design: The site seems well-designed and easy to navigate. The icons are large and clear, leaving little room for confusion. The site isn't cluttered with advertisements and links to tons of other sites which is nice. This site also has a custom search box in the middle of the screen provided by Google, which would be very convenient when looking for a specific worksheet or assignment.

David D Castle 2/7/12 Overview: The site consists of a huge list of links to other sites that provide lesson plans, activities, resources, museums and exhibits. The intended audience is teachers, and most of the links are for Spanish and French classes. The site doesn't seem very professional, and is takes time to navigate. There are only three main categories of links, but every entry is just listed in alphabetical order. Content: Most of the links don't work, and there's no information concerning copyright, dates of revision, how to contact the creator, or if the site is commercial or solely informational. The categories are very broad, and it's hard to find a refined or precise link for what a teacher might need. Because most of the links are broadly named and described, it's difficult to find anything precise. This site is not worthwhile. Design: The site loads properly, but nearly all of the links are dead ends. There aren't any graphic or audio files, and because the homepage has so many links it's unappealing and difficult to use. Because the links don't work, there isn't sufficient information to make the site worth visiting. There's no date of revision or copyright information, and there's no way of knowing where the information came from. I'm no expert on web design, but this seems pretty terrible.

Overview: This site is clearly for students K-8 as well as teachers and parents. It is a site about the weather that is benefical to students, teachers, and parents. Students can explore the weather, teachers can find lessons and experiments, and parents can help teach their kids at home. Content: It provides alot of information about the weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, clouds, rain and floods, thunderstorms, lightening, wind, etc. There are lesson plans, experiments, and science fair projects ideas for students and teachers. It provides a lot of useful and helpful information by the author. She is a meterologist. She also provides games, flashcards, and facts about weather safety for students to help them learn. Design: This web site looks like it was designed mainly for students. It's got lots of graphics and I think it would be appealing to them. Since it's for kids, it's easy to use and navigate through. It seems like a fun site that I think kids would enjoy.

This site is specifically centered around aquatic biomes.

This website is to be read by parents/guardians. It is full of nutritional information ranging from food safety to dealing with fussy eaters. The information found on this site should be put into place in the home and should be information parents/guardians take seriously.

Kevin McDougall 9/30/2012 Overview: The purpose of this website is to offer students an interactive and informative method of learning about Unites States Civics. The audience of this website is students enrolled in middle/high school civics courses in the United States. The resources of the site include links to multiple topics covering US civics (e.g. Separation of Powers, Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, etc…) and links to media and influence on civics as well. I was very impressed by this website. Within those topics mentioned above, there are links to games and Web Quests that students can use to enhance their learning. Also, the site is very easy to maneuver and its design is eye-catching. Content: The content of this website is informative and of high quality. All of the topics that are presented are listed right on the home page and links to other topics are clearly listed under the "About" tab. The quality of information was high. Within those topics, the Web Quests and games are effective in engaging student learning because they are interactive and appealing. Design: The design of this website was great. The graphics, font, and illustrations are effective in welcoming visitors to the website. The layout is well done; the main tabs are listed at the top of the page and the topics are easily found on the home page.

Best of History Web Sites

Overview: The purpose for exploring this website is to obtain resources to help students look at U.S. history more objectively. The audience that this website is aiming at is teachers of middle/high school U.S. history courses. The available resources of this website are various historical subjects ranging from colonization to the 21st century; and a vast library of U.S. historical themes (e.g. slavery, civil rights movements, etc...). This website does a great job of supplying sufficient information while presenting itself in an appealing way. There numerous links and PDF documents that relate to the specific content area being looked at. Its design is very appealing and is also well organized. It is easy and quick to find information on the website as well. Content: One of the best things that this website accomplishes is its coverage of topics from colonization to the 21st century. Each section has numerous PDF's and/or websites that teachers can use to help teach that content area. Information about the authors/sponsors are readily available under the "About" section. The thing that this website lacks, however, is the revision history; there is only a copyright year. Overall, the website achieves its purpose of giving teachers the tools to help students learn about U.S. history more objectively. Design: This website has a very appealing design to it. Not only does it look nice, but visitors know exactly where they are once the home page loads. The site has an effective layout; the audience only has to click a couple times to get to the information that they need. The downside to the design of the website is the use of multimedia. There is little to no use of graphics, audio, and/or video. The overall design, though, makes this website worth visiting again in the future.