ITEC2360

Michelle Jacobsen 9/14/11 Overview- The purpose of this site is more for teachers rather than students. The teacher can get onto this website and type in the spelling words that the children are going to be tested over and can decide if they want to make it into a game, writing practice, or just for spelling practice. The teacher can either have the students get online and type in all of the spelling words or they can print out copies of the game or worksheet with the spelling words on it. There is also an option to become a "premium" member that allows you to have more options; you just need to make an account. Content- The content of this website is very helpful for an educator; my mom is a 5th grade teacher and uses this website quite often to help her students be able to have fun while learning how to become better spellers. The teacher can make a free online account and put in their spelling lists and the students can also log on and have access to the words. Design-The website design is definitely lacking in creativity, however it is extremely easy to navigate and figure out. It even has a video tutorial to help you figure out the site if you get confused. There are tabs for parents, students, and teachers. Overall I find this a really helpful website for elementary educators at any level!

Jennifer Durn January 24, 2010 Purdue Online Writing Lab - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ OVERVIEW The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a site designed to provide online writing resources for writers of all ages; from middle school through college and into adulthood. This site provides a variety of writing resources ranging from assistance with APA and MLA formatting, to tips for avoiding plagiarism and resume assistance. Overall, I found the site to be particularly user friendly and have utilized it when completing assignments in past courses. CONTENT The purpose and function of the Purdue OWL site is readily identifiable when the home page is accessed. Sources and authors are listed clearly and the content of the website is current and up-to-date. Resources are also available which highlight recent updates to the site and provide navigational tips for accessing information quickly and easily. Information presented in each section is relevant and easy to select what is important for the particular writing project. DESIGN Using Mozilla Firefox, I did not have any issues with navigating the Purdue OWL site. Recent updates and upgrades to the website have improved the visual appeal. Multimedia resources are not available on the site but given the subject matter, this is not surprising. One area where this site could use additional work is the lack of links to other websites outside of Purdue University's English Department.

Stetson Fancher Reviewed Aug. 31, 2010 Purpose The purpose of the Purdue Online Writing Lab is to help give information and references towards writing documents for school related projects. It is there to educate Purdue students and others about all kinds of references and sources to help make the writing process easier. They have everything from avoiding plagiarism and APA formatting style guide to exercises that might help you with your writing. This site is a great site to use for students as young as junior high, up on through graduate school. It does a great job of making difficult information accessible. Content This site has a full arsenal of information that it has to offer writers with many different kinds of goals. It also does a great job of organizing the information so that it is easily accessible to those who need it. It also keeps the references us up to date as possible. It keeps the most current style guides and even frequently produces podcasts to those who subscribe. It does not always show all of its references on the home page, but as you dig into information, then it becomes more available. The content that this site provides is one that can be applicable for many different writers.

Adam Matson 9-14-2011 Website Evaluations: 1) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ - Purdue Online Writing Lab Overview- This site is intended for the use by students (grades 7-12+) and teachers alike in regards to English writing styles, citations, etc. The site is developed by Purdue University and even allows students to turn written works in to be reviewed by university students and teachers to help correct and guide the writing process. It has a very complete overview of how to write well-rounded essays, letters, etc. and is easy to read and navigate. It covers areas such as MLA and APA formats along with how to cite sources both in-text and bibliographical forms. I would recommend it for anyone who has a question about a writing assignment. Content- The content of this site is extraordinarily helpful and easy to navigate. From the homepage you can easily discern that the main focus is education in English writing. All areas are labeled clearly and cover many sides of whatever subject you are on. It explains clearly every aspect, such as citing sources, and shows many examples, reviewing almost all instances the writer might run in to. Design- The design is fairly basic, as many educational sites are. It is not very interactive (meaning videos, sounds, games, etc.), but it very easy to navigate. Tabs and links are obvious and lead to such places as Contact Information. Links to other parts of the site are always colored differently and easy to discern. All links are easy to read and very specific, letting the user narrow down their intended search quickly and efficiently.

Word Reference.com is a language translation site that came highly recommended to me by my Spanish professor. Its sole purpose is to translate English words to and from Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Russian. Content: This is a free site and is a good recommendation for any language translations on the internet. One of its beneficial features is the online forum which helps dictate more traditional or slang words that may not be listed within the sites database as a dictionary. Design: The site is plain and simple. Its intended use is easily accessed and is at the top of the page. There are no flashing advertisements, however an offer is made about an application they provide for iPhone and iPod Touch. Other than that, the site provides a very usable layout with nothing to sidetrack its users from their intended goals. Attribution: The point of this site is to make crossing language boundaries easier. I would actively use this site with my students as a means for them to enhance and better understand a foreign language

Bridget Stein 9/14/11 Overview: This is an excellent source to use, not only for students but teachers as well especially when you are learning or teaching a foreign language. This site has verb conjugation, and many different language dictionaries available for your use. Content: Within this website, there are numerous resources available to use. There are language dictionaries ranging from Spanish all the way to Czech and Polish. Also available is the language forum, where you can search questions and have conversations with people about a question you have, or want to discuss a language with someone on the web. Design: This site has a very simple layout to it. It basically is a dictionary online, so it is very straightforward and easy to see where things are that you will need.

Great for incorporating History and Technology in the classroom

Amy Andreen 9-14-11 Overview: thwt.org is intended for the use of History and Social Studies Educators. It is a great resource for finding ways to incorporate technology and the various content areas in the classroom. There are various links to other sites as well as links to other pages within the site that would help Social Studies Teachers to devise lesson plans that incorporate technology. This site can also be used to help brainstorm for project assignments to use in the classroom. There are explanations as to why it is important to include certain aspects of technology in the classroom and what ways we as educators can utilize the resources we have. Content: The content on this site ranges from external sites for historical information to internal resources within the site to help in teaching with technology in the content area of history. There are videos, podcast, articles, chats, and many different ideas about how we can bring all the technology around us into a content area that many student find boring. Design: thwt.org has a very "sleek" design. It is very simple as far as design goes, but so easy to navigate. It was easy to find the tabs that I wanted. Also, the color scheme used wasn't overwhelming and made it even easier to travel around the site. The contacts page was so easy to find and very accessible with questions.

Overview: Math Goodies is a math website that can be used by both the teacher and the student. This website offers lessons and worksheets for the teacher. Games and homework help are provided for the students, making this website even more effective. This website is geared mostly towards grades 5-8 but can be utilized by anybody needing help in the math subjects offered.  Content: When first navigating to the homepage, you'll find lots of information. A downside to the homepage and the website all together is that there are a lot of advertisements. The author of the website is not clearly stated but there is a link to contact information at the top left of the homepage. At the top of the homepage there is a toolbar with links to all the resources offered through this website. The site is easy to navigate through. There is also a math forum on this website. Students age 13 and older are permitted to use this forum for homework help. This forum is effective when enforcing the importance that the students do the math problem on their own before they get help from the forum.  Design: The design of this website could be a bit livelier but overall, it isn't too bad. The advertisements could be a bit distracting to the viewer. The toolbar is helpful but if the links were a different color it would help the viewer to navigate better. They don't stand out against the rest of the content. After finding the toolbar and the links, they website is easy to navigate. 

Amy Andreen 9-14-11 Overview: This site is based out of the UK but it has great historical content. The greater part of the emphasis is on European history which is very interesting to look into. It will obviously have a bias that leans toward the British, but I find that to be beneficial in researching topics and content for the classroom. It's a site that would be useful to both Social Studies teachers as well as High School Students. Content: A wide variety of the site focuses on the historical events that took place on European soil. However, it is not limited to this. There are primary accounts from both World Wars as well as other events throughout history. There are podcasts that allow students and teachers alike to have a more interactive experience on the site. The list of topics within the site is almost endless. As far as content goes, this site is a great resource. Design: The Historical Associations' site is beautiful when it comes to content; however, I found the site very boring to look at. It isn't hard to navigate which is great, but in my opinion it lacks in inviting colors that should add interest to the viewers. There are many different tabs that allow one to explore the site very easily and enjoy all of the content offered. Once the researcher or viewer makes it past the layout, this site has fabulous material that can be very useful to teachers and their students.

John Ripley 9/13 Overview: This is a site produced by the Federal Reserve to promote financial literacy. It is aimed at providing information and activities to all age groups from kindergarten to adult. There are only two games/activities for the K-4 level and I didn't think that either one was especially good. There are several more games for kids at older age levels that are a little better. I still can't imagine kids getting excited about playing any of the games that I looked at though. The games/activities are only a small part of the site and I think that the real strength of the site lies in the information that it provides for a high school age audience that might be exposed to the information through a teacher in a classroom that could help interpret it. The educational value is more as an aid to a teacher in planning a lesson or relaying a concept rather than assigning the

Tyler Skinner, Aug 31 2010 The purpose of this website to to help give tips and ideas for history educators. From elementary to high school, this can be used for all different grade levels. Overview This website has all sorts of nifty tools. There are separate links for different education levels, helping instructors on what works best with each grade. Along with that, there are also videos on introductory subjects to help with lectures. Content Ranging from the Revolution to the Iraq War, Ancient times to the Present, there are all sorts of awesome tools to use in lectures. They help give more input and teaching techniques to make the lessons go more smoothly. Design The organization of this website is very clear. With links to the side for separate grade levels, its easy to locate what your looking for. Video clips and materials are right on the home page, and with a little click of the mouse information just bursts out everywhere. All in all, this website is a great resource to help out history teachers.

Amy Andreen 9-14-11 Overview: This site has great resources for those teaching history to elementary students all the way through high school students. There are activities, documents to review, lesson plans available to view, and picture to look at. It is a great resource to history and Social Studies Teachers to help with content and classroom ideas. Content: teachinghistory.org has an inexhaustible amount of resources available to the viewers. There is a section devoted to English Language Learners that I found to be extremely interesting and useful. There is also a section that allows you to ask questions to other teachers, historians, and digital historians. I also really like that it has areas of history that often go untouched and unexplored. Design: For the most part, this site was really easy to navigate. Everything was pretty well laid out. However, one issue I faced was that I wasn't always aware of where I was at within the site. This became slightly confusing at times. The information included was very important but not easily accessed. I did like that there were different areas for different topics like "Reviews", "Beyond the Textbook", a "Weekly History Quiz", and "National Resources".

Overview: S.O.S Mathematics is a free resource for math help for high school, college and adult math students. The website reviews all different math subjects ranging from Algebra to Differential Equations. You can also get help regarding specific topics rather than the subject as a whole. The website has more than 2,500 math pages that are easy- to- understand and helpful. This website also helps with test preparation and offers 'Cyberboard', which is a help forum used to ask specific math questions. Content: The homepage loads quickly but there is an advertisement pop-up along with an advertisement on the top of the homepage. Above the advertisement is a toolbar with links to each subject of math. There is a wide variety of subjects that are available to the student for help. There is a current copyright date on the website and the content appears up-to-date. At the bottom of the homepage is the company's contact information. When clicking on a subject, lists of sub-topics are included under that subject, which makes navigation on the webpage easier for the student. Design: The content of this webpage may be very helpful to students, but the design of the website is a bit bland and boring. The design does not look very up to date. The design of this website could potentially turn away a student looking for help at first glance because it's not appealing to the student. 

Lyle Wiley September 10, 2011 Overview: Shakespeare Online is an informative site focusing on Shakespeare's work, life, plays, and scholarship. The site seems most geared towards students of Shakespeare of all ages and Shakespearian scholars but contains a good many resources for the educator as well. This frequently updated site has a girth of articles to fill the Shakespeare friendly palate, including play summaries, current Shakespeare headlines, study questions, quizzes, and tips for studying Shakespeare. Shakespeare Online is a useful informative website that could benefit from more interactive media influence and external links, but the site exists as a useful educational resource nonetheless. Content: The content of Shakespeare Online is outstanding. It is easy to determine the purpose and organization of the site and the authorship of the site and contact information are readily available. The author seems qualified to present the information and, by all accounts, produces an ambitious amount of Shakespearian material which is updated frequently. While there are few external links, the information on the website is well organized and grand in scope. Design: While the general design of the website appears rather plain and primarily text based, the fast downloading homepage is well organized and indexed with numerous links (if a little crowded with text). It is very easy to find the website content and the authorship information as well. The frequently updated information on the website is excellent, yet the design could certainly be improved. There are few external links or media resources, both of which would help the interactivity of the site and its general appearance as well.

Tessa Kaufman Shakespeare Online Overview Shakespeare Online is a super useful website. Any teacher teaching Shakespeare should take the time to look at this site. It has useful everyday information such as the word of the week and quote of the week, which pertains to something from the Shakespearian age. There is also a proverb of the day which shows that the author updates the site daily. It has useful information for both students and teachers. I feel teachers can get ideas on how to teach the plays in a better way and also to teach students useful vocabulary. Students could utilize this site to get a better feel for Shakespeare. They can look over study guides and reading the plays online has explanatory notes at the bottom for better understanding. Content The amount of information within this site is amazing. The home page has many things that can be accessed that are useful. Every play and sonnet is in on this site with study guides available for some. There is a place for famous quotes. It explains the sources of the plays and where they originated. There is a biography, glossary, and even quizzes. Teachers could utilize the quizzes in class and maybe use them for a supplementary tool along with the in class paper quizzes. Design When the page first popped up I thought it was a little too cluttered with text. The text on the home page is organized and very easy to understand with the purple lines separating the text. The side clearly gives links to other pages that are useful. There is also a search bar for easy access of information. You can easily find the author and contact information. Besides the overload of text at first it is clearly easy to understand and navigate.

Regene DePiero 9/5/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide resources for math teachers.  It provides publications, teaching standards, and classroom resources.  It offers a long list of helpful tips for math teachers as well as project and lesson ideas. It is an easy to use site with a clean design layout and provides lots of relevant information. Content: The site offers complete, well organized, and easy to understand information.  Although lacking in any real interactive elements, it fulfills its intended purpose to serve as a comprehensive resource for math teachers.  The content seems to be updated frequently although no revision date could be seen aside from the copyright notice.  The sponsor of the site is clearly listed and links to other relevant sites and resources are provided.  Information appears to be accurate, although no specific author is credited. Design: The layout is simple and easy to navigate.  The table of contents is clearly listed to the left  and is accessible from any area on the site. A similar layout is used throughout the site and links are well organized.  Contact information is easy to find.  The site is lacking in multimedia elements but the links provided bring you to more interactive sites.  There is definitely enough information provided her that makes this site useful to any math teacher or future math teacher.

Trevor Santy Sept 14 2011 Overview: This site covers a multitude of subjects for varying grade levels. It is extremely user friendly and very easy to navigate. The main page has links going to each individual subject. An interesting feature about this site is that it can save a student's progress in their math activity with an interesting activity called the fun arcade. This site is also very presentable with almost no ads on it and nothing to really distract students while on the site. My overall opinion is that it would be great for teaching as it also gives you different age groups to organize it easier. Content: This site contains different activities for different age levels ranging from 6 to 17 and up. On top of that each activity is separated into specific subjects, such as math and science. Further still the sites age group areas make it easy to organize for your current class. With its easy to navigate frame this site is great for teachers. Design: This websites design is extremely user friendly. With tabs to each age group and then tabs to each subject within that this site makes it easy to get students to focus on a specific subject or activity. It also has links to the different subjects at the bottom of the page and the top making it easier to navigate.

Overview: This site was very informational. THere was plenty of instructional, educational tools invovledin this website. My overall impression was what one would have of NASA n general; awe. Content: This site was very good at backing up it's information and as far as I could tell, the information was all accurate. The author,sponsor, and contact person were provided. There were no comercial adds and all of the links directly pertained to the information on the site. Design: The page downloads fine. The layout and decorum of the site was very fitting for NASA> There was alot of links and information, but it was not cluttered. Navigatino around the site was clear cut and simple. There was alot of multimedia on the site that added to it's depth.

Overview: This site is informative. It covers a lot of subjects mostly dealing with the subject of English and including grammar and writing. The author is clearly identified and, after searching online about the author, I've determined that the author is exclusive to this site. The site is sort of in a blog format, but organized well enough to maneuver freely without hesitation. The sponsor is clearly displayed on the site and thought the contact information is not readily available, there is access to a contact by email. Content: The content is highly informational and accurate. The author updates the site every day, with new posts and updates for his existing revisions and writings. The material is appropriate for high school students and college level students as well. There are few to no external links displayed, for the reason of exclusivity. The site is well organized which makes it easy to find something specific you are looking for. The information is consistent with similar information in other sources and the grammar and spelling are correct. Design: the page downloads efficiently. Although the author has not made the site flashy or outright colorful, he makes up for it in content. Directions to the site are easy and clear to understand. The categories are visible on the home page and can be easily maneuvered. There are few graphics displayed on the website, but then this site is not geared towards elementary schools. The design is basic and useful. The same basic format is consistent through the full site which makes the information easier to find.

Overview: This site is a good study tool and teacher resource. The audience ranges from kindergarten to eighth grade and is loaded with credible information in all its subjects. This site can be quickly identified and the age range for the site can be easily determined. The author is clearly identified and information on the author is available. The content is updated frequently and all pertains to the original purpose of the site. Content: The content is well organized and the information in the site is easy to understand. The content is free of bias and provides interactivity throughout the various subjects. The content is updated frequently and is accurate. Grammar and spelling are correct and the information is consistent with similar information found in other sources. Design: The homepage downloads effectively. The user can verify that the site is what it is, a study help site geared towards students. There is an index and a site map, as well as the copyright date established at the bottom of the home page. Each graphic and audio/video file serves its own purpose. The site is useable with more than one browser. Everything is clearly labeled and organized and is worth visiting.

Overview: This site is geared towards all age groups, from young children who can explore the web to parents and teachers who can read about how to teach the correct ways to handle money and how to budget and sort of money in any given case. The site is well organized and easy to maneuver through. The sponsor and author appear to be the same entity, and their logo appears on every page that comes up. Content: Of the content on the site, all facts displayed seem to be correct and the source supplying the information is credible. The sponsor and author are the same, which says the foundation knows what they are talking about. The activities available for children are helpful and informative, and range from savings, investing and compounding. For teenagers, the information is roughly the same and is equally important. The topics range from earning, saving, spending, owing, tracking, giving, investing, safeguarding and then some interactive activities. For parents, the topics range from investing in a child's future and retirement savings. Design: The site overall is eye catching and is not distracting. The colors are linked with the specific age range. The title of the site is decorative, and all the colors work well. Any pictures on the site relate to the subject and aren't overly exaggerated.

This site provides math worksheets that are designed to help students learn mathematics.

Aylin Márquez 14 September 2011 Overview: Superteacherworksheets.com provides a variety of mathematics; science and social studies; and reading and writing worksheets designed for teachers. The intended audience for the probability sheets is students from third to sixth grade. The site also provides teaching tools, fun activities, games, and downloadable electronic books. Content: The purpose of the site is informational. The content of this site is well organized and promotes interactivity between students. The intended audience for each internal links varies from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade students. The internal and external links work properly and are related to the students' needs. The site offers sufficient information that is designed to improve teachers' teaching techniques. Even though the information seems current, the site does not provide the latest revision date. Design: The homepage downloads efficiently, is attractive and has strong eye appeal. The user can navigate around the site easily. The worksheets are downloadable PDF files. Some include instructions; some do not. Each graphic on the worksheets serves a clear purpose. Lists of links are well organized and easy to use.

This website discusses the role of play in early childhood education

Kristin Gaines September 11, 2011 Overview- Overall, this is a very up to date and useful website. The purpose of this site is to learn about early childhood and what the research is telling us. The intended audience for this site is parents, teachers, and theorists who are interested in young children and how they develop. Content- The content of this site is very up to date and the information providers are credible as well. At a fist glance, you can tell what the basic content is and that it will be useful. Design- The design of this website is pleasing to the eye, although it is not a busy web page. The site has a clear table of contents and is extremely easy to navigate. There are many links associated with this site and they are all working and useful to the content of the site.

This is a poor website about early childhood education

Kristin Gaines September 11, 2011 Overview- The purpose of the site is to inform users of children's play in early childhood education. The intended audience is parents and teachers. There are no available resources for this site and all the sources used are very outdated. This is not a credible website and should not be used. Content- The content of this website is outdated by over 13 years. It has not been updated since it was originally created and there is no way to contact the author of the article on the website. The purpose of this website is not reached, because the content can't be used since it is old data and research that the information was based on. Design- The design of this site is about as poor as its content. The site is lacking about everything a site needs to be considered a website. The only content on the whole webpage is a very outdated article about children's play. There is no table of contents, sponsor, contact person, multimedia, or links. Nor has the site ever been updated. Overall, the design of this site is lacking in every aspect possible.