ITEC2360

Overview: I really like this website. I feel it offers a lot of information and there are ample lesson plans and ideas for activities to do when it comes to doing a unit on the Olympics. The design is eye catching and easy to follow. The content if very worthwhile and the lesson plans are written by teachers who have used them in their own classrooms and have submitted them to this site. All of the lesson plans range from 1997-2011 and vary with what is needed to be taught. I feel the website is well designed, very useful for future teacher's who need lesson plans related to the Olympics or other units, and provides significant information as a future teacher who needs ideas. Content: This website provides many lesson plans related to the Olympics that teachers have used in their own classrooms, and this website also provides other units and themes that future or present educators can use in classrooms of their own. When it comes to research, there isn't much offered for that because this site is for lesson plans and activities to use in education. However, while it may not be a good resource for research, I feel as an educator needing ideas and lesson plans this website would be great to use because there is such a variety in ideas for lesson plans. This website is for educators or anyone needing a project for children to use on the Olympics, and everything on it is easy to understand and easy to navigate as well. Design: The design of this website is very eye catching and easy to use. The site title is in bright colors and there is a table of contents to the left with all of the themes offered within the website. All of the information is clearly labeled and is offered for all grade levels as well. The information is significant to what is needed as long as lesson plans and activities are what the researcher is looking for. A basic format is used throughout the site where all of the lesson plans are provided on the page and links provide the actual lesson

Billie Slyman, 9/10/11 Purpose The purpose of this site is to give information about all types of weather. This site could be used by students, but in my opinion it is better for educators based on the content and design. This site was made by Nick Walker, who is a meteorologist for The Weather Channel and a member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. He has also written weather songs to educate children about weather. There is quite a bit of information on the site and many links to other sites, the majority of which work. My impression of the site is that it is a very knowledgeable and credible source for information about weather, and a good resource for teachers who want to study weather in their classrooms. Content There is a lot of information on this site. It is divided up into different chapters, with each chapter presenting a different type of weather ("Snow", "Air Pressure and Wind", & "Lightning and Thunder", for example). The chapter will give an explanation of what that particular type of weather is, how it is caused and tips for staying safe in that weather. At the end of each chapter there is a section of experiments or activities related to the weather and ideas to discuss. The level of the content is good for the adults the site is more geared towards. It is put in simple language that would be fairly easy to translate for elementary students, but it's in depth enough to give a good understanding. The activities suggested are interesting and relate well whatever weather type is being explained. Design This page's design is functional and easy to use, but it isn't very aesthetically pleasing. The homepage has a grey background and black test, with just a few small graphics by links. It looks pretty boring, not a site a student would want to look at for long. In the articles, there are some nice pictures, but everything still looks plain and not exciting. However, everything is c

Kathryn Slothower September 11, 2011 Overview: The purpose of this website is to help students with math problems that they do not know how to solve. There are different sections available to look through for the correct math subject. The website is easy to navigate through and can be very helpful for students or I could also see it being very helpful for teachers and parents. There are many resources for the students to use and help with math. Overall this website is a good website that could be very helpful.  Content: There is a lot of content found within this website. The main content found is all of the information to help find the answer to the math problems that they need help with. The only purpose of this website would be only to find the answers. There is no lesson on how to master the math skill. However the website does show you how they solved the problem with is very nice because then the viewer can really see how the problem is solved to use on other problems. I could see myself using this website for personal uses when I cannot figure out how to solve a math problem.  Design: The design of this website can be very confusing. Web Math is sponsored by Discovery Education so at first you see Discovery Education and the viewer does not know what to click on to receive help. There is an index at the top of the page that breaks the different levels of math up. This is a huge help for the viewer. Nothing on this website drawers viewers to the website to use it. 

This site provides several virtual manipulatives, lesson plans, and other resources for mathematics teachers. It also documents the NCTM standards

Kathryn Slothower September 11, 2011 Overview: This website has a very clear purpose to help and inform students and teachers about math. There is a very nice website as it very easy to navigate through the website. This website is for all age groups in math. The website is broken down nicely into different sections to find what you are looking for very fast and easy. Although students could use this I feel like the main purpose and audience is for teachers to make math fun and interesting for students. My overall impression of this website is very good.  Content: There is a lot of information available within this website. Between the information that the author placed in this website and the links that are found on the website it provides lots of useful information. The last revision date was not found, although the information seems to be up to date from my prior knowledge. The content meets the purpose of the website and is very organized to find.  Design: The design of this website is very appealing. There is not too much white spaces to make the website look plain but there also isn't too much color or activity to make the website too busy. When you are on the website it is very easy to determine where you are and what you are able to accomplish through this website. There is a very nice presentation of this information through this website. 

Mary Goetz 9/10/11 Overview: ¿? Don Quijote is a great resource to Spanish teachers. The site has games, dictionaries, lessons, and other Spanish language tools. The site is also affiliated with a company for Study Abroad trips, which students can utilize. Students can also use this site, and its resources, such as the word of the day, games, and interesting facts, to expand their knowledge of Spanish. Content: The content available on this site is relevant to teaching and practicing Spanish. The content is also presented in a professional manner that meets the needs and purposes of the content available on the site. There are many internal links to a variety of resources. Interesting facts such as the word of the day and jokes in Spanish are great tools to engage students in learning Spanish. There are also external links, one of them is to a Spanish dictionary, that are helpful to both students and teachers. Although the latest revision date is not provided on the site the site does appear up to date and updated frequently. The content of this site is well organized with a side tool bar and a site map to help make navigation easy. There is a wealth of information and resources on this site that is useful to both teachers and students. Design: The design of this site is attractive and works efficiently. The side tool bar on the site is a clear and fast navigation tool. It is easy to go through the site and find the resources needed. There is sufficient information that is clearly labeled. The internal and external links used are also functional and relevant. The use of graphics and media enhances the site and its content. The overall design of this site is attractive and functional.

Mary Goetz 9/10/11 Overview: Conjuguemos is a site that Spanish teachers can use for conjugation activities to have their students practice Spanish verb conjugations. This site can also be used for informal testing. For students the site is useful to practice conjugating verbs in Spanish. All of the verb tenses are present in the site and are categorized from the simpler conjugations to harder conjugations. Content: The content presented on Conjuguemos is relevant to conjugating Spanish verbs, as well as other languages. The content is present in a formal manner with the fun aspect of the learning games. The content available meets the needs of the site. The information is well organized with the tool bar on the side of the screen. The interactivity that the site provides increases the value of the site. There are not any external links present, but there is a myriad of internal links. The date of last revision is not available, but the site is updated frequently with teachers adding new games and activities. The information about the author is also not present, but there are multiple authors, including teachers, that created and create the site. Design: The design of Conjuguemos is attractive and it is clear what information is available on the site. The tool bar on the side is easy to navigate. The activities on conjugations are also easy to follow. The graphics are key to site and make a significant contribution to the site. There is sufficient information on the site because it contains all of the Spanish verb tenses, although there are not any external links. Overall the site is very useful in practicing the conjugation of Spanish verbs and the information is presented in a clear and fun manner.

Overview: Notes in Spanish is a great teaching tool so that students can listen to a variety of topics in Spanish at home or in school. There are different levels of podcasts ranging from beginner to advanced with many podcasts in each level. There are also packets available to purchase that help to comprehend and test your knowledge on the podcasts. Content: The content of Notes in Spanish is relevant to Spanish listening comprehension. The content is presented in a profession yet fun manner. The authors contact and background information is readily available. Both authors are qualified to present the podcasts because of their background with Spanish and fluency level. The site does not present the date last revised but new podcasts are added often. There are not any external links presented in the site but the site does provide sufficient information. Design: The design of Notes in Spanish is attractive and simple. The tool bar on the top of the screen makes for easy navigation. The site is simple and there are not too many links; there are no external links present. The use of multimedia makes a significant contribution to the site because the main information on the site is in the form of podcasts. The site is simple in its design but is effective in delivering quality information.

Mary Goetz 9/10/11 Overview: ESL Kids Lab is a great resource for teachers. The site provides lessons, handouts, flashcards and other teaching tools for ESL teachers. There are also links to games that ESL students can utilize to practice their English. The lessons are broken down into units and have worksheets, flashcards, and phonics that go along with each unit. The site also provides tips for teachers. Content: The content in ESL Kids Lab is relevant to teaching and learning English as a second language. The content is present in a clear manner and is well organized and easy to understand. There are many functioning external links that lead to other great resources for ESL. The internal links are also functioning and are easy to navigate the site with. There is not a revision date provided on the site but the content appears to be up to date and new information is added. The content of this site provides the information and resources necessary for ESL. Design: The design of ESL Kids Lab is attractive and colorful. The design is also functional and works well. It is easy to navigate the site and find the information needed. There are many internal and external links that are functional. The date of revision is not provided but the contact information for the site is provided. Overall the site is a fun and attractive side that efficiently provides the necessary information.

Lyle Wiley September 10, 2011 Overview: The About.com Shakespeare site is a resource site for educators and students dedicated to the Bard. The site is intended for educators and students and would mostly benefit the novice in all things Shakespeare education. The site contains many linked brief articles with Shakespeare information, historical background, lesson plans, teaching tips/ideas, and a frequently updated blog. While the site is housed in a template web page with few interactive media features and little eye appeal, it is well organized and certainly provides some useful information and ideas for educators needing a jump start in Shakespeare studies. Content: The basic content and intended audience for the website is easily discernable. Furthermore, the author of the content along with his credentials and contact information is readily available. The content of the site appears to be frequently updated and the author looks to at least post a blog entry monthly with new or updated site information. The information is well organized and easy to access and understand. While the site is relatively free of bias, there are a number of advertisements which often distort the flow of information but not severely. There are few external links (outside of About.com) on the website and no real media interactivity tied to the information. However, the information on the site looks to be accurate and certainly provides some good information and ideas for educational approaches to the works of Shakespeare. Design: While the homepage downloads quickly and the site navigation (complete with clear indexes of site content on the front page) is easily managed upon entry to the site, the immediate feel of the site is a naked template. This may not be eye catching, but the ease of information dissemination is handy. There is essentially no multimedia in play with this informational site, but the information communicated is worthwhile, succinct, and well organized.

Lyle Wiley September 10, 2011 Overview: Shakespeare Help is clearly a for-profit site focused on attracting educators which attempts to sell Shakespeare teaching resources on a front page. But this site contains many linked educational resources from other sites for 10 Shakespeare plays which include current links with lesson plans, texts, power points, and current research articles. The linked resources are the gem of this website. These appear to be frequently updated, relevant, and helpful resources for the teacher approaching a Shakespeare play. With that being said, Shakespeare Help itself has very little free original content to contribute on this site. Content: The bulk of the useful content on Shakespeare Help is found in the linked material to external resources. In many ways, the site works as a nicely organized list of helpful links for the educator approaching Shakespeare. This is helpful to notice, as the authorship information for the original content on the site (which is being marketed to sell) is not readily available to the reader. This puts into doubt the reliability of content, but as the mass of the free useful content is external, this does not make the website unusable for educators. The site is updated frequently and many of the links would definitely be helpful for Shakespeare educators. Design: The relatively simple design of the site is easily navigated even if it is not extremely eye catching. The website loads speedily and follows simple indexed lists for informative links to be found. The frequently updated links all appear to be live and are extremely useful for teaching purposes. There is very little original site content available for free, but the available information is well organized and easy to locate. There is little media content on the site, but there are some nice external links to some quality media content. Essentially, Shakespeare Help works well as an external links site for teaching resources.

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to give teacher resources such as lesson plans for special education from early childhood all the way to grade 12. The intended audience is for special education teachers. There are many resources such as discussion forums, teaching themes, and things to print out for students. Overall, my impression of the site was good and I think it could be useful to teachers. Content: This website had a lot of strengths for the content of it. It was simple to navigate and to see what was available. It also had the information providers listed at the bottom of the website. The information quality was also very good. As for weaknesses, I found a link that did not work, and I could not find the date of the last revision of the website. Design: The design of this website was pretty good overall. It was not very attractive, but it was pretty easy to navigate. You could choose which grade level you wanted to read about and go right to it. As for the weaknesses, I am not sure how up-to-date this website is because I could not find the date of last revision, and I also found a link that did not work.

Overview This site is for children to learn. It is for a younger age probably around the 3rd or 4th grade level. All the links work, but some of the videos and games take a while to upload. They could be uploading slow because of my internet access, however. It is a very fun and energetic site for kids to look through and learn and play games all at the same time. I think kids would really enjoy exploring and learning through internet, therefore this site would be a good one for them. Teachers could use this form of technology to teach. Content There is a lot of different types of content on this site. There is everything from biology to history to spelling. With so much different information and topics kids could take a lot from this website. It is a multipurpose website that is fun for the student, but also a learning purpose as well. The links all work and go to the correct page. My favorite part of this website is all the different games to be played in the different subjects. Kids can have fun while learning because of the great areas of information and learning there is to be done on this site. Design The design of this site is okay. It is pretty well organized which is helpful for children, although these days kids know more about technology than their elders. I believe students could navigate through the site pretty easily and would love to explore the various activities and pages. Having the pictures is very good for students as well because of how much visuals have become a part of learning in society. The design is not the best but it is eye catching and pretty well organized, and works.

Overview: Kid's Know It is a site with educational games. It does not seems like it would ve appealing to kids. The site seems to be intended for younger kids, but it is unclear. I think teachers would be more appreciative to the site than the actual students. Content: There seems to be a lot of different subject areas as well as games. The site however, does not specify what grade levels it is intended for. On the plus side, there is an 'About Us' section, information about the copyright, as well as a way to contact the operators of the site. It seems to be done in a professional manner. Design: The site is colorful and catches the eye. There are lots of games and many different categories. Each subject has a picture and a description of what the link contains. The initional picture you see when you first come to the site could be more appealing. The design overall is pretty good.

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide teachers with a lot of resources for kindergarten-aged children. There are a lot of activities with different subjects, and each activity is a link that takes you to a different website. There are a lot of available resources just because there are so many links. My overall impression of this website was that it was pretty cool, but a found a couple links that were too old or would not work, so it might not be reliable. Content: In evaluating the content, the strengths of this website are that it is easy to determine what this site is about and who provided the information. The information quality was good; it was easy to understand and it seems to be accurate. However, I did not find a sponsor for this website and the last revision was in December of 2009. As for further information, it provided links to other educational websites. Design: This website was not very attractive (it had no use of multimedia on the home page) but it was very easy to navigate. It was very clear what was offered in the site and it seemed to work the same with internet explorer as well as firefox. I would definitely visit this site for resources and information, but some of the material is outdated and I did find a couple links that did not work. As for further information, links to other useful websites were provided.

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide an easy online educational website to help with learning and provide teaching games. The fun games use technology to teach kids. The intended audience is for Pre-K to 8th graders, but you have to sign up to use everything on the site, so it is primary for parents at the beginning. I did not find any resources on this website; it just contained things from the website that I could see. The overall impression of the website was that it could be really fun and helpful, but the fact that you have to sign up made me want to find somewhere else to go to that would be easier to start using. Content: As for the content, it was easy to tell what kind of content was in the site and who it was intended for. The information quality was good- the purpose was clear, it was organized and easy to use, and it seemed pretty reliable. On the other hand, I could not find an author of the site as well as information about the author. There was a place to contact them, but I did not see any names about who was in charge or anything like that. Also, I did not see any links to other websites or sources, which could be a bad thing. Design: Everything was clearly identified and you could find where you wanted to go without much difficulty. There was a copyright date and everything seemed to be in working order. It seemed current and the same format is used throughout the site.