ITEC2360

Chelsey Lynch 1/31/11 * Overview: The purpose of this site is to aid students in higher level math classes with problems they may be having and provide further resources. There is an extremely wide variety of available resources on this site. There is everything from enrichment lessons, games, puzzles, links for graphing paper, and overviews of any math content areas. This website contains a great deal of information, but it is not organized very well. At first glance this site looks like it could be very helpful, but once you spend fifteen minutes trying to find what you are looking for it seems a little useless. * Design: This website is attractive and has an interesting layout upon first glance, but after further examination is clearly not very user friendly. The material on this site is far too broad to all be in one site. There are several topics to select from and once you click on that it takes you to another page where you then have to make another selection to actually get where you want on the page. The copywriter date is current and visible, but there are too many advertisements on this page to focus on anything, much less, mathematics. * Content: The basic content of this site is noticeably math but I find the bullets to select from rather broad. Information about the author cannot be found on the website, though there is a link to e-mail them. This leads me to wonder if this information is relevant or even accurate. The sponsor of this site was also very difficult to locate. This site is meant to be useful for higher level math classes, such as high school classes, but I found the help links difficult to understand. This site does contain links to the right of the page for other math related sites. This links worked, and were much more efficient than this one.

I have used the website www.TheMathWebSite.com in my classroom for the past 6 years. By using the internet technology fully in the math classroom, teachers spend less time in preparation/marking drudgery and more time interacting and helping your students. It is intended to be used to assist math class instructions by providing typical examples and solutions to most high school level math topics. 1)  Begin with Bellwork. Choose some questions from a Quiz or Test Sheet, and give out to the class via paper, blackboard or projector.  Let students mark their own or each others. 2)  Give a Quiz on yesterday's topics for marking.  Students can mark their own, each others, or the teacher can mark.  Everyone can do the same quiz, or a different quiz via paper, blackboard, projector. 3) Present the Class Lesson  using examples from the Quiz or Test Sheets.  Show questions and solution steps on a projector or overhead. Present as many examples as needed. Click on the question and the solution steps appear or disappear. OR Present the Class Lesson  via the Lessonboard using the mouse drag & drop method. The lesson can be created and presented line by line via projector/overhead or blackboard. OR Present the Class Lesson  via the Lesson Sheets. The Lesson Sheets only present one question or example at a time. Click on the question and the solution steps appear or disappear. Present as many different examples as needed. 4)  Give some Practice. Choose examples from the Quiz Sheets which allow immediate student checking of answers from the bottom of the sheets. Tests have answers that can be clicked out. 5)  Present a math Diversion such as a Puzzle, Activity, Game, or Enrichment topic to maintain their interest in math and to put some fun into the class. 6)  Assign the Homework. Show students the source of extra practice sheets on the website if they or their parents wish to get extra

Overview: This website is somewhat boring, though there is a lot of good information the site just doesn't keep a reader interested. It is a lot of paragraph like information that I don't think student will enjoy learning from. On the other side there is good information, and many different types of things to do. Design: The design is very traditional, and though they have colors, they are very dull and do not catch the readers attention. There are so many links that it is hard to get around the site and even go back to the homepage. Content: There is a lot of good content on the website and has many different things to do. There is color pages, games and information about our space system!

Overview: This website is very colorful, and has many eye catching links. It has different links for each one of the planets and gives a visual along with a description on the planets. It gives fun facts and has games to better understand the solar system. This is aimed toward younger students, most likely 3-4th graders. There are some tough words that younger students might not comprehend but all in all I really like this website. Design: The design of the website is very easy to access and has many links to get wherever you need to go. It's very colorful and fun and has animations of the planets that makes the website eye catching and grabs the user. Content: The website was very helpful with content. It shows many things about the planets as in how many days it takes to orbit the sun, the mass, volumes and temperatures each planet expierences. There is also a brief paragraph over what each planet means.

Hannah Streeter 2/1/2010 Overview- This website had great potential. Unfortunately, it falls short in my opinion. It's a spelling game, but its content is weak, and It doesn't do a lot to help improve or correct. Content- You open the website and come to an explanation page for the game, which honestly would be hard for anyone but a teacher to read if they were there to use the website. Once you start the game, there are five categories to choose from. when you open the topic, there are a bunch of pictures and a wheel of letters. you pick a word and try to spell it. If you get it right, they congratulate you, and you move on. If you get it wrong, the website only tells you you got it wrong. It doesn't do anything to correct you, or help you learn. I see this as a MASSIVE flaw. Design- There isn't much going on on the website. It is very simple. The pictures are clip art animation. I like the fact that the word is spoken, as well as the letters as you pick them. The letter wheel does this spin thing that seems cool but takes forever to load the letter you pick or find letters, due to the fact that it stops at the arrow, then doesn't reset so A is at the top, which is frustrating to me as an adult. There are no links to anything else, except the "contact us" button. So its kind of a cool idea, but it could definitely be instituted better.

Hannah Streeter 2/1/2011 Overview- This website is colorful and fun. It has lots of games based on literary skills driven toward elementary school students. Its a little silly, and easy to use. There is also a really great teacher/parent link on the home page. Content- The content of this website is literary games with fun characters like monsters, animals, dwarfs, and other fun characters. The content is based on auditory explanations, uses simple words to explain the games, and then expounds into more complex concepts to help teach things like Poetry and the alphabet, depending on which category you pick from. The games are super fun, even for a big kid like me. Design- The design is bright and colorful. The games load quickly and the sound is clear. There are many different games and animations for all elementary grades. there are links to the home page, and other games to play and learn from. All in all, a really great site!

Literary Learning

Overview: This is a learning website for young sutdents. When visiting this website they can play games and learn at the same time. Gudli has lots of puzzles that you can complete and other games. You have to sign in so that is a little bit of a hassle. Design: Gudli has lost of bright colors. The website makes it easy to access games for the young students. There are cool looking cartoons that will interest the students. Content: This website is lacking in content it only has material for students preschool-2nd grade. You have to creat an account so that is an extra hassle the student cannot just go learn and play games. there is no authors or creaters of this site and there is no created date. This means it is not a very credible source. The games are not very fun to play compared to the other websites.

Lucas Sutton Feb. 1, 2010 Content: Upon entrance into Mathtv.com I am immediately drawn to the well developed table of content on the side along with links to "Contact Us", a "FAQ", and a "Terms and Conditions." The content is really well displayed on the page and is very easy to navigate. Although each subject and problem includes a tutors name, there is limited information on each of the tutors. The use of video tutoring is very prominent with the web page. The information looks very accurate and is well explained. Design: The design of Mathtv.com is very streamlined but very in depth. Although very simple, the page does a good job of categorizing the available information and displaying it. The use of multimedia is very prominent using video lectures as a way to help students understand the subject. All of the information included on the page looks to be up to date and all of the links work properly. Overview: Mathtv.com is a good website overall for help on math. The website covers many different levels of math and explains all of its information very well. The video lectures are a great way to visualize the content and really give the user a one-on-one approach to the subject. Overall, I would be very comfortable recommending this site to anybody needing help with higher levels of math.

Seth Orndorff February 1, 2011 Bad site review Overview This site claims to have cool math, but fails to offer anything that can be considered as beneficial to students working on math. This site did more distracting than helping. The cool math games that are a part of the site do not teach any applicable math skills to kids. This site should not be used in an educational setting. There is no separation of skills and grade levels which means that it is difficult to assign certain activities to certain aged kids. The site is also very limited. Once a game is beat, it is beat and that is it. There are no further applications of what the student was supposed to learn. The site also lacks encouragement. Kids cannot see past results and compare them with new scores to see their improvement. The site is also extremely slow and has advertisements all along the side which do not help students with math. Content Evaluation The content of this website is very poor. When the page is first opened, it looks like a typical game page that is not educational. The name of the site, "cool math" is very deceiving. This site also lacks sufficient information on who created the site and whether or not they have any credentials. The date that the site was last revised is unknown to me. I could not find a date that it had been revised last. The information that it does have has very poor quality. Although it claims to be a math site, it is more of a game site where the games teach more problem solving skills than actual math. This may seem beneficial at first, but each game only has about ten levels. This means that after just a little while, the games are beat on memory rather than figuring out new ways to solve the problem. There is no further information that would lead a student to get more help on math. Design Evaluation The design of this site is just as poor as the content. The page takes a long time to load, and once it is loaded, there is no appeal to the h

Kara Mitchell 1 February 2011 This website is lacking in bright colors and animations, because it is intended for an older audience such as high school students. This site looks into world history as well as history of children, women, the French Revolution as well as a few other specific areas of history. The site provides a wide array of information that could potentially be overwhelming. When choosing one site from the title page the student is then faced with another title page breaking down what the specific section includes. The site is easy to navigate as each sub title page is identical. Content: In each sub section is a listing of the sponsor or professor responsible for the information as well as the copyright and date. However the site is dated for 2006. History will not change because it has already happened but the site should be updated to show it is being maintained and not subject to falsification. The site loads quickly and efficiently, with no grammatical or spelling errors. However, there are no ads or links to other sites that may be beneficial or provide more evidence. Design: The site is easily maneuvered and there are no loopholes to finding information. Every page is the same format and there are no distractions. However, this would not be a good site for younger children because it lacks colors and animations. At the same time, no distractions are available to hinder work. Overview: I would use this website in my high school class because so much information is available. Primary sources are easily accessed as are reviews if a student needs clarification. There is no music or videos that I would find helpful however pictures and images of primary sources are at the students fingertips.

Lucas Sutton Feb. 1, 2010 Content: At the top of the website, the subtitle has the following to describe the site, "Created by the people. Can you help?." As a website reviewer this is a big red flag. All of the information on this site is user based and the site does not explain the information screening process. There is no contact information available on the site and there is no mention of anybody in charge of the web page. There are also no available content revision dates. The content is organized well in groups and subgroups. Overall, I would be tentative trusting any of the information on this website because of the unknown nature of the info, and if it is correct or not. Design: Upon arrival at the site algebra.com, you can tell it has been very undeveloped. It is covered in adds that are not related to the subject and many odd links at the bottom. To find the information the site makes available you must actively search through all of the links and other clutter on the site. The information although well labeled, is not very thorough and very hard to understand. Overview: Algebra.com is a user based site for help in pre-algebra through geometry and up to algebra II. The website includes many resources useful to a student having trouble with math. Overall, the home page, although very basic, gets its intended use out very well. But because of the clutter and ads on the home page, I would be very careful trusting any of the information on the page because of the unknown authors and lack of contacts on the site.

Kara Mitchell 1 February 2011 This website is intended for a young audience. This is evident thru the colors, animations and links. The purpose of the site is to explore areas of science, math, spelling and history. Following each link is a list of options for what the student wants to study or look into. Further down the page is a list of games the student can choose from to apply the knowledge read prior. It is simple to navigate, however I feel there are too many options for students giving the students opportunities to get off task. Content and Design: Based on content there is a good deal of information for each section. It is essentially an online textbook with pictures on each page. The content is correct as is spelling and grammar. There is a copyright and year easily accessible at the end of each page as well, making documentation very simple. As for the design, the site has a clear title page and an index of options. The site loads efficiently, quickly and is easy to navigate, as it has the same format on each page. In my opinion there are too many ads directly on the content page. Out of four ads only one is about the subject the others have no relation, or a relation that should not be included in a child's website. Overview: Overall, this website could be more interactive and child friendly. It is a bit word intensive and contains ads that should not be made available to children. There is a good bit of information that can prove very useful and if guided, through a web quest could be led to find the right information and learn more about the subject in the process. I would like there to be more videos or maybe music from the time period to help history really come to life.

Seth Orndorff February 1, 2011 Good site review Overview The website, ixl.com is a very useful tool when it comes to math education. The site is kid and parent friendly with effective teaching strategies. If a teacher were to use this site as part of their curriculum, their students would each have their own accounts that keep track of their progress in various math subjects. The site has math questions to answer from kindergarten through eighth grade with different topics in each grade. Students may be assigned to answer ten questions from a certain topic. They would be able to easily navigate the site and find the questions to answer. Once completed, the student receives a score and time which is recorded. It would be advantageous for a teacher to give a pretest on this site at the beginning of the week then give them another quiz on this site to see their improvement. I am very impressed with this site and would definitely recommend it to others and bookmark it. Content summary The content of this particular site would be very useful for my needs and is worth bookmarking. I have several reasons for giving the content of this site such a high review. At first look, it is easy to quickly determine the basic content of the site and the intended audience. The authors and creator of the material is clearly shown and easy to access. There is a tab that gives a full summary of the creators with contact information at the bottom of the page. This makes it extremely easy to get in touch with the authors of the site. The content and information has been revised and has a new copyright for 2011. Along with the outstanding first impression, information on the providers, and information currency, the site has incredible quality when it comes to the information and further information. The sites interactive math problems that include rewards for correct answers are highly motivating for any student doing math from kindergarten through eighth grade. I was also very

Jackson Miller 2/1/11 Overview My second site is an educational site designed solely for English teachers. It has a variety of English exercises that could potentially be used by English teachers in their classrooms. My overall view of this site is poor. It is very confusing to navigate, and the font with everything they use is much too small. It really advertises the University of Phoenix on its home page, which is cluttered and hard to understand. I would not recommend this site to English teachers. Content It is fairly had to navigate, as it is really just a bunch of random junk thrown onto one internet page. There is no author, date of revision, or reliable contact to be found on the page. The goal of this site is very unclear, as the titles to the suggested exercises and links make very little sense and many aren't even in English. Design It is not a well laid out site at all. The entire page is just a random mess. It has decent speed, but it links to too many other sites to be really effective. It is very hard to find what you may be looking for, and it just seems cluttered to me.

Keenan Zimmerman 2/1/2011 Review of: http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/ Overview: Busyteachercafe is a site designed to help K-6 teachers come up with ideas. There are printables, strategies, themes, email sections and a store where I'm not sure what exactly you can buy. Most of the sections have useful ideas a teacher can use. The website is very colorful and looks like it is geared more toward 1-3 graders rather than on up to 4th 5th and 6th grade. It is not a very good website both in content and design. It has potential but at the moment it is not a very good site. Content: The content of the website seems very useful but it is very limited. There are few actual lessons or printables in each section. If the website is brand new than in a couple months I might say the website is very good content wise but at the moment the content is rather poor, another strike because we have no idea how old the site or information within the site are. The author of the material is nowhere to be found and even the e-mail section gives no clues as to who you are writing to. Design: The design is the worst part of the website. Although it has easy directions and it is rather easy to find what you are looking for, the site is littered with adds which are annoying and the search option is horrible finding almost nothing on the site when I used it. The search in the store section doesn't seem to come up with anything and because everything on the site is free I'm not sure why a store even exists.