ITEC2360

Overview: The purpose of this website is to help both teachers and students learn a bit more about the Spanish language. You immediately know about the authors and their passion for teaching Spanish. The resources are useful and engaging. Its simple layout makes navigating the site a breeze. Content: There are no advertisements on this site which makes it feel authentic. It's nice to see the author's information right away because it creates the sense that they truly care about the information they have provided. All of the links work, although there is some downloading required for the power point presentations. The way the information is presented also makes their information look fun. All of the information provided is the authors' own. Design: The layout is simple and there aren't a lot of advertisements. The Table of Contents is divided up into sections, so teachers can easily find the information they are looking for as well as students. This design is easy for anyone to use.

Katie Hertel 1-24-2010 Overview: Funschool is a teaching tool that provides educational games ranging of content for pre-school through sixth grade students. It also has a resource section for teachers and parents to use that gives tips on how to educate children in an entertaining way. I found that it had many games relevant to learning but there are quite a few games that have no educational value at all which isn't necessarily a bad thing but not great either. I also probably wouldn't integrate this in with the teaching of future students but it wouldn't be harmful to a kids learning environment at home. Content: As I reviewed this website I found that it had a variety of games and activities that help teach but the content is so broad that it is easy to get sidetracked. It contains links that each have an educational topics such as Timewarp relating to historical events, Globerider as learning about different areas in the world, and Formula Fusion which helps enhance science and mathematical knowledge. All of these have relevant content related to learning for each grade Pre-K through sixth. The information that is being taught through the games is straightforward but not as entertaining as they appear to be. It would be easy to lose interest of the audience that it aims for as it is not very challenging. Design: Although many of the games were easy to navigate through, it may be hard for younger children to understand because of all the cluttered content. The ads were also overwhelming and distracting that have no relation to the site making it hard to concentrate on the content it is supposed to.

Overview: This Chronicle of higher education is a very useful website. Its purpose is to provide news and information on many topics and current events. It is accessible to anyone, but probably intended for educated adults. Content: This website contains a lot of information. Its content consists of that of a newspaper plus much more. It provides tabs for the homepage, which has many headings links articles, and video clips on current news and events. The Chronicle also contains several other tabs including news, opinion and ideas, facts and figures, topics, jobs, advice, forums, and events. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. The is avaliable information and the authors and researches for the different articles. The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date. The links also are easy to use and work properly. The information and content presented is not biased and achieves the intended purpose of informing and entertaining. Design: The chronicle of higher education is set up much like an online virtual newspaper. It has columns and headings like any ordinary newspaper but is also colorful and neatly organized to include many tabs and links. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention. The sites also provide copyright informational the provider is clearly identified. The links are clear and helpful and all the information including the photos videos and articles serve a clear purpose to the site.

Overview: This is a fun and entertaining website that suggests ideas for books you should read based on whatever you read last. It is a hit-and-miss. Its intended audience is for anyone who likes reading and would like suggestions. Content: This website contains over 65,000 and growing book suggestions and also allows you to register and build your own favorite list. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date. The links also are easy to use and work properly. Design: This website has a very simple design. It has a search bar in the middle of the page where you enter a title and author of the latest book you read. The search results come up with an easy and organized list of recommendations. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention.

Overview: This website is fun and informational providing many items on common questions and articles. There is an updated homepage with photos articles polls, quizzes, and videos. This site aims to explain everything from DNA coding to car transmission problems in simple articles and videos. This site's intended audience is for adults due to the article and links provided. Content: This website provides up to date headings and topics on anything and everything you may want to know. It has tabs for adventure, animals, auto, communication, computer, electronics, entertainment, food, geography, health, history, home and garden, money, people, and science. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. There is available information and the authors and researches for the different articles. The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date. The links also are easy to use and work properly. The information and content presented is not biased. All the articles also are valid and have an intended purpose to entertain or inform. Design: The design of howstuffworks.com is easy to use, organized and attractive. The homepage provides many interesting headings, photos, and videos. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention. The sites also provide copyright informational the provider is clearly identified. The links are clear and helpful and all the information including the photos videos and articles serve a clear purpose to the site.

Overview The first website that I evaluated was howstuffworks.com. This is an educational website aimed at all age groups that can answer questions about how many different things work. The website offers a variety of different resources. An example of the resources would be how the site teaches skills that everyone should have on topics such as money. Overall, I thought this website was great. It's easy to navigate, and offers many different types of educational materials. Content Not only is this website educational, but it is fun as well. You can come to the website to find out something serious, but you can also come to find out something that's entertaining and fun. The content of the website is easy to understand for any age. Things are explained simply so that you can actually learn at your own pace. It's also easy to find out about the website by clicking on the "about us" link at the bottom of the page. There you can find who sponsors the site and where the content comes from. Design The website is very easy to navigate through. As soon as you get to the homepage you are faced with many different tabs and also a search bar so you can find exactly what you are looking for. In addition to the tabs, there are resources such as videos and blogs that you can get access to through the site.

Overview: This websites main focus is to breakdown simple mechanics of almost anything from how a toaster works to economic policies of the year 2011. This is a source to explore the world around us and understand the things that we encounter and use daily, as well as providing a guide for users ion new endeavors into of learning. Concept: The classification of materials found within this writing is more vast than an encyclopedia. It includes multi-media and interaction presentations to gain the attention of the reader and create a better understanding. The material can become more complex and technical, but can be a resource for any researcher. I would recommend for teachers seeking to better explain concepts or to satisfy the curiosity of a learner. Design: Clean, simple, and precise. This website has a rather challenging searching process, but a pursuing researcher can use the search tool to peruses topics that coincides. The clean layout of the material and explanations make the learning process something to be a part of. As well as a social network application installed to share the knowledge of "how stuff works".

Overview: The National Geographic website is informational and entertaining it is Is full of startling photography and mind-expanding writing on space, the environment, animals, and even world music. Its purpose is to inform people on interesting news and events along with many entertaining stories and topics. Its intended audience is for anyone and everyone even a link for children. Content: There is so much content and information on this site. On the homepage there are top stories, videos, photos, and polls. There are tabs to photography, environment, travel, adventure, National Geographic TV, kids, and shop. There are also links to the magazine, news, animals, science, video, education, maps, games, music, blogs, movies, in the field, and a site index. When you access the site is easy to determine the content and intended audience. There is available information about the authors and researches for the different articles. The information is always constantly being updated and revised so nothing is out of date. The links also are easy to use and work properly. The information and content presented is not biased and achieves the intended purpose of informing and entertaining Design: The design of the National geographic website is very organized and easy to navigate through its many links of information. It is full of eye-catching photos and colorful links and tabs. It is easy to read and very understandable and accessible. The website downloads efficiently and the site is appealing and grabs tor attention. There is a site index and search box. The sites also provide copyright informational the provider is clearly identified. The links are clear and helpful and all the information including the photos videos and articles serve a clear purpose to the site.

This website is highly recommended in the world of educators. National Geographic is a well-known magazine. The purpose of the site is to make their information more accessible. When looking for an article for a science report this is a good site to go to. The audience for National Geographic is from 5-100; they have articles designed for young children but also sophisticated articles for a more mature audience. Also on this website if you wanted a hard copy of the magazine you could subscribe. My overall impression was very good. The content of the website is easy to maneuver around and find. Because National Geographic is a well-known magazine you know that the information presented is reliable and accurate. The website has access to games and videos to further explore the concepts.  As for design, it scores just as high as content. The homepage is appealing to look at and easy to use. When searching for a topic many articles come up giving many different perspectives one could choose from. The site has many colorful pictures that make your research more appealing to conduct.  Overall this website is very well designed and easy to use. 

Olivia Mabie -January 24, 2010 Content: This website contains lots of information for teachers and future teachers. The website has links at the top of the page that will help with putting together lesson plans, finding out what is current, etc. The classroom link at the top has other links attached inside that will help with putting together lesson plans in certain subjects and it also has a link for the different age groups, elementary, middle, and high school. Other teachers have put this together for other teachers to use; it is a great website with information that is very useful for future teachers and current teachers. Design: This site is not hard to find the things a teacher would be looking for on this website. It is very easy to navigate and find interesting things that could be used in a classroom. The website does not have a lot of distractions on it and there is information any teacher would want to know. Once the links were clicked on there were certain ones that had graphics but not all of them. Not having graphics on each page was good because it does not draw away from the content of the website. Overview: The purpose of this website is to make it easier for teachers to find lesson plans, units, and web resources in a fast and easy way with no ads or pop-ups. Teachers, parents, and even students can use this website to find information they need using the subject/grade level search, keyword search, or the extensive menus the site offers. This is an excellent site for any teachers and future teachers. The website has a ton of good information that will help any teacher out if he/she is stuck on finding something to do in the classroom.

Jaymes Talkington\nJanuary 24, 2010\nhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/about/white-house-101/\n\nContent\nThis site is full of information about the Whitehouse and all its former presidents. Both teachers and students can find a use for this site. Other information given on the site includes facts about how our government works, how the administration processes, and issues that are currently a problem in the Whitehouse. There shouldn't be any question of the authenticity of the information since it is a .gov site, although the authors are not named. The site is well organized to find what you need right away. \nDesign\nI didn't have any problems pulling up the site right away, and all the links seemed to be working. The homepage is easy to use and has a lot of different categories and news on it. All of the videos are used to inform not to advertise anything. There is plenty of information on the site that makes it worth visiting. I wasn't able to find any dates on when the site was last revised. \nOverview\nThis is a good site to use when wanting information on the Whitehouse and how our government works. The website itself is easy to use and contains a lot of information. I would be comfortable using the information on a paper or for teaching history and government. \n

Mandy Schumacher 1-24-10 Overview: creativewritingprompts.com is a website that is intended to provide teachers and students with hundreds of different writing ideas. There are over 300 prompts on the site and all of them are easily accessible. This site can be a very useful tool for educators, or anyone who enjoys writing. Content: This website is targeted at anyone who is interested in writing. Creativewriting.com provides the user with 346 different writing prompts. The prompts can be used to create poems, stories, or other creative works. The purpose of this site is not purely informational however; this particular website is also a commercial site. Along the side of the page there are ads promoting online courses, a journaling kit, other books, and there is a list of "sister websites" displayed on the bottom. Copyright and information about the author is easily accessible on the bottom of the site as well. Design: The site quickly downloaded to the homepage. The homepage is really easy to navigate. There are numbers assigned to each prompt. All the user has to do is place the cursor over any of the numbers for the prompt to pop up in a text box. The ads along the side and bottom of the page serve as a distraction but overall the site is easy to navigate and well organized. There are also links at the bottom of the page

Katie Hertel 1-24-2010 Overview: SFS Kids Fun with Music is a website designed to educate children and adolescents about the fundamentals of music. It also provides a great way for people of all ages to hear, learn and have fun with music. Overall it has the accurate information needed and has valuable resources but it doesn't show where it is directly coming from making the accuracy and authority questionable. These resources help if the website is not working correctly along with system requirements in order for it to work effectively and efficiently. Content: The content of this website is supported as one of the best educational music sites out there but it has faults due to the system requirements that it has. In order for it to work the way it's supposed to the required content includes Flash and audio players and Quicktime VR. Although downloading these takes time away from the learning it's quick and easy to do. It includes the kinds of instruments in an orchestra and a music lab full of fun facts and definitions of things related with music. Most of it was easily accessible and contained a lot of information but it didn't give credible information on where it was coming from. It also includes various symphonies that you can take children to enjoy great music and educate at the same time. All in all, the downsides of this included the required programs and not having credibility present. I also had trouble finding dates of publication which is definitely a disadvantage as well. Design: This site is somewhat visually attracting but it only takes up half of a webpage leaving the other side a solid yellow. It kind of takes away from the sites information that it can provide because of the little space used. While it has these faults, it also has good points to it visually due to no advertisements popping up randomly or on the side and is easy to navigate through. The headlines of the tabs easily show what that section is about and tidbits o

Mandy Schumacher 1-24-10 Overview: World Digital Library (www.wdl.org) is a very informational site that can be accessed by anyone. This site could be a very useful tool in the classroom. It is a huge collection of documents that teach about places from all around the world and from all different times in history. All of this information is presented in a well organized easy navigable way. Content: The purpose of this site is purely informational. Historical information from 8000 BC to 2010 AD is available on World Digital Library. The user can also pick anywhere on the globe that he/she wishes to learn more about. The information on this site seems to be legitimate and the sponsor is clearly represented at the bottom of the page. Further information about the site, help, and contact information is all included at links at the bottom of the page as well. This website is extremely useful and educational. Design: World Digital Library loaded very quickly and the homepage has very strong eye appeal. The user is able to choose which era they would like to learn more about. They can then choose any part of the world. Content can also be found by browsing a specific place, time, or topic. The user just has to click on which part of the world they wish to learn more about. This website is extremely easy to use and involves simple navigation.

Posted by Ashley Lyden on 1-23-09 Content Summary: This site had a very high content evaluation rank. It was easy to determine the basic content on the site right away. The information providers were clearly listed on the bottom of the page as well as the information currency. The links to other sites were all working properly and helpful information. The information quality for the site was effective and easy to understand. The information was free from bias and grammar and spelling errors. It was also well organized and the information was broken down to fit the correct subject topic. Design Summary: The site is well designed and downloads efficiently. It is very easy to travel through the site and isn't too busy you get lost on the site. There is a table of context that also makes it easy to navigate around. The content presentation was one of the best things about the site. The information was clear, organized, and labeled. There are no ads and other distractions post on the page. Overview: Kids' Health is a site to educate younger students on health topics. They provide information on a wide range of topics students might have questions on. The information is set up so it is easy for younger students to read and understand the point of the topic. It also presents its information as how real kids would think or what they would ask.

Content Summary: The site at first is a little hard to determine the basic content of the site unless you knew about the program before visiting the site. The sponsors for the site are clearly identified on the site and each one had a separate link for them. The site did no have posted anything on the information currency. However, the information on the site is talking about the program therefore; the information does not need to be updated as much. The site met all the information quality standards for the evaluation. The site was well organized and the purpose of the site was clear and easy to understand. Design Summary: The Growing Up Wild web site is very neat and fresh looking. The site and the links on the page downloaded efficiently. All of the text was well organized and easy to read. Navigating around on this site and moving form topic to topic was easy. The few graphics they displayed made a contribution to the site and was the right amount to attract the eye but not take away from the information. There was also availability of further information provided for those who want it. Overview: Growing Up Wild is a site that explains an early childhood education program. This site is for teachers or other educators. This program focuses on having students explore wildlife, nature and the world around them. It also has great activities for students to participate in and learn useful information. The site was very well designed, easy to use, and contained useful information.

a. Overview: The first thing to notice when is the title: "Teacher Planet, teaching resource for all". The next thing to catch your eye is all of the ads; they range from google to watchdog, the University of Pheonix to become a teacher online, with many, many more. At first glance I'm not too sure what this website is about. b. Content: This site is directed towards the teaching community. It offers lesson plans, the latest educational news, and financial education links along with links to specific teaching websites. This site has two main headers that contain all links to other resources with the bulk of the page being advertisements. The basic content of this site is a little sketchy for adults whom are not teachers. The articles are all up to date and posted in a reader/user friendly way. One nice thing about this site is the links to articles on how to teach in other languages and in the sciences. Although there does not seem to be many links to interactive media or graphics of any type. c. Design: The main design flaw to this site, or flaw altogether is the bulk of the page is filled with advertisements. The idea behind this website is obscured by all of the ads. It was slightly unclear what the purpose of this website is.

Kacee Von Krosigk 1-24-10 Content Web English Teacher is a way for teachers to learn new ideas to incorporate into the classroom. The viewers can follow this website on facebook.com or twitter.com. I believe this is a way to get teachers to discuss ideas for the classroom. Sharing ideas is a great way to use new and fun activities and projects in the classroom. There are also book report ideas, children's literature, mythology, poetry, speech, vocabulary, writing, and many other categories to choose from. Design The website doesn't seem to be very well made. There are a lot pop ups which become very off-putting and bothersome after awhile. There is a column on the left side which allows easy navigation from page to page. There is a Google Search on the bottom of the page. It is very distracting seeing all of the other ads. I wish this website would have a place where teachers or students could write other ideas to use in the classroom. There seems to be a lack of communication among anyone when there is definitely a need for it. Overview This website has a lot of creative writing prompts that I would love to use in my classroom. I think many teachers would be happy with this website because it has creative and new ideas for many different teachers and subjects. The content is easy to understand but it seems as if the page hasn't been undated in quite a while.

Casey Degabain January 24, 2010 Overview This site is appropriate for ages k-12 there is a sections for kids and teenagers the site is easy to navigate through everything is clearly labeled and easy to follow. The different sections are age appropriate and seems like a useful teaching tool Content In the teenage section there is different links that shows agro world which allows kids to see promising job opportunities in agriculture a science section that gives idea for science projects and help with science issues. There is also an issues links that show current events students opions on issues and facts. The kid's part has sciences projects as well ag-knowledge, farm & fun food, virtual tours and state ag facts. My impression of this site is good it has a lot of useful information that would really help students. The check list shows me that this site is worth book marking for future references. Design This site is designed well the kids section is age appropriate there are farm characters and games along with educational information. The same with the teen sections it has information that would help older kids with school work and projects and doesn't have games and would appeal more to older kids. The site is well designed and easy to use.

Content Summary: The content for this site was lower than the other sites I looked at. The authors name is not located on the site nor was the latest revision date. All of the links to other sites were currently working properly and were useful extra information that was helpful for the topic. The purpose of the site was clear right when you first looked at it. There is no grammar or spelling errors throughout all the information on the site. Design Summary: The Science Kids web site is full of information that was organized and easy to navigate around within the site. The home page was very busy but it was broken down in sections like, Projects, Lessons, Quizzes, Games and Experiments and Videos. They had graphics that fit the idea of the page and topic. The site was also easy to navigate around and had useful links on the page that downloaded efficiently. Overview: Science for Kids is a site that provides information about science and technology. The site can not only is used by kids but also by teachers and parents. The site was very well designed, easy to use, and contained useful information. It had a wide rang of useful information and had pictures to go with every subject fro visual learners.

Amanda Lamey January 24, 2010 Overview This website is directed towards people who enjoy cooking or need something to bring to a party. Or just for chili lovers. The purpose of this web page is to teach you how to cook any kind of chili listed. This site gives you options from vegetarian chili to chili dogs and Asian style chili. You have multiple options to choose from. They were posted on January 26, 2009 meaning it has been updated recently, to where chili hasn't changed drastically. Evaluation of Design The layout of this site was simple and straight forward. There weren't any photos of the recipes. There was only a date when the websites were posted under each recipe. There was no copyright date or author. This website is missing a lot of key factors. It has a title and recipes listed below it. I think it's too plain and too simple. It needs photos, an author, and a date of revision. On the left hand side it allowed you to click the type of chili you wanted. At the very top it had a few websites to pick from, but it wasn't just one click away. The first website wanted your phone number to allow you to continue on, the second one didn't load at all, even with pushing the refresh button. The third one only led you to another site where you could purchase a Crockpot or click another website to find a website with chili recipes. Content The content of this website seemed accurate and precise. It told you exactly what to do and informed you of the content. For example in the Texas Style Chili it said it uses chunks of beef and not ground beef. This site was very informative. The grammar and spelling were accurate, I didn't see any errors. The contact button was located at the top left highlighted in blue. The titles of each recipe were in a bigger font and were in bold. There wasn't a copyright date or author, just the date it was posted. This site had a button that would allow you to visit older entries, but it didn't work. This website had more

Olivia Mabie-January 24, 2010 Content: This website has suggestions for games, activities, and lesson plans used to encourage team building among elementary school students. There is a description of the website located near the top of the page, therefore if it does not match what the teacher is looking for then they do not have to waste their time on the website. There are hands on activities for parents and students and for teachers to use in the classroom to get the students to start working together. Once the links are clicked on there are many other interactive activities on those websites also. These links have many subjects incorporated within them, which is nice that the students get to work together and learn about the subjects at the same time. Design: There are no pop-ups or ads on this website which makes it very easy to navigate. One nice thing about this website is under each of the links there is a description about what will be on the website. If a teacher is in a hurry to find a link they are not wasting their time trying to figure out what is on the website. The layout of the website is very neat and organized. Who published the site, when it was published and last updated are all located at the bottom of the page and helps knowing they go through and get rid of the old information and websites which are located on the home page. Overview: This is a great site for teachers to use in order to get their students working together. I liked how this website stated at the bottom of the page that there have not been standard assigned for this source. This site has all the information that needs to be posted on the website such as, who the publisher is, who you can contact if you have any questions, and when it was revised, which means that they have gotten rid of any old information and sites.

Posted by Kelsey Potter on January 24, 2010 The web page was intended for students looking to pursue their education in the education field. Content: The web page loaded quickly and the audience is obvious to the reader. I could not find an author or any contact information to contact a source. Although the source of the website was very clear on each page. No information was given that the webpage had been updated frequently but each of the links was working appropriately. The purpose of the webpage was clear upon entering the site and each of the links was purposeful for the content of the site. The webpage was a little overwhelming with all of the links everywhere throughout the page and the information is also somewhat confusing. Although with all of the links there is a sufficient amount of information given on the webpage. The webpage is designed to fill in information to directed someone to a more specific topic which is a beneficial. None of the information on the webpage is bias, it is all given facts. The information is consistent and grammar is accurate. Design: Loading onto the webpage without very much color and a lot of words is not only overwhelming but is not as appealing to the eye. Although the information on the page is clear and there is several index to guide someone in the right direction. The sponsor is clearly identified but information on the sponsor and contact information were not identified. Copy right date was included on the webpage. Moving around the site was overpowering in that there were so many different links to click on and without directions was a confusing process. There were no graphic on the webpage which would have made the page more appealing. There is enough information on the site that makes visiting the site worthwhile but maybe almost too much on the first page. The same format was not used throughout the webpage making the page harder to read. Summary: Overall the webpage was overwhelming and confusing. T