ITEC2360

Jessica Chandler January 24th, 2011 *Overview: This is a website for students to practice different types of skills. There are different tabs to choose such as: History, Religion, Calculus, Biology, Algebra, and etc. These skills I found to be very useful and definitely help the students to have a better understanding of what is going on. Once the desired subject is selected, another list appears. This list shows the different topics that can be taught. Some are informational, while others are games. It is a simple and fast paced website to be using.: *Content: There are different subjects for a student to learn about through this website. I really liked this site because it was simple and clear. It made it much easier to deal with. The majority of the links are to assist student learning. It is demonstrated that students use this website to have fun, yet still learn through the selected subject. *Design: The design doesn't have much color besides brown and white. This isn't very amusing, and does not draw the readers' eye, but it is very helpful with the problems that one is having. The games are related to the certain topic and are educational. I feel that the design could be more attention seeking, but once this sight is discovered, the content should catch the eye.

Danie Thiel1-23-11 This web page is very organized and easy to fallow. The important information is in the center of the page with other related topics highlighted in blue at the bottom of the page. The page starts out with an introduction on how and why glaze is used in pottery. Then goes into composition, processes and, history of glaze.  From this page you will read about different types of glaze as well as glazing technique. This site gives a clear reasoning as to why glaze is so important in pottery. This page would be best directed towards high school students, because they would have a better understanding on how glaze works.  

Jessica Chandler January 24th, 2011 *Overview: This site is called Starfall. This website was designed to help students read. There are different categories to choose from such as ABCs, Learn to Read, It's Fun to Read, and I'm Reading. Each category has great contents once the recommended link is chosen. ABCs read the letter aloud that is chosen and shows word in which make the correct sound. Learn to Read contains different easy reads on line for the kids to read. It's fun to Read contains different types of reading such as tongue twisters, poetry, music, and etc. I'm Reading brings up a selection of books to read. This allows the students to choose what book sounds the best. If the child doesn't know a word, clicking on the word will read it out loud. There are many useful things to get out of this website for elementary and preschool kids, and for the teachers of that certain level. *Content: The content is very clear and prepared. It is easy for children to understand the concept of this website. It is easy to access everything to learn about reading. A child could participate in this designed website alone or with the parents. It has great content and is very beneficial for the younger students who cannot read. This website also makes reading fun! *Design: This website is fantastic! It helps the students love to read and demonstrates different patterns and the alphabet to the children. It is very colorful, but only the links are. Therefore, the content isn't hard to read. It is easy to find what you are looking for, and the site Is not overloaded with a bunch of information. It is quite eye catching and would be an excellent website for kids trying to learn how to read!

Whitney Reese Reviewed: 2/4/12 www.starfall.com Overview: The purpose of this website is to teach children to read with phonics. The intended audience for this website is children ranging from the prek grade levels to second grade. It includes many resources such as the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, tools to learn colors and numbers, short tales for beginner readers, several word and reading games, reading materials for more advanced readers including comics and plays, and many interactive educational games. It also has its own unique curriculum for teaching children to read. My overall impression of this site was very good. It was really easy to navigate and loaded quickly. It is very colorful and kid friendly. It also has great content for learning to read. Content: The content of this site is very clear and concise. It is organized in an orderly fashion, which makes finding where you want to go easy. The authors of this site are identified and are credible. The content of this site seems very up to date and serves as a great resource for teaching children phonics. The quality of information provided is very good and every aspect of the site seems to work properly.  Design: The design of this site is very attractive using bright colors and animated graphics. The homepage is set up easily so that kids are able to navigate but has links that adults can use to obtain site information as well. All multimedia aspects serve a clear purpose. Kids would love the design of this site. 

A free website to teach children to read with phonics. For preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. Exciting phonics games and online interactive books.

Sean Wilde January 2011 kids.yahoo.com Content At first look you defiantly can see this site if for kids, and that it is for entertainment. But as you explore the site you also learn that it is educational, and also can help the authors(which seems to be merely a company) make money. There seems to be many sponsors since it appears that multiple companies pop up at different and the same pages of the site. There is no readily available revision date, they must update frequently seeing as how well the site is ran. The desired affect is achieved in this site because even as an adult I found myself thoroughly entertained searching this site, with games and educational items throughout the site. All links and graphics worked and were smooth. Design For the amount of information that is on the homepage it loads very quickly. And with all the moving features and things that are jumping around it is attractive and really grabs your attention. You always know where you are in the site as links show you are switching and they correlate with the website. Its easy to move around and get to twhere youwant to go. The graphics and extra tidbits that are put on that come from different companies all coexist very well. Really the only downfall for this site would be, that it is very hard to get in contact with someone from the website that runs it where it isn't just a quick response email. Overview This site is a good everything a kid needs site. It has games and videos from kids shows and games that correlate to thos shows as well. It has research information for kids to learn educationally. This site is just very well rounded for kids that could really search for anything they want or need. That includes entertainment and educational.

Murphy Muirhead9-8-2011 OVERVIEW:  This Yahoo! Kids site is a great site for children to explore learning games, music jokes etc. and its all kid friendly! The intended audience of this site is kids age six through thirteen. Through this website kids have a variety of resources that are educational, fun and introduce them to great things to do on the internet, such as e-cards.   CONTENT: The content of this site is great for kids. It provides many educational learning opportunities for them. However, the author of this site, and the last revised date is not apparent.  DESIGN: The design of this site is very eye-catching and grabs the attention of the users. It is very organized and easy to use. In a way, all the content on the homepage could get a little overwhelming but for users who are familiar with the internet, this site should be easy for them to navigate through. 

Sean Wilde January 2011 http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html Content This site you can pretty quickly tell what its all about. And could tell that its audience was for kids. But it lacked personal authors and contact to the others. You can tell that is sponsored by the EPA to help kids become aware of the climate change around them. But it must of not been a big hit. The content if fairly accurate and the latest revision was almost three years ago. The site is well organized and the information has scientific back up so it is not biased. Most links worked to other sites but this site does need an overhaul to get back to be working. Design The site seems to be a little slow, and its slightly attractive but one becomes bored with the patterns it has throughout the site. It is fairly easy to navigate but it has become a dull website, probably because it just was not worth the difficulties it caused. All graphics seemed to work well but were at times slow, for a kid wanting to get quick easy information for a elementary research paper this site would be great. But this site really becomes ugly and is realized to be not well tended to in terms of what other sites have. Overview This site was probably great when it first came out, but it has ran its course. And I bet it gets used more then a bit becomes of some of the sites that link to it. Ultimately this site needs a redesign soon or someone else will take advantage of the oppurtunity (if one hasn't already) and get a better more "fun" site with same content and could make money for it leaving this site out in the cold. But as I said earlier, this site is good for the basic and bare minimum.

Overview: The purpose of this site is to help teacher and students. There is a lot of resources that can be used in this website. If I was a teacher I may use this website as a reward when a student got his or her work done early. I might also use this as an aid in teaching a subject. The content in this website may inspire children to learn more about a certain subject, but I would not use this as a sole teaching tool. Content: In This website there is useful information. If a teacher is stuck on a subject this website can direct the teacher to a helpful website about the certain subject. There is a section called Kid-Info that is designed to help a student with a subject. There are also suggested sites for videos, power-points and lesson plans. Design: The design of this website could be better. The contrast of the colors just doesn't seem very engaging or useful. The website looks dull and boring. However the information in this website is good, the design is lacking. Someone could update it and I feel it would help the legitimacy of the website.

Overview This site is designed to give the latest news on Hazardous chemicals and recycling. Content The content is detailed, offering teachers some of the latest information on classroom chemicals for lab work and general chemical safety information regarding care and disposal of chemicals. It also, offers educational material for professionals as well as some classroom lab options and suggestions. The site is worth bookmarking for future reference. Design The design looks professional. It is comfortable and clear to use and it's easy to read. The information is up-to-date. There are multiple resources for a visitor such as video clips. It works the same in multiple browsers. The information content is worthy of visit. Overall: It is very well designed and easy to use.

Overview This site offers a number of games for students to learn the human anatomy. Content The author appears qualified and the presenters of the site are easy to contact. The copyright is for 2008; however the material appears to be up-to-date and usable. There are links to add it to Facebook and other cloud sites. The information is educational and entertaining. The content and intention is clear. The only complaint I have, is that to use the boasted free games, one is subjected to ads. The ads are discussed in the content introduction and with purchase, games can be downloaded. The site is worth bookmarking for future reference. Design The website is attractive and though a bit cluttered, it is easy to navigate to the games. The games loaded easily and are simple to utilize. The use of multimedia is effective. I was able to find the site and use it, from multiple browsers. There are multiple game options that are broken down by physical system for easy adaption to a lesson plans. Overall: It is very well designed and easy to use.

Chris Riedl 1/23/11 Overview The purpose of theamericanrevolution.org is to provide an organized and easily accessible collection of links and information related to the American Revolution. Content The purpose and information on this site are very well organized and the tabs and links are very easy to use. Tabs related to battles, commanders, documents and a timeline are just a few of the numerous tools this sit uses. Design All pages and links open quickly and the site sponsor and copyright date are clearly visible. All information is clearly labeled and organized, and contact information is readily available.

Overview: This web site can be used by every average American citizen that wants to keep up with technology in our world today.

Overview: This is a great site for chemistry help. If you have any problems with chem then this is the place to go.

Overview: This web site is a great resource for the average American who wants to keep up with the US and also around the world.

Overview- This site is intended for older elementary students and well as 7th and 8th grade students. This site communicates civics in a very exciting way. There are selections and choices to pick from on the opening page. These choices range from categories such as quizzes, independence, the constitution, legislative, executive, and judicial braches and well as elections, and citizenship. Following your selection of the topic of your choice, one is given additional categories to explore. Content- I like this website because it is very simplistic, but very informative for educational purposes. It is clear and detailed. As an elementary or middle school child this type of website would be an excellent way of establishing ones first book report or learning about government. It is very easy to access all areas of the site. Design- The design is very colorful and eye catching.

Overall of Website This website is a great source for helping students learn in all different styles and with different subjects. It teaches you things from time management to studying to different ways you can prepare for tests. It also has a list of different languages that you can choose from so everybody can use it. The purpose of the website is to help students with schooling in many different ways. It is very organized and easy to find what you need help with. It's a great student help. Content of Website The information providers are pretty clear about who they are it is found at the bottom of the page and you can find out more about who they are. Information Currency is clear the last time the website was evaluated was 2011 by SGS annual report and the material seems correct. The information Quality of the sight is good you can tell the main purpose is to help students better understand schooling. The website is very well organized and the spelling is all correct. Further information is that all the information is appropriate and helpful. Design of Website The speed of the website is very fast it has a good speed. The website has a cool look to it and all the different languages are on the left side which makes the website interesting to look at along with pictures and ads on it. The tables of content really organizes the site very well. You can easily navigate through the website all the buttons and links work. Every link has a specific purpose and it describes what that is before you click on it. There is a lot of information on the website but its easy to get to and understand.

Overall of Website This website is used to help kids study by using online flashcards, hangman, and a bug chase. The audience this website is intended for are children who need help studying. There are many different subjects that can be studied and tests that you can study for using the games. The site has a good purpose but everything seems really cluttered together and it would be annoying trying to find the subject you want to study for because the website is not organized very well. Content Summary At the first look of this site it was clear what you could do and what the site was used for. It clearly states who the authors are and where you can find more information about them. There is contact information so you can ask more questions that can be answered by the site authors. The information is all up to date as of 2011. But the information is not updated frequently only every year. The quality of the information is good for studying and can help you but it seems hard to get to and many different links can be confusing. The information on the site is up to date and accurate. Design Summary The website loads fast and the links are all pretty fast to load. The main page of the website is cluttered and not well organized and the table of contents is not organized well. The copyright date is there and noticeable at the bottom of the page. It is hard to move through out the website because it is poorly organized but once you find your subject of study it's easier to navigate through. The website has a good graphic material and has a clear purpose. As far as content presentation, the content is labeled clearly but not organized very well; overall the website is not well organized.

Purpose:The purpose of this website is to give students from kindergarten all the way to the 12th grade and parents and teachers information about the United States of America. The information ranges from how the government works, U.S. documents, and differences in state and national government. To me I think this is a great website, it has information for all ages and the information is very age appropriate and covers all aspects of American government, even though the information is not extremely  in depth it covers all the surface points that give a great understanding of government.Content:The information in this website is very thorough, and it all is very credible. The website was made as a service of the Superintendent of document of the U.S. government. The information is very vast and is focused on different age groups. The information covers basics; such as the flag, the national anthem, and what simple things in our government means. Then goes in depth about the processes that each department of government has and the importance in which they serve.  The content is very well organized in which there are main categories of information in which each category has many sub-categories with further information.  Overall I would give this website an A in contentDesign:The design of this website is also very good. The home page starts with the age in which the information is set. Then there are categories that direct you to further information about specifics in each category.  The information is clearly labeled and directs to easily find the information needed. There are also fun interactive games that allow the students to learn in a different way.

Karsten Hiser January 30, 2011 Overview Worldwar1.net is an internet site that provides information on World War 1 (WW1). The intended audience for this website is anyone who looking for information on WW1. This site is probably for individuals in early secondary education. On this website you can find a timetable for events that happened during the war, links for other useful websites, and videos on WW1. I think this website was efficient at its purpose. It provided a lot of information on the topic. However the biggest lack of this site was the information providers. There were no names of authors or editors listed. Design For the design of worldwar1.net I found that it was good in many of the areas on the evaluation form. The speed was very fast; there is little wait time for the page to load. On the home page the only area this site lacked in was eye appeal. The background is white and had one black and white picture on it. However the site was very easy to navigate and had no "dead ends" on the site. This site provides the means of accessing many types of media. Worldwar1.net contained a long list of DVD s that could be watched to gather more information on WW1. The website is rather current and provides content in an appealing way for users. Content At first glance, worldwar1.net it is easy to determine the content. The currency of the site is clearly provided, however it is not updated frequently. This can be due to the fact that it is a history site, so facts on the subject do not change frequently. This site has a lot of quality content and is very organized. The information provided is accurate and uses correct grammar and spelling. The weakness of this site is the lack of information provided on authors and editors.

Karsten Hiser January 30, 2011 Overview World War 1 Trenches on the Web is a site that tries to provide information on World War 1 (WW1). The audience intended is for anyone who is looking for information on WW1. Sadly this audience will not find any information but they will find a lot of ads. While ads provide pictures that are pleasing to the audience's eyes, they aren't provided with content concerning WW1. Design The website downloaded quick and efficiently. The home page was very eye appealing and clear on the purpose of the website. However it was very confusing to leave the home page. Many links on this site were dead ends, and it was impossible to expect what information you were going to get when you clicked on a link. This site was very confusing, and as a result I never left the homepage. Content It is very easy to tell the purpose of worldwar1.com. Sadly that is about the only positive I got from the evaluation form. The site listed an author but when trying to find more information it came up with a dead end. Links on the site lead to dead ends or to content that was not relevant. This website was not well organized in content but it did look appealing. This site also lacked a professional feel to it. At the bottom of the homepage the site had a disclaimer that was very unprofessional. This webpage had little to no content on it.

Purpose:  This website's purpose is providing educational videos on a wide variety of topics suitable for elementary age students. The topics range from math and science to memory and spelling techniques. There are quiz after the each video over the content. The website is very cluttered and not well organized. The video itself is poorly constructed with cheap animations and the audio is a monotone computer voice. The information in the movies is good for the age that it is geared towards. There are also links to other websites for educational games and more information but these links are not good and have popups or problems associated with the links.Content:The information in the videos just scratches the surface of the subject. The quizzes that follow are fairly difficult for the age group that these videos are aimed towards.  There are sections of the website that are currently not available. There are data bases that are more content focused and these sections are much better designed and informative then the videos and games that are on this website. Design:Maneuvering and finding information is one thing that is good at this website. There is a search engine that will navigate you through the website to find desired information. The main educational website is cluttered with informational video which makes it hard to know what you are looking at, and where you should go to find information. The designs of the videos are very poor and hard to watch and listen to. The animations look like clip art pictures and the audio is a computer voice.