ITEC2360

Lacey Glenn September 6, 2011 Overview: I found this site through my diigo.com community library. I did not like this site. The home page is overwhelming and ads pop up and inhibit you from looking for what you want to. I wouldn't recommend this site to anyone. Content: This site gives a specific book, song, or story that they think would be helpful in teaching children. Some of the information might be reliable, but it's not a source that I would count on. Design: The site home page is very overwhelming. There are many different colors all combined together and some of the words and letters are flashing. The layout is horizontal and spread out, but it's too much to look at. I wasn't fond of this site.

Overview: This website is intended for Preschool teachers who would like lesson, ideas, and printouts. Within each subheading there is background information of the subject for the teachers, as well as activities and printouts for the students. There are up to date materials that relate well to students, and are easily accessible by teachers. This is a wonderful, one that I will be using once I graduate and start a Preschool. Content: When the website is first opened it is easy to determine the purpose and audience that was intended. There are no authors available but the sponsor is at the bottom of the website, with a link to give feedback. This was last updated in 2010, which is very current considering the type of material; material for little kids do not change all that much within a year. There is a ton of information available on this site. There are themes as well as activities. Within each of these there is a little info about the subject for the teacher and resources, activities and printouts for the students. There is also a links that leads to what they call their sister sites, which provide more ideas. Design: This site is pleasing to the eye. There are colors that go well together, but are not over-powering. The information is well organized and clearly defined. Each link works and leads to where is desired. There is a link to many others links that are helpful and along the same subjects.

Overview: There is a lot of information as well as links that contain many good ideas, printouts, and activities. This site is not well organized though. It is way too busy. There are so many pictures and words that it is hard to tell where you are at and where you want to go. The intended audience is adults, whether that is a teacher or parent. I do not like this site all that much. Although there is a lot of good information and ideas, it is hard to navigate and it takes more time than I would be willing to spend. Content: The content of this site is of good quality and there is a lot of it. There are numerous ideas for activities, food, and printouts for children. There are many links that parents could use. The last update for this website is 2011, so it is extremely recent. The sponsor is clearly labeled and there is contact information if you ever have any questions and comments. Although this website contains a lot of good stuff it was extremely had a first glance to tell what the website was about. Design: This site easily downloaded as well as had many links to navigate through. It is also current and has other information and links available. But the overall of design of this site was poor. There are so many different ads, link, pictures, and words that it is too busy and hard to understand what exactly are the links that are desired for Preschool activities and ideas. The title is not easily noticeable either. The site had a very confusing layout

Great philanthropy web site ... check out the blogs

This site has a lot of future activities to do with kids in the classroom or at home.

This Web site is great because it allows you to create custom worksheets for several different subjects including math, science, social studies, foreign languages, and handwriting. You can also choose the grade level you wish to customize for--everything from pre-K through middle school.

Softschools.com provides free math worksheets and games and phonics worksheets and phonics games which includes counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division algebra, science, social studies, phonics, grammar for 1st grade, second grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade.

9/8/11 For teachers, if you are interested in teaching anything about nature or animals, this is a really useful website!

Murphy Muirhead 9-8-2011 OVERVIEW: National Geographic for Teachers is a website that is very beneficial to educators.  The purpose of this website is to provide teachers with resources, activities, games etc. to be used when teaching the different types of sciences.  Because the intended audience is teachers, the site provides many references to help expand a teacher's knowledge on different categories such as mapping to bring more valuable information to the students. Some other available resources that are available on this site include multimedia, which brings pictures and videos into the classroom. It also provides weekly activities that are great for the classroom. I was very impressed by this site and I see this as being a site I use quite often in the future. CONTENT: The content of this site is incredible. National Geographic is a very credible magazine and they bring this great knowledge to the website which is useful to teachers. The content on this site is very applicable to teaching about the earth sciences and has many helpful links to learn more about subjects and deepen teacher's knowledge.  DESIGN: This website has a great design to it. It is very easy to navigate through to all the links and resources associated with it. It has a professional look to it, very eye catching and movement flows from one thing to another.

Murphy Muirhead9-8-2011 OVERVIEW: The Learning Planet website is a site that provides learning games for children of young ages. Learning Planet games are educational and the games are all safe and free. This website is designed specifically for children ages pre-k all the way through seventh grade. Although, it does have very helpful links for teachers to use as well which include games and activities to use in their classroom. The resources that are provided with this site include daily worksheets, sudoku's and many more to help further children's knowledge that they gain through this website.  CONTENT: The overall content of this site is very good and provides many educational games that are great for kids to play. The games are valuable to their learning and I would recommend this site to parents and other educators.  DESIGN: This website has a very well thought out design. Each graphic is used effectively and do make a good contribution to the site. Also, the index is very easy to follow and brings the viewer directly where they wish to go on the site. The overall layout is very eye-catching and appealing to viewers. 

Create timelines and share them on the web with this tool.

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.

Taylor Pilch 09/09/2011 Overview: The purpose of this site is to provide parents a great resource for fun ideas for their kids. Some of the available resources are online games, ideas for recipes and activities at home relating to characters on nickjr., and videos. My overall impression of this site is really good; it looks fun and it is full of fun things to do! Content: Some of the strengths of the content of this website are that it is easy to find out what this website is about, and it is easy to navigate. The information is current and the information quality is good- the links work and it seems to be a reliable website. The content is organized and it is clear that this website is for parents (although they can set up games for their children to play online). The only weakness regarding content is I could not find an author of the site. Design: The design of this website is excellent; everything is working properly and it is attractive. It is easy to find where to go based on what you want to do. The use of multimedia is good and kids would really like all the videos and pictures it contains. It seems to work with both internet explorer and firefox browsers. The website is current and I found no weaknesses with the design.

Overview: This is a free website that is based on a television channel for preschool aged kids. It has games and activities for kids and recipes, videos, and tips for parents. Content: The homepage of the site has a toolbar and a sub-toolbar. The main toolbar gives users the option of looking at the family/parent content, the kid content, or a list of all of the network's TV shows. For parents, the site offers parenting tips, printable activities parents can do with their kids, recipes, and articles about family life. Kids can play games, watch videos, and do activities (like drawing). Design: This website is bright and very stimulating. It is easy to navigate. I like how when you click on the kids tab, it opens a whole new window that only includes the things kids would be interested in. It doesn't take anymore than 3 clicks to get to anything you want on the site. I think it is well designed.

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 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.

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.

Lyle Wiley September 10, 2011 Overview: The Folger Shakespeare Library is an exhaustive site of Shakespeare resources with specific large pages for different audiences including a site for students and one for k-12 educators. While the site has a clear focus on selling published Shakespeare works and resources, there is a good deal of free information and resources available for students and teachers alike. These resources include Shakespeare information and history, lesson plans for teachers, study guides, audio and video embedded helps, space for teachers to interact and share ideas and experiences, and a frequently update blog (called "Making a Scene: Shakespeare in the Classroom"). This rather attractive site has some very helpful and interesting resources for the Shakespeare educator. Content: The basic content and intended audiences of this site is easily discerned upon entry. There are numerous authors of the material available on the site, but for the most part the author's contact and educational information is easy to find. The site appears to be frequently updated, and certainly the blog attached to the educational resources on the site is updated often. The purpose of the site is both business and informational which sometimes colors the available information on the site, but there is a large amount of rather good free information including lesson plans, teaching ideas and tips, audio and visual resources, and access to a creative community. There are few external links, but the information available looks to be very helpful to the Shakespeare educator. Design: The Folger Shakespeare Library loads quickly and has a nice aesthetic appeal. Well organized and heavily indexed, the site has an impressive ease of navigation which is complimented by some nice photo design and occasional embedded multimedia (which is always relevant and helpful). Again, much of the material on the site is up for sale; however, there are a good many quality resource

Overview The Folger Shakespeare Library site is the home page for the Folger Shakespeare Library located in Washington, D.C. The site has any number of features that any good library web site would have: an online catalog, listed hours, ask a librarian. The site is designed for teachers, students, scholars, and the average Joe who is interested in Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, and early modern literature. Areas of the web site of high interest are the Visitors section, Students and Families section, K-12 Teachers section (which includes monthly lesson plans), and a Scholars' section. Content The content included on this site is amazing. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a catalog of over half of the world's books published before 1640, and the catalog is, of course, accessible online. There is a section of Hamnet (the online catalog) for electronic resources as well. The site is interactive-offering a free e-newsletter, social media, a calendar of events, and an active blog. There are podcasts chock full of lectures, poetry readings, etc., digital images, an archived list of lesson plans. There is a six minute YouTube documentary on the First Folio! You could spend many happy days lost in this site. Design The site's design is simple, elegant, and business like. It is a light blue color, which is easy on the eyes. Most of the navigation is at the top or to the left. The site is sometimes difficult to navigate unless one has at least an idea of what he or she is looking for. A site map is made available if one gets distracted or lost though.

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: 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.

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

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