ITEC2360

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

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

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

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

Overview: TeacherVision is a website that allows you to pick themes and units that you would like to teach to a class and offers printable's such as games and other activities easy accessed to give to the student's. It also provides links to lesson plans related to social studies and language arts. This website is for links related to the Olympics, which includes history and ideas to provide for students. The overall design is a bit lacking, but it is easily navigated and offers references and slideshows to help understand the Olympics. Definitely something that would be useful when looking for activities and ideas on a unit concerning the Olympics. Content: You are easily able to determine what is on this website due to its easy navigations and layup where everything is labeled and links are provided for each label. The audience is intended for teacher's who are needing ideas, lesson plans, quizzes, and activities when it comes to a unit; in this case the Olympics. The authors for the links are located once you click on the link, and most are teachers or other educators who have used these ideas in their own classrooms. The copyright is located at the bottom of the page which is an accumulation of all links located in the site from 2000-2011. All links currently work and provide a good source of ideas and interactivity that a teacher may use in their classroom. It is very easy to understand, and if Olympics are not a topic that is needed, then there are themes provided for other units if there is something else needed. I would use this site if I was doing a unit on the Olympics. Design: The homepage is easily downloadable, but does not have a strong eye appeal. It is a site for teacher's use only, not one that I going to interest student's. The site is easily navigated with descriptive links for activities and lesson plans needed for an Olympics unit. Everything is details within the links, and there are resources available for extra information and

Overview: I think this website could offer a lot of opportunity for teacher's when it comes to subjects and unit ideas. It seems to offer a lot of ideas for many units and themes, and also provides opportunities such as providing coloring questionnaires, and other activities easily accessed. This website is membership only to have access to everything, and it does cost money as well. However, navigating through the site I feel it would be a beneficial resource if a teacher was in need of lesson plans or activities for a unit. The design is okay, nothing too grabbing, but the website is easily navigated and a quick resource for opportunities when it comes to ideas for a unit. Content: The content is not so easily accessible, most likely to me not becoming a member for the site. The things that I do have access to seem like fun activities that can be included within a unit however; there are limited items to have access to. The items located underneath the membership field seem to offer a wider range of ideas and lesson plans, so it would seem that becoming a member would be beneficial if you needed ideas for a lot of units over time. For quick access, however, there is little to offer if a teacher needs resources quickly without having to pay a huge fee. What little links there are offered without becoming a member appears up to date and reliable, and there doesn't appear to be a bias with the website, unless having to pay a membership fee counts as being bias. Overall I feel this website would be a great resource as a teacher, the only hassle apparent is paying in order to receive all of the benefits. Design: The direction for this site are very clear, there are tabs at the top to help direct onlookers to different themes and units if Olympics is not a unit needed. There is an area for non members to access and an area that you are able to see what members are able to access. There is color added to the design which helps catch the eye, but this website is d

Grammar Practice Park Overview: The purpose of this site is to help whoever visits the site to practice and perfect their grammar skills. The intended audience seems to be student's grades 3-8. A teacher could direct his or her students to this site during a lesson to help practice and bring in some excitement to the classroom. The site sponsor provides a link to their homepage which has adequate information regarding language arts as well. The site gave me a good impression, contained good grammar games and information. Content: First look at the site it looks like options and a paragraph the site states in the paragraph that is meant for grammar practice making it unclear what it is all about. Once you figure out what the site is the links to grammar practice seem clear and interesting. The information providers are a publishing house making the info legitimate. There wasn't a copyright or revision date which brings down the site a little bit. Overall the quality of information is put together well; it provides students with games to play that ultimately improve their grammar skills. When going through the links you can go to the publishing company's page which contains even more abundant information for teachers more so than students. Design: The homepage of this site is inviting to students with the different grammar games available by one click. There isn't much to the site other than games to improve grammar skills making it only appropriate on occasion. Overall the design isn't too thoughtful simply because it doesn't include any lessons or anything jus practice games. One can always learn through practice though, so based off my knowledge it may not be necessary.

The Dynamic Earth Overview: This website is set up in a very operative way. The purpose is to inform its viewers about the earth and its components, the solar system, and how the earth came to be here today. The intended audience seems to be teachers for grades 4th through 12th; the teacher could design a lesson plan and incorporate this site into a class activity. Outside of the classroom this site could be targeting anyone interested in earth sciences. My impression of this site was positive; it has tons of information about the earth, solar system, gems/minerals and plate tectonics. Overall this is a well put together site for teachers to incorporate it into a lesson. Content: The overall layout of this website is adequate for any teacher to obtain information or use the site as a teaching tool. Right off the bat it gives you an option of multimedia or printable version, which could please a variety of people. When going through multimedia it provides four opportunities to discover what you want to know about the earth. The quality and abundance of information is set up in an organized fashion. From my knowledge the information is all up to date, but it can't really be outdated when it's about how the earth developed, the solar system etc. The only flaw about this site would be that nowhere to be found directly on the site is an author; it only refers to a National Museum that put the site together. There is also no revision dates. Design: Right from the start, the site loads up and provides the viewer with two options, one being multimedia. At every new screen there is a ton of information regarding earth sciences. The content is designed with a lot of pictures that look very real, allowing it to be interesting and engaging. The way the site is laid out makes it easy to navigate and find what you want, everything is just a click away. At the bottom it has the sponsor and creator, the creator being a National Museum, the link goes to the museum website

Overview: This website has a little information such as flags and mottos, competition, and medals. However, there is not a whole lot of information, and nothing that teacher's can use if they are looking for activities for the classroom. The information given is about a paragraph long and seems to be information you can find anywhere. The content can be used if needed, but if you are looking for more information there really isn't a whole lot to offer. The resources are other websites that give information on the Olympics and are good websites to use and better than this website. The design is poor, the site title is nice and big, but everything else is just text and there isn't any huge design within the website. Overall, if your needing some quick information on competition, medals, and flags and mottos, then this would be an easy website to use, but not one that I would recommend if a teacher is needing good information. Content: The copyright for this site is 1999-2011 so the information is up to date, but when it comes to seeing the actual information on the site, there isn't much to offer unless you need only information on medal, flags, and about the competition of the Olympics. The resources are reliable and up to date and are better resources than this website is. Reader's can quickly determine the content of this site and it easily loads, this site is also for teachers and students, but there is not a whole lot of information on a broad range of topic. All of the links to the other resources are reliable and provide much more information than this website. This website would not be something that I would ever use if I needed information and not something that I would ever return to either. Design: There is not a whole lot of design to this website. The websites site title, eHow, is nice and big in bright colors, but that is the only design to the website. Everything else is text and there is a lot of advertisement within the website as well. Th

Learning Math: Geometry Overview: The purpose of this site is to help an individual create a lesson plan or simply learn geometry themselves. It provides step by step process to learn geometry. The intended audience is probably a teacher. Any teacher who needs help designing a lesson in geometry can go to this site and learn what to do and in what order, it has a list of each session and what should be covered to move on. The site itself, learner.org, has many options in different lesson plans from geometry to trig to English. This site appears to be free, and contains legit information which is a pretty good deal. Overall, my impression on this site was that is has good information but it all seems boring which is why the audience must be a teacher, its not flattering to the eye. Content: First glance tells you the site is about how to learn geometry or better yet, teach it. About the site including the authors is a click away on a separate page than the home page. The group seems credible and they provide contact information for any further questions. The way this page is laid out makes it very easy to maneuver around, the quality of the information is fulfilling to any math teacher, there is not only basic information for teaching geometry but extra tid bits one could choose to look in to, to teach. Every page you click onto contains links to other lesson plans or different subjects making it very useful for any teacher. In general the content is sufficient to not only a math teacher but any teacher. Design: The homepage and the other pages load up quickly and efficiently. This website doesn't necessarily have strong eye appeal but when targeting teachers as an audience, and giving basic information it isn't a necessity. Everything needed for the page to be legit is included, from the copyright date to site sponsors, etc. It is easy to navigate, with links to each lesson session and to other pages. I would definitely recommend this site to a teacher; it

AAA Math is a site used for learning, practicing, playing and exploring.

Meghan Snell September 11, 2011 Overview: AAA Math is a very useful site for the learning of children. It's goal is to help children learn any subject in math, give tools to practice with, a few games to play based on the desired subject and some exploring available afterwards. It is definitely a learning based site instead of a site based on playing game after game. Information about the site authors is difficult to find but a section about the site itself and its purposes is easy to find. Every kind of math subject you can think of is given in a table of contents on the side and a header at the top gives options to link to any grade from K-8th. Content: As stated above, the authors and sponsor were not easy to find which is a valuable part of the site itself. Although there is that one little problem, the content of the site is very nice for the use of children. I like how it is organized into different subjects as well as grade levels and then does each in order through steps of learn, practice, play, and then explore. The site serves the purpose intended but another faulty is that no information about revisions is available. Design: There is not a lot of design to the website. The home page contains no graphics and just gives information about the site itself. This could make it hard for the website to be appealing to children. Parents and teachers would be able to look past and see the value of the site but children often look of graphics and fun. Everything is clearly labeled and organized though which makes it very nice to navigate.

This website is for K-8 grade level. It is interactive math lessons. You can pick what grade and what subject you want to practice. It is a drill and practice type of website. When you go to a subject it shows you how to work out the problem then allows you to practice. I think this is a good website to allow children to practice when you first introduce a new topic.

Overview: This site is very fun and inviting for chiildren of all ages. It grabs your attention immediately with bright colors and pictures. It allows kids to learn new things and ideas from math to reading and writing with fun games and lessons. Content: The content for this site is very well organized. There are icons that are listed for all categories and it is easy to find what you are looking for. You can tell right away that this site is intended for the elementary school-aged child. The author is known on this site as well as the sponsor which is Pearson Learning. There is contact information and a place to ask questions as well. The website is updated yearly with 2011 being the most recent. The links for other pages on the site work correctly and takes you directly were you want to go. Design: The homepage is inviting for young children and has a very strong eye appeal. You can tell where you are immediately as the site is layed out very well with links to go to different sites. The information is organized and is understandable for kids.

Overview: This website is intended to help students, parents and educators with math. Though there is a lot of tools on this website that can help a student as well as educators the main website its too helpful, I'm sure if I bought the full membership it would be more helpful but there are several people who cannot afford to get memberships for websites. Content: For students this website offers discussions, problems of the weeks, a "Ask Dr. Math" feature, and other math tools to help with homework. For parents and teachers there is newsletters as well as teacher to teacher discussion group and a discussion page about the NCTM Standards. Design: The design is a little hard to follow, for a student I would have had a difficult time figuring out this website. Due to its mature design it seems like it is targeted more towards educators and how they can introduce math and NCTM standards into their classrooms.

Overview: Its sponsored by NCTM, it is an easy website to use for students in K-8. There are powerpoints and videos to talk the user how to work the website. I would highly recommend this website to use in classrooms. Content: This website is targeted at the children but there are family as well as teacher activities. It is nice how they have print off worksheets for teachers to use in their classrooms. This site focuses on math, and covers algebra, geometry, measurements, numbers, and probability and statistsics. Design: This site is very easy to use, you can tell its targeted for the students due to the simplicity and kid friendly images that are on the homepage. The site is very appealing and if I was a (elementary) student I would be interested in playing around on this site.

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: ESL Lesson Plans and Resources is a website that does just that provides hyper-links to ESL lesson plans as well as other ESL resources which include activities for ESL learners. The targeted audience for this web site is mainly for teachers, although it could possibly be used by secondary education students in the completion of activities. The whole purpose of this web site is to provide links to web sites with available resources for web sites and pretty much anything else that teacher's may need for ESL. If one needs help with ideas for lesson plans or activities or even games for an ESL classroom, this web site is highly beneficial. Content: The overall content of this web site was helpful in the sense that it provided helpful links to ESL lesson plans, activities, ideas etc. However, the information provider was quite difficult to determine due to the fact that there was no one specific site, it was simply a web site full of other sites. The information currency was also a little difficult to determine as there was no date of when it was last revised. This may be an exception for the website, itself, did not have updates or an author but the links to the other websites may have contained the separate information. Overall the content of the site was well organized and easy to follow, all of the hyperlinks seemed to be in working order and beneficial to the search I had done. Design: The overall design of this website was not the greatest, yet it was still usable. The home page did not have an appeal to my eye upon first glance, however with each hyper link contained a description of what it was. The whole web site had the purpose of giving links to other useful websites which could possibly be why there was no currency information and or information in which to contact the web site developer. Although it is easy to navigate and headers clearly define what each link is used for, there is always room to improv

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the ESL lounge web site. The purpose of this website was to familiarize on with information about ESL through teacher's stories, guides, books etc. It also provided lesson plans as well as activities to do with students in your classroom depending on level whether beginner, intermediate and so on and so forth. The targeted audience of this website is mainly teachers, although there is a link which leads you to a site for students. ESL lounge for students provides children the opportunity to learn through activities, guides, exercises, anything that may be helpful in their learning of the English language. Multiple resources are available on this web site and are clearly labeled for easy accessibility. Overall this website is organized and clear with information that pertains not only to teachers, but also to students. This website seems like a good resource for those interested in learning about ESL. Content: The content of this website was extremely helpful as well as appealing. Not only did all of the links work, but the information was easy to navigate, understand and accurate. The date of when it was last revised seem to be current and although there did not seem to be any information providers such as an author, the information still seemed trustworthy, consistent and accurate. The way in which the information was organized was clear and easy to find the concepts one would most likely be looking for. Design: Overall the design of this web site was extremely satisfactory. It had an appeal to the eye, was easily understandable, it provided a helpful guide as well as was organized into sections. All links were up and working, the information was extremely helpful as well as relevant. Although I could not find a creator the information was up to date and helpful. Overall this was a site that was easy to navigate and the purpose of it shined through. If one has any que

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: The website Activities for ESL students is one that focuses mainly on the speaking aspect of English. In this sense students are able to quiz themselves on their knowledge of English vocabulary, grammar as well as complete activities such as cross word puzzles that works on these concepts as well. The targeted audience for this website is clearly ESL students although there is a little bit on there that is meant for teachers as well. External links are provided in which students may find other beneficial information, as well as videos/ podcasts that aide in their English learning as well. Overall this website focuses on the mastering of the English language and provides students with the tools to work on their grammar and vocabulary in a multitude of ways. Content: The content of this website is simple and easy to understand. It is well organized and the main ideas remain constant throughout. The links that it provides for resources are relevant and easily accessible. Overall there is one main focus and the website does a great job of remaining constant in it while still providing a variety of ways in which to learn the material. The information providers were not clear for this website, but the information was consistent and similar throughout as well as up to date. I was quite impressed with the material it provides for the students as well as videos in which they feel the children may be able to most relate. Design: The overall design of this website is straight to the point and easy to use. All links and graphics worked and seemed to be up to date. The information was relevant and worthwhile visiting. The audience it was intended for can effectively as well as efficiently use it based on the way in which it is organized. Information such as the currency and author were more confusing to navigate, but the links for helpful resources are truly beneficial. Overall the design of this website is one that is sim

Overview: This website's purpose is to provide practical life vocabulary skill lessons for English as Second Language learners. Teachers create and submit quizzes using every day English Language and students complete the quizzes using their English knowledge skills. When an answer is wrong the site tells you and shows the student what is right and why. There were also instructional videos and other games. Content: This website had an abundance of tests that English as Second Language learners could take to better their classroom English skills. There were also 49 different language options to take a quiz in both the learner's first language and English. The main quizzes were divided into grammar, vocab, and crossword categories and grade level and difficulty level could easily be chosen at the top. There was also a for teachers section that explains how best to use the site. The downfalls to the site were that revision dates and author information were not easily found. Design: This website was easy to use, organized, and had a clean appealing look. I feel that the amount of English on the front page of the site may actually be overwhelming for ESL learners and the teacher would probably have to get the student set up where they need to be in order for the use of the site to work to its potential. The site sponsor and contact information were not easily found and neither were the revision dates. Overall the site's content made it worth coming back to for ESL learners help.

Content: This website is no frills and does not have external advertising. There are not games or a lot of graphics. But, it does serve a purpose to help students practice grammar. Many of the activities come in many different languages and can be switched between English and the other language. The content is free of bias, and the activities are created by teacher volunteers. There are also links to other resources like videos and blogs to help ESL students. Design: It is a very basic design, which makes it easy to navigate and has no distracting advertisements. The graphics that are used in certain activities are useful and serve their purpose, but no additional graphics are used. As far as I can tell all the links are current and work properly. There is a good amount of content and it is split into different areas of expertise, something for beginners all the way through more difficult concepts. Purpose:The quizzes and puzzles are useful for practicing English concepts and also can be used to quiz yourself in foreign languages. For example, someone in a Spanish class could quiz themselves on verbs or some other Spanish vocabulary. Audience: I believe that student from grades 2 on up could make use of this website. Users could be learning English or learning a foreign language. Resources: There are links to podcasts and more interesting things for ESL students. Impression: Overall I like the fact that there is no advertising anywhere on the website, and it is nice that they give you the option to contribute to the activities. Since the quizzes can be made by various people, teachers should choose the appropriate activities for their students.

This website reviews the effects of play in early childhood education.

Kristin Gaines September 11, 2011 Overview- The purpose of this site is to inform its audience about play based learning in early childhood. The intended audience is both parents and teachers of young children. This site does not contain a list of available resources, but contains valuable information. In my opinion, this site is very useful if you want to learn about the teaching methods used in early childhood today. Content- Upon rating the content of this site, I found that it met the almost all the criteria for content. The site was only lacking in interactivity and links to other relevant sites. One problem I did find, was that the site was a bit biased, so that makes it not as relevant. Design- This site is not fancy in any way, nor does it catch your attention, but it contains the vital pieces that make up a working website. It is organized and clear, although there is not much content in the site. Either way, this site met most of the criteria for design and is a good and easy to use site.

Overview: The intended audience for this site is individuals considering a career in special education. The purpose of the site is to outline expectations of jobs as well as bring to attention possible issues. Statistics are also present in the site. The website allows people to see earnings, projections, job outlook as well as other questions regarding figures and statistics. This website also outlines what can be expected of special education teachers and offer suggestions of similar jobs.

Megan Switzer September 11, 2011 Overview: The cyber listening lab was a website that was quite intriguing. The main purpose of this website was for one to gain more knowledge about English through listening. Through listening one can grasp important concepts, build vocabulary etc. The targeted audience for this website is ESL speakers, although if one speaks English there is still interesting aspects to this website that may be beneficial for them. Links similarly created by the same author are available to aide in speaking, slang, accents etc. and could be beneficial for those interested in improving their language skills. Overall this web site has one main goal of using audio as a learning device and it does a great job of sticking with that one aspect of learning. Content: The content of this website was simple and easy to understand. It was well categorized/ organized and the author of the website was helpful in creating tutorials for first time users. All the information is clear and consistent seems to be quite accurate based off of the author's knowledge of the subject and although the currency was not easily found the information seems to be well up to date. All links are working and helpful. Overall I was quite impressed with what this website had to offer and the concepts that the author addressed. If auditory learners need a helpful web site, this would be the one for them. Design: Although it did not seem super visually appealing to me, the website was well organized easily navigable. The audio clips worked well which was the most important part of the website, and the purpose of the website is clearly defined. Overall the design is clear and concise not a whole lot of explanation is needed due to its simplicity, I was impressed with the materials involved with this website, the author did an exceptional job in making sure one fully understands what his web site is about and makes his other links available as well.