ITEC2360

Billie Slyman, 9/11/11 Purpose The purpose of this site is to provide resources for teachers for teaching weather. It's part of a larger site that has resources about all kinds of topics. There are websites, print-out activity sheet and Power Points. Although there are a lot of links, about half of them don't work, and there isn't any information on the site about how the sites are found and who runs the site. My overall impression is that this site has some good resources that could be helpful to teachers, but the link you want might not work, and there's no guarantee it is a good site. Content There really isn't any information (that I could find, anyway) about who develops or maintains this site, or any indication of when it was made. Although there are a lot of links to other sites, there is nothing about this site. There is a link to "Contact Us", but who is "Us"? However, it is nice that the links are divided into separate themes, like Weather, so it is easy to find the topic you are interested in. Design The site looks pretty plain. It's really just a list of links. However, this does serves the purpose of the site. It doesn't really have much reason to look nice because most people won't be spending a lot of time there; they'll be on the other sites. Although, even though the site is plain, it still manages to feel cluttered. With the links in the middle, navigation menu on the left and ads on the right it can be a little hard to stay focused. But the site is functional, and it can be helpful to have a large amount of sites about the topic all put together.

Overview: The website has a lot of links that one can use to follow into more detail about each linked word/subject. The author is an RN and it the website was reviewed by an MD and updated only a couple months ago. Content: There are a lot of links with each subtitle. There is more to learn then just social development. It is very informative; also you can look at Spanish speaking sites. Design: I think they could make it prettier with the links under the subtitles, and more information next to the links. But the website is easy to follow overall.

Overview: This website has a lot of information and is very detailed in each paragraph. It is kind of tedious to read, because it is long and there are no subtitles. It is just one long page of paragraphs. Content: It has a lot of good information with details, it also has a medical editor and an editorial advisory board. The information was also updated just a couple months ago. Design: I would prefer subtitles so it isn't just a long block of words, the page isn't hard to follow.

Overview: This website is very imformative of the stages of social development in children. It also gives links for parents to follow into other websites if they still have questions. It includes birth-5 years old Content: The content is done in bullets, so it isn't detailed. But with the minimum it is able to get a lot of information across. Design: The design is easy to follow and graphics are cute and really fit the site.

Overview: This website is helpful when learning about the social development in children of all ages. This does include newborns all the way to 6 years old. This website is able to get across the basics of what goes on. However, it is pretty vague; I would hope to have more detail. Content: The content is correct from what I have read already. It also tells you what you should expect from your child at these certain ages. Design:It is easy to follow and not an eye sore. It isn't confusing with a bunch of links.

Billie Slyman, 9/11/11 Purpose The Kidstorm site is actually a section of a larger site dedicated to storm chasing. The rest of the site is fine, but the kids section has, in my opinion, the best resources and information. However, the information, while good, is pretty basic and could easily be found on other sites. So my overall impression is that while this site is okay for information about severe weather, its real value is in the photographs and resources that can be found there. There are tons of links to other sites, some on the main kids' page for general weather, and then more on each page about a specific weather. These links lead to good sites and would be a valuable resource for a teacher or student looking for information. Content The content on this site is appropriate for students in 4-6 grades and for adults as well. It is set out clearly, but the vocabulary would be difficult for younger students. Again, the information is basic, although the extensive safety tips are nice, but the pictures are great. There are high quality photos of every type of weather covered and more. These can be viewed online, and it is stated on the website that students can use them for paper reports in class as long as credit is given. The external links given are useful and would also be a good resource for student research. Design The site is easy to navigate and nice to look at, interesting while not being overwhelming. There is a lot of text on each page, but there are also a lot of relevant photos, so it is interesting to read. It is easy to go from one section to the other without having to go back to the homepage, and the external links are always at the bottom of the page. It's a well put together site.

Chelsea Eisenbarth 9/11/11 Overview: This website was developed by the Missouri Historical Society in devotion to teaching about the museums, history, and educational ideas with Lewis and Clark. The site has a page devoted to and made by educators with lesson plans as well as other pages devoted to information using different media types. There is video as well as written information on the topic. Content: In addition to providing information on the Lewis and Clark expedition this site also provides a section devoted to educators and lesson plan ideas. The lessons were developed by teachers and provide a rubric of content covered in each lesson and the different grade levels that they can be associated with. The content seems up to date and all of the different links are in working order. There was possible bias in that they are trying to get people to visit their museum but overall the information seemed valid regardless. Design: The design didn't appeal to my personal taste, I thought it was ugly but it still served its purpose and the site was in working condition. I liked that there was different media options for obtaining the information and the lesson plan page was convenient. Everything seemed to be in working and current order and overall the website looked to be helpful for a future teacher.

Eileen Andrews 9/11/11 Overview: This site is very useful if someone is looking for information specifically about World War 2. This website provides tools for both students and teachers including lesson plans, overviews and in-depth information a topics about WW2. Many tools provided for teachers, such as field trips and in-class visits from the museum are only useful for those in the New Orleans area. Content: This website provides a lot of information about the museum and what it has to offer both at the museum and online information. Design: The site seems to be well taken care of and it is fairly easy to navigate as well. The tool bar at the top provides drop down menus so you know exactly what you are going to be finding in that section. The graphics on the site also make it very appealing.

Eileen Andrews 9/11/11 Overview: This site would be a good place to start when trying to decide on a topic or research a topic about the 20th Century. The site contains a lot of information about many topics. Content: This site provides videos, pictures, timelines etc. for historical information during the 20th Century. Some of the information is short and to the point but always gives a good overview of the topics. Design: For the most part this site is easily navigable. You can browse topics and there is a search bar for easy access to an y given topic. The first page seems a little scattered at first with random historical information.

Eileen Andrews 9/11/11 Overview: This site provides information about American Cultural History, specifically in the 20th Century, however; other centuries are provided as well through links. This site has a lot of information and could provide people with a good starting point when searching for information for papers, projects etc. Content: The site has links that are specific to decades in the 1990s that provide information about a wide variety of topics such as clothing, technology, media, etc. Design: Although the site isn't very appealing, it is very easy to navigate. The decades are provided in an orderly fashion and for the most part, the links all work.

Chelsea Eisenbarth 9/11/11 Overview: This website is made for the general public to enjoy as they learn about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Students, parents, teachers can all find something to look at. There are photos and an interactive timeline to help put in perspective the location and time of the different stories that make up the story of Lewis and Clark. The information compiled by National Geographic is easy to follow, read, and understand. Content: This website contains easy obtainable information on Lewis and Clark. It is well organized in a timeline with information, a photo gallery, and even lesson plans or activities that can be used in the classroom. The information is easy to understand and fun to explore. The information seems to be current and the different links work without stress or frustrations. Design: This website took a refreshing new design approach using a timeline to help organize their information. The timeline was easy to use and loaded with ease and efficiency. The graphics were nice and effective providing pictures to go along with the information in the readings. The site was easy to navigate and the links seemed up to date although the copyright was from 1996. Due to the content of the information I don't think this date makes much of a difference and the information still seemed accurate.

A website full of interactive games for math, english, science, etc.

Overview: This site is all about interactive and fun games to help enhance learning for elementary school-aged children. You can sing songs, play games in math, language arts and vocab. It is child friendly so you can easily find what it is you want to play. Content: The author is not very clear but at the bottom lest side of the page shows the sponsor which is Time4Learning, a online home educational program for homeschooling, afterschool and summer learning. There are links to all the different activities the site has to offer from fun interactive learning games to free worksheets to online learning. The content is mainly the focus for elementary aged kids. It provides the needs to teach and help children learn new concepts and refresh old ones. The information is consistent and updated frequently. Design: The design is fun and appealing for kids. There are pictures to go along with the links which make it easy to navigate and know exactly were to go. Everything loaded fine and had extra places to visit for extra help.

Overview: This website provides games for young learners to explore even before they reach classroom age and throughout the early elementary years. The website covers several subject areas including but not limited to Health, Spelling, Animals, Science, Math, Art, Geography, and Literature. The games are fun and challenging. Content: There are games for young learners that are both challenging and entertaining in a wide variety of topics. Each topic has sub topics and then a multitude of game options for that sub topic. There are illustrations of cartoons throughout the site. The author is not clearly identified but the sponsor is. The website links to other young children's websites and cartoon television shows. Design: The amount of subjects and then sub-subjects is outstanding. The entire website is geared towards young children which is not only seen through the illustrations but also through the advertisements. The games are easy to get into the first time but after you have gone into one of them it is difficult to get back out to the website's main menu. While it has links for the subjects it doesn't have links such as home, about, contacts that may be helpful additions. A copyright is not readily available. The directions for the games are clear and concise.

Overview: The intended audience for this site is current special education teachers. The purpose of the site is to provide resources such as chat rooms, lesson plans, and join mailing lists. The site offers resources for the classroom as well as offers the chance to talk to other teachers within the special education field. The site also offers a wide range of various links to other sites about special education.

Chelsea Eisenbarth 9/11/11 Overview: This website is made by the Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation and is swamped with information on the trail and expedition that the group took. The website is more accessible for children in upper elementary grades, parents, and teachers. There are many different links to explore and information to sift through. The site wasn't my favorite but serves as a good reference point if needed. Content: The authors of the site were clearly identified with biographies of each person involved available to the browser. The information was valid and there was a lot of it. However, it seemed easy to get lost or sidetracked in the overwhelming amount of information. I couldn't find a revision date and ran into a couple of old links that were no longer in use. The information was sometimes confusing and hard to follow as you had to click multiple times to find it. Design: The homepage loaded successfully at first try. The homepage is attractive but there are many different links and areas to click. Clicking on one path will take you to multiple others and this continues as you go making it difficult to backtrack or trace your steps a second time. I thought that the design could be improved for easier navigation but the website still contains valid information that can be used as a reference when teaching material on Lewis and Clark.

Chelsea Eisenbarth 9/11/2011 Overview: This website is a great website full of information in an easy to use format. The website is intended for teachers and students to be able to explore and inform themselves of the expedition of Lewis and Clark as they discovered the new world. There are different activities to help sustain students' interest on their learning journey as well as lesson plan ideas for teachers to use in the classroom. Content: The content of this website is easy to understand and find. The information seems up to date though I couldn't find an official date for the last update. However, all the links seem to work with ease and the information seems current and valid from my background knowledge of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The information was well organized and delivered with grammar that a student would be able to follow and understand without trouble. Design: The webpage for this site downloaded to my computer with ease and was easy to navigate. The graphics coincide with the information well and aid in understanding. Information is well organized and the different links work with ease without dead ends. The design was simple and effective ensuring that an elementary student would be able to navigate the site with ease.

Overview: This site offers learning tools for students as well as lesson plan ideas for teachers. It offers online resources to teachers and parents as well. It has interactive learning from games to activities kids can do for hands-on learning on topics such as math, science and language arts. Content: The homepage is laid out in a child friendly way. It is organized and grouped in all the different subjects so kids can find things easier. The author is hard to find but it is an educational sponsored site. There is a place on the bar left of the screen that offers a link to ask questions about the site. The site is frequently updated to keep the resources current. Design: The design is fun and brings value to the site with its interactive graphics. It is a great site for children to use as well as teachers. There is a table of contents to navigate to different links easier as well as places to seek help for problems. All links uploaded easy and were very organized so you didn't feel lost.

Overview: The intended audience is for individuals with a degree in special education that are interested in using their degree within the Peace Corps. The purpose of the site is to explain possible projects the audience could be placed on as well as requirements and career advancements after the program. This site answers almost all questions necessary for the Peace Corps special education program as well as people to contact for any questions not answered.

Overview: The intended audience for this site is prospective special education teachers. The purpose of the site is to inform teachers about issues that can arise in special education classrooms as well as possible solutions to these problems. The website includes types of problems, possible solutions, significance, and ways to help identify people with special needs.