Madison Hamblen
Revised: 10.15.12
Overview:
This web activity site was made to use as a tool to quiz one's knowledge on the history of America during the Civil War. The information is based upon the major battles during the Civil War. Due to the facts being so basic, the intended audience is geared towards upper elementary students preparing for the state standardized tests. There are no links leading a user to another page, rather this exercise is simply an online quiz to determine the knowledge the students already have. My overall impression is that this website is beneficial if the students already have a prior understanding of the major battles. This website should not be used as a primary source of learning. It should be used as a tool to test students' level of comprehension.
Content:
The content provided on this website is correct and relevant to the history of America during the Civil War. Even though the content is relevant, the quantity of information is lacking. The person who created this site is most likely a teacher simply because it is a Quia web activity, however that information is not easily revealed. The site only shows the web designer's name. Therefore there is no way of contacting the website designer for questions regarding their work.
Design:
The design of this website is plain and boring. The intentions of the designer are clearly to make it an informational website. There is nothing that would catch a viewer's attention at first glance. It is organized and easy to navigate but would get frustrating because you have to answer each question one at a time. It would be better if there were a key so the students could view the questions in a chart form.
Debra Burkhalter
October 15, 2012
Student News Daily
Overview:
Student News Daily is a fabulous current events site for high school students to become readers of the news. The founders set up the website with a goal to "to build students' knowledge of current events and strengthen their critical thinking skills…in a manageable format." Using the site gives great references and information to students in a very easy to navigate way. Teachers will also be impressed with the format and many links to other useful current events websites.
Content:
The user of this site is able to identify right away that the content is current events. The site is updated daily. The intended audience is stated clearly under the "About Us" tab: "StudentNewsDaily.com is a non-profit current events website for high school students." The directional tabs are organized and easy to navigate and teachers will also appreciate the easy and manageable format. Student News Daily has six main categories which would be quite useful and could easily be incorporated into weekly current event lesson planning:
* Daily News Article
* Daily Best of The Web
* Tuesday's World Briefs
* Wednesday's Biased Item
* Thursday's Commentary
* Friday's News Quiz
In addition to main categories the site also provides other current events items including: editorial cartoons, quick takes and a quote of the week.
Design:
The homepage downloads efficiently, is easy to read, extremely navigable and updated daily. Directions for use are clear and easy to follow and the content areas are labeled and very well organized. The site incorporates the use of multimedia via weekly videos, daily cartoons and links which makes a huge contribution to the site as an up to date portal for global current events. The design and purpose of the site is to educate and the content presentation which is inclusive of questions and answers makes it very doable for students to learn