children to become more acquainted with the world around them. But sometimes it is really hard to know if a website is really what I want for my students, and so there are different evaluations that help teachers know if it really is a website that students should use. One is Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators. The evaluation that I used was for the elementary school. I really liked this evaluation, because it really broke it down, and you could see if it would work in your classroom. It asks you lots of specific questions, like "If you go to another page, is there a way to get back to the first page?" This is really important, because if a website isn't organized and easy to use for children, they may become confused, and really not know what to do. But using this evaluation, I it proved that the Smithsonian website really would be a great resource for students to use, because it is very clear, and there is a wide variety of things that students can learn and do. Another evaluation that I used was from Purdue University. This was a chart that you could use as a checklist, to see if a website that you are interested in really has what you are looking for. The main points that are brought about in this evaluation are "Authority, Reliability, Credibility", "Perspective", and "Purpose". I thought that these topics were really helpful, because it helped you to know really what's going on. The only downside to the Smithsonian website, is that there really weren't accommodations for students with disabilities. There are amazing activities, where you have to invent,and create, but if you can't see it, or hear what it's telling you, those activities really are useless. But overall, if the Smithsonian would fix this problem, this website is amazing!!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Website Evaluation
Today we learned about evaluating a website, because all websites are not created equal. Especially educational websites. Some educational websites look like the real thing, but in reality, it is just someones opinion, even someone trying to purposely misinform people, or something that was made just for fun, but it looks like it could be real. One website that I really like to use for students is the Smithsonian Education website for kids. This website was really amazing! There are lots of different activities and facts that are just about everything. I think that it would be a really good place for children to become more acquainted with the world around them. But sometimes it is really hard to know if a website is really what I want for my students, and so there are different evaluations that help teachers know if it really is a website that students should use. One is Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators. The evaluation that I used was for the elementary school. I really liked this evaluation, because it really broke it down, and you could see if it would work in your classroom. It asks you lots of specific questions, like "If you go to another page, is there a way to get back to the first page?" This is really important, because if a website isn't organized and easy to use for children, they may become confused, and really not know what to do. But using this evaluation, I it proved that the Smithsonian website really would be a great resource for students to use, because it is very clear, and there is a wide variety of things that students can learn and do. Another evaluation that I used was from Purdue University. This was a chart that you could use as a checklist, to see if a website that you are interested in really has what you are looking for. The main points that are brought about in this evaluation are "Authority, Reliability, Credibility", "Perspective", and "Purpose". I thought that these topics were really helpful, because it helped you to know really what's going on. The only downside to the Smithsonian website, is that there really weren't accommodations for students with disabilities. There are amazing activities, where you have to invent,and create, but if you can't see it, or hear what it's telling you, those activities really are useless. But overall, if the Smithsonian would fix this problem, this website is amazing!!
children to become more acquainted with the world around them. But sometimes it is really hard to know if a website is really what I want for my students, and so there are different evaluations that help teachers know if it really is a website that students should use. One is Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators. The evaluation that I used was for the elementary school. I really liked this evaluation, because it really broke it down, and you could see if it would work in your classroom. It asks you lots of specific questions, like "If you go to another page, is there a way to get back to the first page?" This is really important, because if a website isn't organized and easy to use for children, they may become confused, and really not know what to do. But using this evaluation, I it proved that the Smithsonian website really would be a great resource for students to use, because it is very clear, and there is a wide variety of things that students can learn and do. Another evaluation that I used was from Purdue University. This was a chart that you could use as a checklist, to see if a website that you are interested in really has what you are looking for. The main points that are brought about in this evaluation are "Authority, Reliability, Credibility", "Perspective", and "Purpose". I thought that these topics were really helpful, because it helped you to know really what's going on. The only downside to the Smithsonian website, is that there really weren't accommodations for students with disabilities. There are amazing activities, where you have to invent,and create, but if you can't see it, or hear what it's telling you, those activities really are useless. But overall, if the Smithsonian would fix this problem, this website is amazing!!
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