Website Evaluations

Web Site Evaluation Form http://www.clubpenguin.com/

Website Title: Disney Club Penguin

URL:

Target Learner: K-5

Subject/topic: Social Networking

Evaluator: Tara Derveloy

Date: 11/3/09

Instruction: Use the following criteria to rate the quality of the website of your choice (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). Be sure to provide a rationale to support your judgment and recommendation of the website.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20

CRITERIA CONTENT Website is affiliated with a reputable organization. Learning goals/objectives are clearly stated. Learning activities are student-centered. Author/webmaster’s contact information is provided. Content information is accurate and bias free. Content information is reliable. Content information is up to date. Content information is grade/age appropriate. Grammar and spelling are accurate. Website information complies with copyright laws. Bibliographic references are provided. Website provides high-level user interactivity. Subtotal: DESIGN Overall screen display is visually pleasing. Text is legible. Multimedia enhances learning. Multimedia elements work properly. Subtotal: NAVIGATION All links work properly. All links are clearly labeled. A site map is provided. Website is easy to navigate. Subtotal: GRAND TOTAL (Content + Design + Navigation): Excellent: Above 90

Good: 75-89

Fair: 60-74

5 X X X X

RATING 4 3 2

1

X X X X X X X X 58 /60 points 5 4 3 2 X X X X 19 /20 points 5 4 3 2 X X X X 20 /20 points 97 /100 points

1

1

Poor: Below 60

Rationale for recommendation: Write a couple of paragraphs to 1) summarize the evaluation result, 2) make a recommendation for use, not use or use with caution of this website in your teaching, and 3) provide a rationale to support your recommendation.

Overall I thought this website did a good job of serving its purpose by providing a trustworthy social networking atmosphere for younger children. It’s aesthetically pleasing and easy to maneuver through if you’re just beginning your technological adventures. It also has a place where parents can learn about the site so they will know

that their children are out of harm’s way while using the site. Disney says that Club Penguin was created as a fun, safe place for kids to interact without ads. Children are encouraged to be creative when designing their avatar, decorating their igloo, and submitting artwork. I think this enhances learning as well as the comics presented on the site to promote reading. It also states that there are moderators to monitor usage to make sure members are safe while using this site. The content was accurate, however I believe it may be biased towards children who can afford a monthly membership. Anyone can join the site for free but in order to have access to special features you have to pay an additional monthly fee. I also think most of the content is reliable except for the testimonials given about the site, there is no way to check the validity of these statements. There may be negative aspects of the site that aren’t addressed but only positive feedback is given in order to persuade new members to join. I would recommend this site to others because it promises safety to children while socializing and learning with other kids and family members. Parents can feel at ease when their children are using this site because of the moderators that supervise chatting as well as the other activities. Controlled online environments are a must for elementary school aged children because of the numerous sites that threaten to expose children to obscene language and offensive content. Another important aspect of Club Penguin is that members can play games, participate in activities, and chat with each other while learning simultaneously. This site offers friendships and learning opportunities while encouraging children to express themselves creatively so it receives a good review on my end.

Web Site Evaluation Form URL: Website Title: Mousing Around

http://www.headsprout.com/code/launchMA.cfm

Target Learner: K-5

Subject/topic: Early Reading & Comprehension

Evaluator: Tara Derveloy

Date: 11/3/09

Instruction: Use the following criteria to rate the quality of the website of your choice (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). Be sure to provide a rationale to support your judgment and recommendation of the website.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20

CRITERIA CONTENT Website is affiliated with a reputable organization. Learning goals/objectives are clearly stated. Learning activities are student-centered. Author/webmaster’s contact information is provided. Content information is accurate and bias free. Content information is reliable. Content information is up to date. Content information is grade/age appropriate. Grammar and spelling are accurate. Website information complies with copyright laws. Bibliographic references are provided. Website provides high-level user interactivity. Subtotal: DESIGN Overall screen display is visually pleasing. Text is legible. Multimedia enhances learning. Multimedia elements work properly. Subtotal: NAVIGATION All links work properly. All links are clearly labeled. A site map is provided. Website is easy to navigate. Subtotal: GRAND TOTAL (Content + Design + Navigation): Excellent: Above 90

Good: 75-89

Fair: 60-74

RATING 5 4 3 2 1 X X X X X X X X X X X X 60 /60 points 5 4 3 2 1 X X X X 20 /20 points 5 4 3 2 1 X X X X 20 /20 points 100 /100 points

Poor: Below 60

Rationale for recommendation: Write a couple of paragraphs to 1) summarize the evaluation result, 2) make a recommendation for use, not use or use with caution of this website in your teaching, and 3) provide a rationale to support your recommendation.

This site is an excellent way to incorporate technology use while children are learning how to read. Headsprout’s mission statement is that they hope to eliminate illiteracy with their online interactive reading programs. This particular lesson promotes using the mouse to click on the correct image when the lesson prompts the student to do so and progresses after the correct response. The lessons are easy to follow and are very captivating with their use of color and components created from computer graphics. The site will hold a child’s attention while teaching them basic computer usage, reading and comprehension skills. The content seems to be reliable because they state that their programs have been researched, tested and guaranteed. They also offer a refund if their lessons do not produce a reader in the mid-2nd grade level for early readers, which they categorize as ages 4-7. There are also quotes from educators who have used Headsprout’s programs for their students and they state that the results are positive for everyone because it is the equivalent of a personalized reading tutor for each child. I would definitely recommend this site because I think it does a fantastic job of making learning interesting and fun. When children are drawn into a computer program because of their curiosity it gives educators an opportunity for a teachable moment that should be taken advantage of for maximum educational results. I think this program offers those teachable moments and takes advantage of them by using creative, interactive computer lessons to advance the literacy of students.

Web Site Evaluation Form Website Title: Fishy Fun With Reading

URL: http://www.rblewis.net/technology/EDU506/WebQuests/fishyfun/fishyfun .html

Target Learner: K-1st

Subject/topic: Language Arts Webquest

Evaluator: Tara Derveloy

Date: 11/3/09

Instruction: Use the following criteria to rate the quality of the website of your choice (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). Be sure to provide a rationale to support your judgment and recommendation of the website.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20

CRITERIA CONTENT Website is affiliated with a reputable organization. Learning goals/objectives are clearly stated. Learning activities are student-centered. Author/webmaster’s contact information is provided. Content information is accurate and bias free. Content information is reliable. Content information is up to date. Content information is grade/age appropriate. Grammar and spelling are accurate. Website information complies with copyright laws. Bibliographic references are provided. Website provides high-level user interactivity. Subtotal: DESIGN Overall screen display is visually pleasing. Text is legible. Multimedia enhances learning. Multimedia elements work properly. Subtotal: NAVIGATION All links work properly. All links are clearly labeled. A site map is provided. Website is easy to navigate. Subtotal: GRAND TOTAL (Content + Design + Navigation): Excellent: Above 90

Good: 75-89

Fair: 60-74

5 X X X X X

RATING 4 3 2

1

X X X X X X X 52 /60 points 5 4 3 2 X X X X 17 /20 points 5 4 3 2 X X X X 17 /20 points 86 /100 points

1

1

Poor: Below 60

Rationale for recommendation: Write a couple of paragraphs to 1) summarize the evaluation result, 2) make a recommendation for use, not use or use with caution of this website in your teaching, and 3) provide a rationale to support your recommendation.

This webquest for reading was designed by a student for a college class in 2001 so it is a bit outdated. The site is well designed with visually pleasing colors and graphics

of fish. The objectives are clearly defined, children can learn to read and use computers with assistance. As a result of completing this webquest, the child should feel confident using the computer without help. The activities are centered on the student being able to go to several different websites to read about fish and then tell their teacher or parent about the stories. A rubric is provided to show what each child has accomplished when they are progressing through each level of reading and comprehension mastery. There is not a bibliographic reference for the source of this webquest but the author does provide her contact information, the class for which this project was created, and credits for the pictures used in the webquest. Some links to the sites provided for the students to explore are not working properly so this would have to be updated if you were to use this for your own students. I would recommend this site to others to use as a template because the information provided could most likely be used successfully to teach students how to read and maneuver through various websites on a computer. However, I would suggest updating the links for additional sites for children to learn about fish before using in a classroom or home as a lesson. An advantage of this site is that an educator or a parent can use this webquest’s content for their children and are provided a way to evaluate the progress of the reader. I think kids could definitely benefit from using this site because it makes learning to read more interesting by including a subject that kids will want to research and they can do this by visiting the provided websites on fish.

Web Site Evaluation Form Website Title: National Education Association

URL: http://www.nea.org/home/index.html

Target Learner: Educators

Subject/topic: Issues, tools, resources, events, grants

Evaluator: Tara Derveloy

Date: 11/3/09

Instruction: Use the following criteria to rate the quality of the website of your choice (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). Be sure to provide a rationale to support your judgment and recommendation of the website.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20

CRITERIA CONTENT Website is affiliated with a reputable organization. Learning goals/objectives are clearly stated. Learning activities are student-centered. Author/webmaster’s contact information is provided. Content information is accurate and bias free. Content information is reliable. Content information is up to date. Content information is grade/age appropriate. Grammar and spelling are accurate. Website information complies with copyright laws. Bibliographic references are provided. Website provides high-level user interactivity. Subtotal: DESIGN Overall screen display is visually pleasing. Text is legible. Multimedia enhances learning. Multimedia elements work properly. Subtotal: NAVIGATION All links work properly. All links are clearly labeled. A site map is provided. Website is easy to navigate. Subtotal: GRAND TOTAL (Content + Design + Navigation): Excellent: Above 90

Good: 75-89

Fair: 60-74

5 X X X X

RATING 4 3 2

1

X X X X X X X X 59 /60 points 5 4 3 2 1 X X X X 20 /20 points 5 4 3 2 1 X X X X 20 /20 points 99 /100 points

Poor: Below 60

Rationale for recommendation: Write a couple of paragraphs to 1) summarize the evaluation result, 2) make a recommendation for use, not use or use with caution of this website in your teaching, and 3) provide a rationale to support your recommendation.

This site is very well organized and I believe it is an extremely beneficial tool for a teacher. It discusses important issues to the educational profession such as pay rates, the No Child Left Behind Act, funding, reaching out in the minority community, and

preventing dropouts. It also provides teachers with tools for success like lesson plans, tips on classroom management, how to speak with parents or guardians during a conference, and how to embrace diversity and learn from it so we are prepared for a global society. The history of NEA is provided as well as their mission, vision and values. The biased content I found on this site was that they only allow members to view exclusive news, post on their discussion boards, and receive discounted professional development. They also have their opinions on every subject in the issues portion of the site and how they wish to make changes by taking action. I would recommend this site to all educators because it offers meaningful information to those in the profession. You can speak to other educators about your opinions on various issues and gain insight from other teachers and their experiences. The main focus of this site is to improve the educational system by helping teachers get better pay, more funding for schools, and closing the achievement gap by making well needed changes to the high stakes testing format now used in our public schools. It also serves to help teachers with important issues they will face in all aspects of teaching which I believe is a resource that should be exploited.