Website Evaluations

Here are a few websites that I think are useful in several Science disciplines. Some of the websites are more fun, with activities and interactive games that high school students would enjoy. Others are more instructional and educational.

 

     1.     Name of Website: Chemicool 

2.    Website Address: www.chemicool.com

3.    Copyright date: 

Chemicool has been online since1996, and was last updated in 2012

4.    Author:

Chemicool was created by David D. H. from the Massachusetts Institute of technology. He acquired data from several sources t
o make this website, including the following people: D. Cabrol, J.W. Moore, and J.C. Kotz. He also used information concerning the periodic table from the Perkin-Elmer Periodic v2.02 to complete his website. Dr. Doug Stewart writes much of the material and information used on this website, and also maintains it.

5.    Website Design and Ease of Navigation:

This website is very user friendly and is fun and easy to navigate. It has a large amount of useful information about the Periodic Table and Elements. The main page of the website has an introduction to the Periodic Table’s history. It also has a large, interactive Periodic Table for students to use to learn more about the discovery and properties of each individual element. When you click on each element, you are taken to a page that gives a history of the discovery of the element, the basic properties of the element, interesting facts about that element, and the appearance and characteristics of the element.

Another interesting and useful thing about this website is that there is a link to a discussion forum at the bottom of the page. This forum is free and teachers and students alike post comments and questions about a variety of topics in Chemistry. There is an archive where you can view older posts and search through them for discussions on specific topics. 

6.    Recommended Use:

I would recommend the use of this website for any High School Chemistry teacher at the beginning of a unit over the Periodic Table. The website would be a great way to introduce concepts such as rows, periods, atomic numbers, and the various ways to classify elements in a fun way that would get students interested and keep them engaged. The discussion forum would be a great tool to use as a teacher. The discussions used on the forum would be excellent discussions to have in class with students.

1.    Name of Website: Annenberg Learner

2.    Website Address: www.learner.org

3.    Copyright date: 2012

4.    Author:

This website is a division of the Annenberg Foundation, which is a private organization that provides funding and support to various non-profit organizations in the United States and around the world. Some of the most recognized projects of the Annenberg Foundation include the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Annenberg Learner. The site lists the following people as the staff: Pete Neal- General Manager, Larisa Kirgan- Operations Officer, Michele McLeod- Senior Program Officer, Yolanda Odunsi-Manager of Interactive Services, Stacie Pierpoint-Communications Associate, and Shea Irick-Administrative Assistant. The authors state that the purpose of the website is to advance excellent teaching in schools by providing resources materials and workshops to teachers.

5.    Website Design and Ease of Navigation: 

While I believe this website has very useful resources and a great wealth of valuable information, it can be confusing at first to navigate. However, after spending a small amount of time exploring the page, it becomes easier to navigate. The website it a bit dull, but since the websites main focus is resources for teachers to use in the classroom and workshops for teachers, this is not a big issue for me. My favorite section on the website is the Interactives tab. This has a variety of interactive games and activities for students to use to supplement their learning. The interactives are easily sorted by grade level and content area. Another useful tab is the Lesson Planning tab. This tab has a wealth of various lesson planning ideas on a variety of subjects within each content, each sorted into appropriate grade levels. 

6.    Recommended Use:

I would recommend the use of this website for any teacher at any level because it really does have something for everyone. The tabs are set up so the information is easily sorted into grade level and content area, and the information on the website is very valuable. I would personally use this website in a Physics classroom. There is a particular Interactive game called “Amusement Park Physics” that covers a wide variety of Physics concepts in a fun way that applies the information learned to different situations that students can relate to. This activity linked the knowledge of acceleration, speed, and slope to the physics behind building fun, but safe, rollercoasters. After you finish building, it explains the strengths and weaknesses in your design in relation to the concepts. Overall this website is a useful resource for students and teachers alike.

 

1.    Name of Website: BiologyMad

2.    Website Address: www.biologymad.com

3.    Copyright date: 

This website was started in 2003, and was last updated in 2006.

4.    Author:

BiologyMad is an independent website that is privately owned and operated by Joanna Gilbert. Neil Miller and Ian White have also contributed to the site. The site also allows individuals to submit resources by contacting the owner and submitting their resources to Joanna Gilbert, which will be evaluated and eventually uploaded to website if the information is deemed relevant and accurate. 

5.    Website Design and Ease of Navigation: 

This website is very fun and easy to navigate. The webpage is very bright and colorful, which immediatley draws your attention in. One of my favorite features of the homepage is the random facts that are displayed. The website is very user friendly and is not complicated to navigate through. The tabs are clearly labeled and all the information is easy to find and easy to access. Each module covers a set number of Biology topics, and each topic has topic notes to view or print off and most have additional support material, such as videos, animations, and quizzes. The website also includes tabs for additional resources and other useful websites. 

6.    Recommended Use:

I would recommend this website to any Biology teacher to use as an instructional tool in their Biology class. Not only is the website fun for students to view and explore, but the notes and supplementing materials and activities all have useful and relevant information for students. Much of the focus of the modules and notes on the website is on the human body and the various things going on inside it on the cellular level, so this would be an exceptionally useful resource during units that focus on these things.

 

1.    Name of Website: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

2.       Website Address: www.bbc.co.uk/science
 

3.    Copyright date: 2012

4.    Author:

This website is a public service broadcasting corporation that has it’s headquarters in London, England. The BBC has a license and charter from the House Secretary and operates to give impartial public service broadcasting to the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. This website did not list any particular author or collaboration of authors for the Science portion of the site.

5.    Website Design and Ease of Navigation:  

From the BBC homepage, it is fairly easy to navigate and explore the website. It’s design is what is expected from a broadcasting corporations website. The Science page is a bit more complicated to navigate through in order to find what you are looking for. The various activities, news, and videos are poorly labeled and not organized in a user friendly manner. The very bottom of the Science page has a number of icons you can click on that take you to resource pages for varying science content areas and concepts. There is a resource tab for Nature, Wildlife, Prehistoric Life, Human Mind & Body, and Space. Each tab has different videos, activities, and recent news that relates to the content and concepts. 

6.    Recommended Use:

While I realize that much of the news related information on this website may seem to have little relevance to students in a classroom in the United States because it is from a British corporation, I still believe this website is an incredible resource. The news articles on the webpage would be a great way to show students ways that the information they are learning has real world applications. My favorite resource tab is the Human Mind & Body tab. It has quizzes, games, and other interactives that would be excellent to use to supplement student learning in an Anatomy and Physiology classroom. The games and activities are a great way to promote student learning in a fun, different way, as opposed to the traditional lecturing. I would recommend the use of this website for an A &P teacher who is looking for additional resources to use in their lessons.

 

1.    Name of Website: Official Website of the Nobel Prize 

2.    Website Address: www.nobelprize.org 

3.    Copyright date: 2012 

4.    Author:

This website is the official website of the Nobel Prize. It is managed and maintained by the Nobel Media, which is a Swedish Corporate entity and subsidiary of the Nobel Foundation Rights Association, a non-profit association managing the rights of the Nobel Foundation. 

5.    Website Design and Ease of Navigation:

This website is one of the most user friendly websites I have ever visited. Everything is labeled and organized in a way that allows you to navigate quickly and easily to find the information you are looking for. The overall webpage is not extremely colorful or exciting to look at, but it also is not bland or boring. The website design allows you to view the information you seek clearly, but manages to also keep it interesting enough to hold your attention. Overall the design and ease of navigation through the website are amazing.
 

6.    Recommended Use:

 

This is one of my favorite websites for high school students to use as resource. One of the reasons I like this website so much is because it gives a history of the Nobel Prize, lists recipients of the Nobel Prize since 1901, and gives a video of the life stories of the most recent recipients of the Nobel Prize. The reason I like this feature on the website is because it allows the students to understand that although these people have accomplished incredible things in order to be granted the Nobel Prize, many of them started out as average people in a high school classroom. Another feature I like on the Website is the Educational tab. Under this tab, there are interactive games, videos, and short stories that mainly relate to Biology. This website would be an excellent resource for any Biology teacher to use to supplement lessons in their Biology classroom because it would reinforce students learning in a fun, interactive way.