Distance teaching and learning is a subject that is very important to me. Growing up homeschooled K-12 most of my life I was in distance learning. Unfortunately I did not get to use much technology so I am very intrigued by the advancement of it. According to Robyler & Doering (2013) “The primary reason for this breathtaking revolution in communication is society’s recognition of the importance of ready access to people and resources” (pg. 204). It is amazing how easy technology makes it to do absolutely anything. “When viewed in the context of this revolution in communications, it is not surprising that distance technologies have come to play a central role in teaching and learning (Robyler & Doering, 2013, p. 205)
URLs
URL stands for "uniform resource locators" which is a very fitting name because that is exactly what it does. These URLs work as addresses to locate websites. According to Robyler & Doering (2013) “If someone gives you a URL, very often you can tell what and where it is by reading its parts” (p. 217). So by simply reading a URL a student can get a general ideal of what a website may contain before searching it.
Search Engines
According to Robyler & Doering (2013) “Before the Internet, it was difficult to locate specific resources or items of information” (p. 219). When students learn how to properly use search engines the world becomes theirs! A student can use search engines to find any academic information they may need. Students have the options to search for items by subjects or keywords.
Favorite Web Sites
I liked this website because there were a lot of printable worksheets for a lot of different grade levels from upper elementary through middle school. I enjoyed that this site had easy navigation, exploring the site was a breeze. According to Robyler & Doering (2013) “Pages should always load very quickly. Its easy to get around the site” (p. 255). I felt that this quote accurately described the site.
My next recommendation is the abc teach website. I loved this site because it also has lots of printables and covers all kinds of subjects. Also I really enjoyed the fact that they had material for early childhood up through middle school. As a Pre-K teacher who is studying to teach elementary education I wanted a site that would be useful to me now and later. According to Robyler & Doering (2013) “Pages are designed for good readability and aesthetics” (p. 255). I feel that this site meets this criteria because the colors and graphics were really professional and not overwhelming.
Website Evaluation
I really enjoyed this video it is a very fun way to look at website evaluation for the classroom!
Robyler, M. D. & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
ABC Mouse is a website that I know very well. I subscribe to the site for my sons. Robelyer and Doering state that "graphics should not distract from reading the content." (255). ABC Mouse does a great job with interacting, because it keeps me engaged as the parent, and my son is captivated by the simplistic ease of the site. The site is rich in information, and Is perfect for a beginner or novice.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting those sites. They are both very fun-looking and helpful. I love how ABCTeach also offers smart board activities as well. And the LauraCandler site offers a lot of great pintables. I am actually fixing to print some of them now to help my son with his telling time homework this afternoon. I will definitely be using these sites in my classroom as well.
ReplyDeleteJasmine, I actually picked this same video for two main reasons 1. because it was very clear about what exactly was important when evaluating a website. The teacher character reiterated the necessary information and its relevance. 2. because I liked the format of these avatar characters that brought humor and entertainment into learning. And exposes the teacher student relationship, "Great online courses are defined by teaching, not technology" and this video embodies that to me (Roblyer & Doering 227).
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