Evaluating Educational

ResourcesBy José E. Cardona

The concept used to select the websites was a broad one where all aspects of education were addressed, from Pre-K to College. The list of educational websites are not arrange in any particular order.

Educational Websites

This website provides lots of information on the U.S. education system. Information is from Pre-K education to College information for future students. The website has blogs, press releases, speeches, parents information, information from the U.S. Secretary of Education, and much more. This website is a great source for anyone with interest in our educational system.

Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov

U.S. Department of Education

This site is a national web destination for high-quality preK-12 educational resources. In this site one will find classroom materials suitable for a wide range of subjects and grade levels. The site provides lots of lesson plans, teaching activities, on-demand video assets, and interactive games and simulations.

Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/

PBS Teachers

This website is a magical online world packed with friends, games and adventures! The site includes thousands of games and activities for kids ages 3-12. But what really sets this site apart is their commitment to education. The founders believe that learning should be an adventure, not a chore. That’s why the games in this site are specially designed to make math, reading and critical thinking fun!

Retrieved from http://www.jumpstart.com/

JumpStart

This site is an online resource for adjunct professors. The site is a resource for people with advanced degrees looking for jobs opportunities as adjunct professors in universities and colleges throughout the country.

Retrieved from http://adjunctprofessoronline.com/

Adjunct Professor Online

MERLOT stands for Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. MERLOT is a free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world to share their learning materials and pedagogy.

Retrieved from http://www.merlot.org

MERLOT

ASTD stands for American Society for Training and Development. ASTD is the world largest professional association dedicated to the training and development field. ASTD sets the standard for best practices in learning and performance. ASTD provides resources for learning and development professionals, educators, and students.

Retrieved from http://www.astd.org/

ASTD

Kubbu is an e-learning tool designed to facilitate teachers' work and enhance the learning process. Kubbu is free and easy to manage. Kubbu allows teachers to create activities, quizzes, online exams, and share and exchange activities with other teachers.

Retrieved from http://www.kubbu.com/

KUBBU

The purpose of this site is to provide a community where homeschoolers can read reviews and discuss curriculum and other issues that relate to homeschooling. The content of this site is generated by homeschooling parents; therefore, a unique perspective is obtained. This perspective is invaluable to other homeschoolers when it comes time to make curriculum choices or solve problems in their home schools.

Retrieved fromhttp://www.homeschoolreviews.com

Home School Reviews

Open Yale Courses like many other large universities around the country provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn. Although the courses are free, degrees or certificates are not issued at the end of each course.

Retrieved from http://oyc.yale.edu/

Open Yale Courses

USDLA stand s for United States Distance Learning Association. The primary mission of USDLA is to serve the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity.

Retrieved from http://www.usdla.org

USDLA

This site is a free resource site for students, beginning professionals, and anyone else who wants to improve his or her score on a standardized test. This site provides general information for four different kinds of examination: admission, licensing, vocational, and primary/secondary.

Retrieved from http://www.studyguidezone.com

Study Guide Zone

This site has scoured the Internet to bring over 5000 free audio and video titles. This directory features free audio books, lectures, speeches, sermons, interviews, and many other great free audio and video resources. Most audio titles can be downloaded in digital formats such as MP3 and most video titles are available to stream online.

Retrieved from http://www.learnoutloud.com

Learn Out Loud

This website is designed to meet the needs of individuals who are interested in obtaining an accredited bachelor degree from a reputable online university. It provides information, tips, and the database so that students are able to search for the right school for them.

Retrieved fromhttp://accreditedonlinebachelorsdegree

Accredited Online Bachelor Degree

This site is a guide to higher education for people seeking high learning education. The site is very diverse in information and guidance for higher education seekers.

Retrieved from http://howtoedu.org

How to E-D-U

This site provides a guide to the best 25 free websites for educational videos. The site is arrange by topics or themes to facilitate the search of your interest.

Retrieved from http://www.refseek.com/directory/educational_videos

RefSeek

Evaluation of Six Websites

-I used a rubric developed by Dr. Alice Christie to evaluate educational websites (see rubric in the next two slides). -The main reason I decided to use a rubric was to have a standardize tool to properly look at each website with the same set of criteria. I used five categories for the evaluation: Purpose/Organization, Program Information, Curriculum, Audience, and Links.-The websites received a score based on the rubric. -The score appears below the website name. -Maximum score each site can obtain is 25 points. Reference: Christie, A. Dr. Alice Christie’s Web Site Evaluation Resources. Retrieved from http://www.alicechristie.org/edtech/webeval/

Evaluation Strategy

RubricCategory Exemplary (5-4) Developing (3-2) Emerging (1-0)

1. Purpose/Organization

-Purpose of the web site is stated and evident in content of web siteInviting opening page draws the visitor inside-Details are logical and effective-Layout of pages provides good direction-How to explore an idea is clear-Clear connection among sections-Easy to navigate through the site

-Purpose of the web site is stated but is inconsistent with content of web site-Inconsistent structure of pages-Some inconsistent sequencing-Some pages incomplete-Some links disjointed or lack purpose-Unclear connections among sections-Generally easy to navigate through the site

-Purpose of the web site is stated but is not present and is not reflected in the content of web site-No orientation for visitors-Frequent inconsistent sequencing-Pages lack closure-Links of questionable value or no links-Pages are inconsistent-Difficult to navigate in an organized way

2. Program Information

-Site is relevant to the educational community-Content/program characteristics are provided in text and visually-Content/program personnel and their contact information are provided

-Site is somewhat relevant to the educational community-Content/program characteristics are stated-Some content/program personnel and their contact information are provided

-Site is not relevant to the educational community-Content/program characteristics are not provided-Content/program personnel and their contact information are not provided

Rubric (cont.)Category Exemplary (5-4) Developing (3-2) Emerging (1-0)

3. Curriculum

-Site exemplifies and demonstrates best practices of technology use in education-Full description of content/program curriculum is provided-Unique characteristic of the content/program are clearly evident

-Site suggests best practices of technology use in education-Limited description of content/program curriculum is provided-Unique characteristic of the content/program are evident

-Site does not mention or demonstrate best practices of technology use in education-No description of content/program curriculum is provided-Unique characteristic of the content/program are not evident

4. Audience

-Site addresses needs and interests of community it serves-Site features content/program activities and projects

-Site addresses needs and interests of some, but not all, of community it serves-Site includes content/program activities and projects

-Site does not address needs and interests of community it serves-Site does not include content/program activities and projects

5. Links-Site provides a variety of relevant educational links for the community it serves

-Site provides some relevant educational links for the community it serves

-Site provides few or no relevant educational links for the community it serves

Website Name Strengths Weaknesses1. US Department of Education

Overall Score: 22

-It has great information on education from Pre K to College from the government perspective. -It is a good starting point to find educational resources.

-The information does not address the issues affecting education in public schools and most importantly how to fix them.-Too much information could be overwhelm.

2. American Society for Training and Development

Overall Score: 25

-This site is very resourceful for people involve in the area of designing and developing training and education.-Lots of good information can be found in this site including annual conferences to bring the training and development community together. -The site has an international side also.

-To obtain access to most of the information you have to be a member. -The membership fees starts at $199 for one year subscription.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Website Name Strengths Weaknesses3. Home School Review

Overall Score: 24

-Provides a comprehensive review on a variety and diverse list of home schooling curriculums. -Exclusively targets home schooling parents and students.-Allows parents and students to provide reviews on home schooling programs.

-Reviews from parents and students could be biased. -The information in the site is targeted to one type of client the homeschoolers.

4. Open Yale Courses

Overall Score: 23

-This site is a great opportunity for learners to receive courses from top-notch scholars and professors from top universities around the country.-The courses are free to the public. -Learners can enter and exit a course as they wish.

-The biggest drawback about this type of site is no degree certificate or diploma is given after completing the program.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Website Name Strengths Weaknesses5. PBS Teachers Resources

Overall Score: 25

- This sites provides lots of resources for educators from Pre-K to 12 grade. - It has discussion blog which allows educators to ask questions or concerns.-Easy to navigate and find information.

-No major weakness noticed.-The site is targeted to educators only.

6. Study Guide Zone

Overall Score: 23

-This site is perfect for learners seeking practice tests for any certification. -The menu of practice tests is very extensive.

-The web site design does not look very professional.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The following websites have also good quality content for the education community: MERLOT USDLA KUBBU

Three Websites With Best Traits

The following websites have some educational information but fall short of resources:

Adjunct Professor Online RefSeek JumpStart Learn Out Loud

Other Exemplary Educational Sites