Jenny's+Web+Evaluations

=Web Evaluations=

This site is looks pretty good just from a first glance. Time for learning does reach out to children differently then most teachers can. It help them learn from a computer, but teachers don't come with a fee like Time for Learning which does. I think that if a teacher or school system really want to spend the money on a program then could fine one that is a little more exclusive. But if a parent of tutor want to use this I think it would be a great investment. As far as the site goes I found it a little too busy. I feel that they have to many tabs boarding the text. I just feel as if this site is squished in the center. Also it takes a few clicks to get to the lesson outlines, but once your there they give you a very good lay out of what they do. Also as a parent you can check up on your child's progress, as they go through each lesson. From the looks of it this site looks very good. I would encourage this program to parents and tutors, I just don't think it needs to be used in the classroom. (SC)
 * Title:** Time for Learning
 * Site URL:** @http://www.time4learning.com/learning-special-needs.shtml
 * Comments:** Time for Learning is a website which allows children with special needs the ability to learn at their own rate while having fun. The site is based mostly towards parents of disabled children, with plenty of information on how to best help their student grow academically. However, the lessons and games can be translated into classroom learning and even track the childs progress. The site provides for students of all ages and all areas of academic study. Students have the opportunity to study different aspects of their education using different types of games and interactive play, making learning easier and much more fun. Unfortunately, access to these learning tools requires payment, greatly limiting the chance of using this program in a classroom. Also, the main page of the site is not very visually exciting and has many links geared towards the parent, not the student. Students may find navigating the website difficult, or become bored before they even reach their lesson. Overall, the company is trying to sell their product, which creates bias in some of their information and makes the program less accesible to many students who could greatly benefit from it. If I had the financial means as a teacher, I would love to use a recourse such as this to teach my students and encourage learning of all types. Students could take turns practicing what they have learned, moving at their own speed and gaining as much knowledge as possible for them. This website is a fabulous idea, however there are many companies who provide the same learning opportunities for free.

I was impressed with this site right away. The site was very easy to navigate, everything was right on the home page and you don't have to scroll to find anything. This alone makes it a great site for students because it takes away from the wandering mouse pointers. After a little searching I was amazed with the organizations that support it, and the awards this website has received. The only limitation of this site that I can find is that on the main page there are a few advertisements where they are trying to sell their product. I wish this was in a link and not on the main page. If I were a teacher and using this site in a special education setting I would be extremely interested in the "emotions color wheel". I feel this activivty would allow the student to express their feelings about situations which can be hard for students to express occasionally. (SS)
 * Title:** Do to Learn
 * Site URL:** @http://www.dotolearn.com/
 * Comments:** Do to Learn is an amazing teacher resource that has support from many national organizations and has gained attention as being a favorite amongst parents of students with disabilities. The site has information and support for parents and teachers while providing fun and interactive learning for students. The web page is visually attractive, easy to navigate, and very well organized. Young students will find it easy to make decisions based on the pictures used as links for the different games and activities, ranging from math to colors to understading emotions. Not only is this site a learning tool for students, it is also a recourse for teachers to stay up to date and knowledgable on the ever changing field of special education. Some of the games and activities must be purchased for use, however the site does provide plenty of substitutes for no charge. Many of the activity ideas are provided for teacher use as a part of a lesson plan, but there are interactive games as well as songs with visual representation available for students. This site would be helpful for beginning teachers needing ideas and experienced teachers wanting to stay up to date on issues alike.


 * Web Evaluation Rubric:** [[file:NickelsJ_webrubric.doc]]