LS521WMC

Iva Martin

3/2/02

Elective Teacher Web Sites

I will compare two teacher websites which I found to be very useful. The websites are

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/teaching.htm and http://www.geocities.com/k6tech . The first site is titled, “Teaching with the Web!” It is maintained by Jerrie Cheek and Dr. Traci Redish from the Educational Technology Center at Kennesaw State University. The main page allows you to choose one of four grade levels, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12. After you click on the appropriate grade level, you will see a long list of subjects in alphabetical order. When you click on the subject, you will find many website links. I looked at two in particular because I will be doing some research on American Revolution with a fifth grade class and ocean life with a fourth grade class. Now I know that I will have many valuable Internet resources to show my students with those units.

My commendations for the Teaching with the Web site are that the home page loads simply with no distractions. It has some very nice graphics. Your choices are very basic as far as grade level. They offer a link to download plug-ins. The subject links offers extensive choices with annotations, which are obviously well-maintained. My recommendations are very few. Perhaps the home page is too basic because I almost missed a great link to children’s authors and illustrators which was hidden in the Children’s Literature link. Once I got there, I found lesson activities and book recommendations. They might want to consider adding a Parent link and a Kids link. The reference link for teachers would be better placed on the home page, also. After I clicked on it, I noticed a separate link for elementary educators.

The second site is titled, “Nancy and Laura’s Guide to K-6 Technology.” It is maintained by Mrs. Nancy Gridley and Mrs. Laura Oakes, who are elementary technology facilitators at West Milford Township in New Jersey. The home page loads with a choice of 17 topics. Their website is more comprehensive than the first in that it links to sites on clip art, worksheets, search engines, lesson plans, parent and kid sites, in service training, in addition to subject links.

My commendations for Nancy and Laura’s website are that the home page offers an easy-to-follow menu. They appear to have covered all possibilities for teachers, parents and kids. I especially liked the keyboarding link. A huge debate exists in our technology department whether teachers should really teach keyboarding. My personal feeling is that keyboarding is a necessary skill. My number one recommendation is that they change their background graphics. The graphics are too busy and very distracting. Sometimes it is difficult to read the choices because the graphics are in the way. Also, a Yahoo ad loads when you click on the home page. The home page does not state which grade levels apply. Because they are elementary facilitators, it is logical that this site is geared towards elementary. I would recommend both sites to elementary teachers in particular, but I believe that all levels would find useful materials.