Forum+-+Website+Evaluation+(for+primary+students)

by [|Liudmyla Klymenko] - Sunday, 9 October 2011, 05:28 PM || [|Reply] || by [|Helen Onyshchenko] - Tuesday, 11 October 2011, 10:46 AM || BBC Little Animals Activity Centre, Starfall, Yahoo! Kids, Fisher Price, British Council LearnEnglish Kids. The first things I look at when evaluating and selecting a website or website materials to use in my class, are: - if the site has any educational value; - if the site is aimed at native speakers or ESL learners; - what age group the site is aimed at; - if the level of English on this site is compatible with the level of my pupils. So, following this first list of criterias, I can say that: I don't find the **Fisher Price** site valuable for an ESL teacher at all, because it's a commercial site and is aimed at parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The games available on the site have no relation to learning English. I liked and I would gladly use the **Starfall** site with my pupils. (to be continued ........ ) [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Helen Onyshchenko] - Wednesday, 12 October 2011, 12:00 AM || //Accuracy & Acceptance:// it's factual and accurate, the content is updated (we can see 2002-2011 date at the bottom of the page). //Authority & Coverage:// the site is run by Starfall, a registered trademark in the US, the European Community and various other countries. //Audience & Relevance:// aimed at teachers and pre-school, primary school, young ESL learners. //Educational focus:// Focuses on teaching children to read with phonics. //Ease of use:// very easy to navigate, the main page contains all the necessary information about the authority, the aim of the site, the audience it's aimed at, all the necessary links and references. As for the **British Council LearnEnglish kids** site, it should be rather VALUED than evaluated. I think we all know that it is a perfect example of an educational site and is a great web resource for ESL teachers. [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Angela Moninets] - Wednesday, 12 October 2011, 01:10 PM || Enchanted learning (I further my evaluation)looks nice, but as far as I can see, you need to be subscribed to employ the material. And they charge some money. It is an immense source. [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Kseniia Rozdolska] - Wednesday, 12 October 2011, 08:54 PM || Accuracy and acceptance: - the infirmation appered to be accurate; - the references are given; - the spelling and grammar is correct. Authority and coverage: - the authority is clear and easy to find; - the site provides other choices to other materials; no ads. Audience and relevance: - for children with the help of teachers; - the content is relevant; - the relevant material could be found in a book or a magazine. Educational focus: - it supports learners with different learning styles. Ease of use: - easy to use; - well structured; - attrective; - the site loads quickly; the content is in easy format. [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Angela Moninets] - Sunday, 16 October 2011, 01:12 AM || ( Edited by [|Liudmyla Klymenko] - original submission Tuesday, 11 October 2011, 11:15 PM ) [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Angela Moninets] - Wednesday, 12 October 2011, 11:17 PM || [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Myroslava Loboiko] - Saturday, 15 October 2011, 07:29 PM ||
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2043/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Liudmyla Klymenko" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2043&course=2"]] || Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || What did you think of the sites listed for primary students? Leave your comments in this thread.
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2029/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Helen Onyshchenko" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2029&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || I've had a look at the following sites for primary pupils:
 * Yahoo!Kids** is both educational and entertaining, it is colourful and up-to-date, everything's fine with authority, accuracy, coverage and acceptance, but the site is aimed at native speakers of English (and at secondary school students rather than primary ones), so not much of it can be used with primary ESL pupils. I also found it a bit hard to navigate, as it contains too much information, all in one page.
 * BBC Little Animals Activity Centre** is a trustful site as it's run by BBC, it's easy (and fun!) to navigate with those clickable characters [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/theme/britcounv3_nav/pix/s/smiley.gif width="15" height="15" caption="smile"]] But again, it's aimed at native primary school pupils, so I would be very selective using this site. I would use __the sounds and rhyming games__ of **the Digby Mole** and __Animal rhymes__ of the **Foxy Dancer**.
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2029/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Helen Onyshchenko" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2029&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || So, here's a more detailed evaluation of the **Starfall** site:
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2027/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="teacher" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2027&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || I must agree with Helen, vast majority of the sites are aimed at native speakers. However, it doesn't have to be always considered as a drawback. I didn't mean you do, though. If your students happened to have started learning at the age of 5-6, being 7-11 with a bit of guidance they will cope.
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2033/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Kseniia Rozdolska" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2033&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || BBC Little animals activity centre
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2027/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="teacher" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2027&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || Fisher Price is nice and entertaining, kids might find it attractive to work with. There are many cards and exercises to download. You can contribute by posting a comment.Starfall is a good place for beginners, they learn to read. It is accurate, it's aimed at both children and teachers. there are many things to download.Game goo is fun, easy to operate, with a very attractive layout and childish pictures.Puzzle maker has lessons plans, free recourses for parents, but I failed to find much to cater for primary students' needs.
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2027/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="teacher" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2027&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || students' needs
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2035/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Myroslava Loboiko" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2035&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || ||  ||  **BBC Story Time**  ||  **Phonetics Focus**  ||  **Genki English**  ||
 * **Accuracy & Acceptance** || -reliable and reputable company

-accurate

-all links up-to-date || -reliable and reputable company

-accurate

-all links up-to-date

-available on the App Store || -accurate;

-helpful; ||
 * **Authority & Coverage** || -lots of stories;

-biased towards children and their parents as well as teachers;

-links to other sites

-gives help and support || -lots of activities

-biased towards learners of English as a foreign language

- links and references to other materials

-contains adverts relating the topic || -biased towards teachers of English to help and make their lessons bright and interesting. ||
 * **Audience & Relevance** || -aimed at children and teacher;

-the content is relevant; || -aimed at children and teacher;

-the content is relevant; || -aimed at teachers and children;

-the content is relevant;

- activities are provided with detailed explanation tips, video examples, printable lesson plans (teacher’s set) ||
 * **Educational Focus** || -explicit educational focus on story-telling;

-good for learners with different learning styles || -explicit educational focus on pronunciation;

-good for learners with different learning styles

-gives the chance to design and print own flashcards; || -explicit methodological focus with information and tips on different topics ||
 * **Ease of use** || easy to use;

- well structured;

- contains relevant information; || -easy to use;

- well structured;

- contains relevant information;

-quickly downloaded || -has a search facility;

-quickly downloaded

-a lot of free materials || [|Show parent] | [|Reply] by [|Liudmila Ariutova] - Monday, 31 October 2011, 07:41 PM || Accuracy and acceptance is exellent( references to Encyclopedia are worth taking into account), authority and coverage is 70% (more topics could be added),audience and reverance is exellent: topics are composed according to age needs with humour approach( especially ecards), educational focus is high- I mean "Get the answer...". This kind of activities stimulates the kids to self studies. It is ease to use [|Show parent] | [|Reply] || by [|Liudmyla Klymenko] - Monday, 5 December 2011, 01:07 AM || Thank you for the job you’ve done evaluating the sites to use with young learners. Below is the list of the online materials with your commentaries:||= Web-site ||= Reasons to use ||= Things to consider || aimed at teachers young ESL learners useful for teaching reading lots of downloadable materials ||  || Free resources for parents || Doesn’t cater much for primary learners’ needs ||
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2034/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Liudmila Ariutova" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2034&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2034/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Liudmila Ariutova" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2034&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || Yahoo!Kids is a wonderful site for kids
 * [[image:http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/pix.php/2043/f2.jpg width="35" height="35" caption="Picture of Liudmyla Klymenko" link="http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/learningtechnologies/user/view.php?id=2043&course=2"]] || Re: Website evaluation – for primary students
 * || Dear All,
 * BBC Little Animals Activity Centre || * Trustful
 * Easy to navigate
 * Relevant content
 * supports different learning styles
 * Sound and rhyming games at the Digby Mole
 * Animal rhymes of the Foxy Dancer ||  ||
 * Starfall || Factual and accurate content
 * Yahoo!Kids || * educational and entertaining
 * stimulates self study || * not much of the content can be used with primary learners
 * hard to navigate ||
 * Fisher Price || * Entertaining and attractive
 * Downloadable materials available
 * Learners can post comments || * Commercial site aimed at parents of infants, pre-schoolers
 * the games are irrelevant to learning English ||
 * British Council LearnEnglish Kids || great web resource for ESL teachers ||  ||
 * Enchanted learning ||  || Requires subscription and payment ||
 * Puzzle Maker || Ready-made lesson plans
 * BBC Story Time || * reliable
 * accurate
 * aimed at children, their parents and teachers;
 * focus on story-telling;
 * good for different learning styles
 * all links up-to-date ||  ||
 * Phonetics Focus || * reliable, accurate
 * all links up-to-date
 * lots of activities
 * aimed at ESL learners
 * contains links and references to other materials
 * educational focus on pronunciation;
 * good for different learning styles
 * has a design and print own flashcards features || contains adverts related to the topic ||
 * Genki English || * Helps teachers make lessons bright and interesting
 * activities are provided with detailed explanation tips, video examples, printable lesson plans
 * explicit methodological focus with information and tips on different topics
 * has a search facility;
 * quickly downloaded
 * a lot of free materials ||  ||