K Bears Website

This is one of the website that I used for my website evaluations. This website it great for both students and teachers. I will use this website in my classroom to help my students have a better understanding of animals that we are studying or the countries we are studying. Through this website I am able to print off worksheets for my students for free making it a valuable tool for the classroom.

Click here to be redirected to the website: http://kbears.com/

Educational Website Evaluation Form

Evaluator: Meredith Tidd Date Evaluated: March 18, 2007

Website Title: Knowledge Bears

Website: http://kbears.com/

Grade: 1-8

Subject Area of Website: Science Social Studies Other: Music

Main Educational Goals Addressed in Website:

CCSD CEF (3) 7.0 “Students evaluate music and music performance”

CCSD CEF (3) 3.1 “Investigate and describe what the Earth is composed of different kinds of materials”

CCSD CEF (3) 4.4 “Identify and compare the needs of most living objects”

CCSD CEF (3) 3.3 “Use maps, globes, photographs, and graphs to collect geographic information”

CCSD CEF (3) 3.8 “Locate and name states that border Nevada and countries that border the United States”

Description of the Website:

Accuracy

Does the website list sources of information? Yes

If so, was this easy to find? Yes

For each section that the student navigates to there is a source link explaining the details of where the website creators developed the information for the website.

Is the information provided accurate?

I did not see anything provided that was incorrect.

Appropriateness

Is this digital format the best way to present the information of the website? Why is the digital format the best form of delivery?

All the information provided on the page has come out of textbooks and compiled into this website allowing students to access a large amount of information from varying subjects. The website includes print outs that students can use to further learn

Currency

When was the website established (date)?:

1999, they did not include a specific date

Has the website been revised? Yes

If so, when was the website revised?

When I was working on the website there were certain sections that were being updated. However, they again did not include a specific date that the website had undergone revising. Not all the information included on the website is time sensitive, but it is updated regularly.

Easy of Use

Is the website easy to navigate, remember the three-click rule?

The website was easy to navigate, there was also a brief introduction telling you about the features you could discover on the website. The website followed the three clicks rule and provided information both in text and in audio for each page. I have high-speed internet and the pages had no trouble loading, I do not think the same would be true for someone with a slower connection because each page has graphics as well as audio.

Objectivity

Is there any evidence of bias on the website? Yes

If there are biases evident, can the website still be used in your lesson?

If someone is not a native English speaker this site would be problematic and may enforce ethnocentrism. The website is still extremely functional because it uses graphics to help explain things as well as many objects students are able to click on and comprehend what the object is and what it does

Suitability

Is this site suitable for your student audience?

The website does not provide any information that would hinder the students. The website has a safety link for surfing the internet.

Are the sponsors for this site suitable for your student audience?

When the students play in the games section, there are advertisements that are not age appropriate, such as free dinners or earning your college degree. The list of site sponsors was unavailable because of being under construction but the website did not seem to include any links or advertisements to bad websites.

Potential Problems for Students with:

Learning disabilities: Students who are slow learners may find it difficult to understand all aspects of the website as quickly as the other students, but if given time at school or at home, they would develop the same abilities as their classmates.

Mental Disabilities: The information provided on this website does not have an age limit, nor does it have a starting age. Any student would be able to access this website and find a version of the information they understood.

Physical Disabilities: If students have hearing problems this website could be problematic because most of the section are all audio, however in describing the animals the information is in text.

Additional Information/Comments

This website is made for both students and teachers, allowing both to print off worksheets to complete. The creators of this website know how students learn and what would make it fun. This website is amazing and I will use it in my classroom if it is still accessible when I graduate.