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Website and Software Evaluation Project

Kara Gillon

State University of New York College at Oneonta

Due September 27th, 2018

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An educational website has resources that can enhance learning and even supplement

teaching. Educational websites come in many different forms. There could be interactive videos,

games, pictures, etc. As a teacher, it is important to evaluate these websites because there might

be information that is not reliable, so it is necessary to guide our students in the right direction.

Providing kids with the knowledge of how to find a reliable website is something that they will

use for the rest of their life. Educational software is installed on your computer and is used for

educational purposes. It is important to evaluate educational software to make sure that they are

on our students’ level that they need to be on, so they are not doing exercises that are way over

their heads or way too easy where they are not getting a valuable learning experience.

Elementary School Level

(1994). PBS Kids. http://pbskids.org/

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PBS Kids was founded in 1994 by Public Broadcasting System (PBS) as a television

network and a website. The website has been recently updated in 2018. PBS Kids was created so

children could have their own television program separate from PBS. This idea eventually turned

into a website for children as well. This kid friendly website allows children to practice reading

skills and comprehension intended for children in pre-school, first grade, and children learning

how to read. There are interactive educational games to play, videos to watch, educational shows

to watch, and a “storybooks” section. In the storybook section, there are a variety of books to

read while an audio is playing so the child can follow along. This website is free which is

convenient because some parents or caregivers may not be able to afford to pay for an

educational website.

The design of the website is very colorful with multiple interactive choices to click on. At

the top there are three flower pots where the user can drag the water can to the pots to make the

flowers grow. Once the flowers are fully grown, it turns into three game options that children can

choose from. Below that are options for either games, tv shows, or videos to watch where some

are displayed to attract the user’s attention. They also feature a “parent” button at the very top.

This takes parents to “PBS Parents” where they can shop, have a connection with their children’s

activity on PBS Kids, inform parents of any new material they are working on, and give tips to

parents or even teachers. On the top right, if the user clicks on “Help” it will bring them to a page

with common questions. It will also give information on how to contact a list of different people

based on the user’s concern.

I think this is a valuable site for students because it provides interactive games, videos, tv

shows, and books where kids can improve on their reading and comprehension skills. There are
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multiple options to pick from which gives the child variety. PBS Kids is valuable for teachers

because it provides additional aid to the students on top of the education they have received in

the classroom. It is a great way to get your kids involved with something they will enjoy while

learning something new.

I would definitely recommend this website because of how easy it is to navigate and how

helpful it is to children. It engages students through multiple interactive games, books, and

videos. Back home, I work at a preschool so sometimes I will put PBS Kids on the smartboard

and the kids love it! They get excited and have fun with the teacher and their peers.

Middle School Level

(2008). Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/

Khan Academy is a great tool for middle schoolers to use to practice multiple educational

skills such as math, science, reading, test prep, arts, and even information about computers. This
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is a great website for individuals wanting to improve on these skills. Khan Academy was created

in 2008 as a non-profit organization by Salman Khan, an American educator and entrepreneur,

and recently had a content update in 2018. Khan created this website to give people a free

educational tool to use to expand on their knowledge. This website provides interactive videos,

step by step problems, and there are even badges to earn along the way. Giving these badges

makes the student feel accomplished which motivates them to keep learning and improving.

What I find great about Khan Academy is that there are so many free categories to choose

from. Also, the layout of the website is convenient and easy to use because each subject is

clearly labeled, and that subject’s categories are easily identifiable. For example, if I choose the

category 6th grade math, I can choose from eight different categories in that subject area. It

makes it easy to direct the user’s time on the material they want to learn/want to improve on.

There is also an option at the bottom left of the website for the user to change the language of the

website if they wish to do so. At the bottom next to the language option, the website provides

multiple options to click on which provide information about the website and their team, interns,

content specialists, supporters, contributors, etc. Next to that column are options for the user to

contact them, a help option if the user needs help, and more. Having these options are very useful

in case the user has any questions or concerns.

This site is valuable for teachers because if a particular student isn’t understanding a

certain subject the way the teacher is teaching it, they can show the student a video or step by

step instructional lesson from the website to help the student see the problem in different ways. It

is valuable for students because it is a free website they can go on to learn new things and to help

them improve on multiple different topics. It is a great way to study, practice, and learn.
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I would recommend Khan Academy because when I was in middle and high school some

of my teachers used Khan Academy and it really helped me and my classmates succeed. My

teachers showed me the website in class and they would use it in class, but I would also go home

and use it if I didn’t understand a particular problem. I believe that it can really make a

difference in students’ lives; I know it did for me.

Educational Mobile App

(2012). Duolingo.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duolingo&rdid=com.duolingo
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Duolingo was created in 2012 by Luis Von Ahn, a Guatemalan entrepreneur and

Consulting Professor, so people all over the world could get free lessons to learn new languages.

The app was updated in 2018 and has 30 languages to offer such as Spanish, French, German,

Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. This app is for people who are trying to learn these languages

but can not afford lessons that cost money, or for individuals who want to improve on what they

already know. Having something available in the palm of your hand is what makes it even better.

The app has a green owl as their main icon which first asks you if you are beginner or

not. If you choose the beginner option, it will then ask you how many minutes of practice you

would like to achieve every day. Once you select your amount of time, a series of questions will

pop up. These questions come in picture form where there are four pictures with the foreign

language word to describe the picture and you must pick the one they are asking for. For

example, if the user wants to learn Spanish, the app might ask them to identify “the man” or in

Spanish, “el hombre.” I think this is great because it lets the user see the English and Spanish

word along with an audio, so the user can hear how to pronounce the word. This app also helps

with forming small sentences from words it is teaching the user. This app is easy to navigate, and

I think it is a great, free way for people to learn a new language or brush up on what they already

know.

This app is valuable for teachers because they can use it in their classrooms as a helpful

tool, so they can reinforce the material and it can be a fun activity for the kids to do. It is

valuable for students because if they are struggling with learning a new language or are

struggling in a particular area of that language, this app is a great resource to use to help them

practice and learn.

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I would recommend this app because I think it is very easy to navigate, it offers multiple

languages, different categories, multiple exercises, and is interactive. Also, since it can be an app

on your phone it is accessible in and out of the classroom.

Educational Software #1

(2001-2002). GeoGebra. https://www.geogebra.org/

GeoGebra was created in 2001-2002 by an Australian mathematician, Markus

Hohenwarter, who originally created this software for his “master’s thesis in mathematics

education and computer science at the University of Salzburg in Austria” (The Journal of Online

Mathematics and its Applications, 2007). It became popular and won multiple awards and is now

available in 25 languages for free. GeoGebra is an interactive software which focuses on math

such as algebra, statistics, and calculus so this would be a great software for anyone trying to

learn or improve on these areas of math.

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This software is very easy to navigate and is very useful. There are multiple options to

choose from on the home page such as a graphing calculator, 3D graphing, geometry, augmented

reality, probability, spreadsheets, etc. The objective of this software is for the user to be able to

graph and design different equations and mathematical problems. Teachers would benefit from

this software in their classroom because they can use GeoGebra as they are teaching a lesson.

This allows the students to have a visual of what the teacher is talking about and what problems

they are working on. It is also a great tool for students who have computers at home to be able to

use this software for practice or to help with homework.

I personally find this software enjoyable to use. It is fun to play around with the different

settings and see what I can create. I think in a classroom, students would find this software

helpful and fun because it is educational and enjoyable at the same time. It gives students the

opportunity to get creative and interested in what they are learning about. For example, if the

user chooses the 3D graphing option, they can make multiple shapes, lines, and surfaces.

GeoGebra also offers tutorials, classroom resources, and their newest resources. So, if the user is

not sure how to do something/use something, they can click on the tutorials option to learn how

to do something specific. The classroom resources option gives the user premade problems that

teachers or students could use for practice. This saves time and would be a great source when

studying to have practice problems that were created by others. The newest resources option

allows the user to explore different options and graphs.

GeoGebra has many valuable characteristics. Some of the many useful characteristics is

how many options there are to explore and how this software can produce creativity in the user

by playing with these multiple options. One weakness I found was there was no videos. Maybe if
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they added videos as well it would increase their educational value. I would recommend this

software because it is educational and can be helpful in and out of the classroom. I wish that I

knew about something like this when I was taking these math classes in High School.

Educational Software #2

(2015). Musescore 2.0. https://musescore.org/en

Musescore was originally made is 2002 by Werner Schweer and has since been made into

newer versions such as Musescore 2.0 and Muse 3.0 which was just released about a week from

today, September 25, 2018. The original Musescore was made as a fork, new branch of software

development, of the MusE sequencer’s codebase. It went independent because of Schweer and

has since become a great free software for many musicians.

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This software is for musicians who want to write music. It gives the option to write music

for hundreds of different instruments. It also allows musicians to write for a choir, marching

band, orchestras, and jazz bands. Once the software is installed, it gives the user a blank music

sheet to create their own notes, key signatures, time signatures, articulations, tempo, and so much

more. These options are on the left side of the software and on the top is where the user would

get their basic notes such as half and whole notes. Also, what is great about Musescore 2.0 is it

has a feature at the top of the page that allows the user to listen to what they have written as they

go along. This is great for a classroom setting because it is easy to use yet very effective. In a

music room, the teacher could have this software available to the students for them to express

their own creativity through what notes they use, the tempo they make it, how long it is, what

they name it, etc. It is great for the students to see how everything comes together in the end to

make a beautiful piece of music.

It can also be helpful for just teachers. Using Musescore 2.0, teachers can make pieces of

music to either practice it or give it to their students to practice. Music teachers could make

scales using this software and little exercises for their kids to do. Also, if the teacher wants the

students to focus on one line of a piece of music, they could use this software to create it, so it

narrows it down to just what the teacher wants the students to focus on. This makes it easier to

learn what they need improvement on.

I would recommend this software because it is so useful for student musicians and even

people who love to write in their free time. I personally enjoyed this software the most just

because I took music classes for nine years and was in the band and marching band. When I was

in these classes I would have loved a program like this to use. I think the strengths of this
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software are how free you can be with what type of music you can make; there are hundreds of

instrument options that are available. One disadvantage that I found was there could have been

tips on how to get started if the user was a beginner.

Educational Software #3

(2001). Google Earth. https://earth.google.com/web/@10.38265517,-46.07035206,-

7584.83150383a,16753765.66316843d,35y,359.99928428h,0t,0r

Google Earth was released on June 11th, 2001 by Brian McClendon who is an American

software designer. This software is free of cost to whoever wants to explore the different parts of

the world. Many people might not think that this is an educational software, but it can be used as

a resource in and out of classrooms.

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Google Earth is a 3D display of the Earth taken from satellite images. While using this

software, the user can drag the Earth in any direction and zoom in. If you zoom in, the user will

be able to see different names pop up and if they click the names, a little image will pop up on

the right-hand corner to give the user some facts about that particular place. If the user zooms in

far enough it will display images of what that surrounding looks like. It is crazy to me how

detailed it can get!

This software would be a great interactive tool to use in a class that is learning

geography. Google Earth can take you anywhere in the world and allows the user to experience

interactive stories from around the world. For example, I learned stories and got to see videos of

“The Return of the Sea Otter” from different parts of the world. Tools like this would be a great

way for a teacher to incorporate an interactive lesson in class.

Overall, this program is extremely enjoyable and easy to use. Students can have fun

exploring different places and learning different things from around the world which encourages

them to promote critical thinking of where different places are in the world and what is located

there.

I think this software has multiple strengths such as its real-life pictures, its interactive text

and videos, and overall how the software is put together. I honestly do not have a weakness for

this software because of how effective and useful it is. I would recommend Google Earth even

though it is widely used already. It can be great for in class instruction, out of class instruction,

and if the user just wants to play around with it for fun!

While researching different websites, I learned how to detect a valuable website and how

to detect websites that are difficult to follow or not very interactive. A valuable website for
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elementary children and middle school children should be appealing to look at, reliable,

interactive, easy to follow, and most importantly the kids enjoy while be educated. The websites

that I thought displayed these characteristics was PBS Kids and Khan Academy. The App I

chose, Duolingo also displayed these characteristics. The app is great because it is accessible on

your phone so you can practice anywhere.

The Software I chose, GeoGebra, Musescore 2.0, and Google Earth taught me how to

look for an effective software. I found that finding reliable software that was free was much

more difficult than finding reliable websites. When searching for these software I made sure that

they were educational, interactive, easy to use, promoted creativity, and accessible to anyone.

The software that I chose opened my eyes to how great software can really benefit a classroom.

The ones I chose could be used in the classroom to help students improve in the areas they need

help in.

The only concern I would have with technology is to make sure the students are staying

on task when using it. A way to make sure of this is to monitor your students use and teach

students how to find a reliable resource. Overall, I think technology in the classroom is a great

idea just as long as there is a balance between technology and classroom instruction. It can be

interactive and fun for students. It really adds to whatever lesson the teacher is teaching and can

really be a valuable resource to students.

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References

Ahn, L. Learn a language for free. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.duolingo.com/

Duolingo: Learn Languages Free - Apps on Google Play. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duolingo&rdid=com.duolingo

Hohenwarter, M. Free Math Apps - used by over 100 Million Students & Teachers Worldwide.

(2002). Retrieved from https://www.geogebra.org/

Hohenwarter, M., & Preiner, J. (n.d.). Short History of GeoGebra. Retrieved from

https://www.maa.org/external_archive/joma/Volume7/Hohenwarter/History.html

Khan, S. Khan Academy. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/

McClendon, B. Google Earth – Google Earth. (2001). Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/earth/

PBS KIDS. (1994). Retrieved from http://pbskids.org/

Schweer, W. Create, play and print beautiful sheet music. (2015). Retrieved from

https://musescore.org/en

What is the history of Khan Academy? (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://khanacademy.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/202483180-What-is-the-history-of-

Khan-Academy-
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