Starfall.com

I evaluated a website called Starfall.com. This exercise was brilliant, because it helped me realize what I need to look for in a site that I may want to use for my classroom. When I went to the site initially, I thought that it would be a fantastic website to use with my students. It was colorful, full of phonics lessons, and even discreetly separated by age/ reading levels.
With the evaluation sheet that I used to guide me in realizing what the important aspects are in a website, I realized that it was not quite as perfect as it looks to someone who does not know what details to look for. I feel that after going to different websites and picking them apart to ensure that they are “reliable, accurate, current, presented with no apparent bias and follow good design principles for accessibility,” I am more prepared to find websites that will be most effective for my students.
I never before thought to look for the date that the website was updated or for the author’s information. I now realize how important that could be when considering how frequently curriculum and the information that we give to children can change. If you do not emphasize the importance of updated information, you might be teaching children things that are outdated or no longer “the best” way to teach them. Also, all websites should have the author’s (or somebody associated to the website) contact information in the event that something is not working or the user is unsure of how to use it.
I not only enjoyed this exercise, but I learned a lot of things that now seem like common sense, but I had just never thought about before as important when it comes to using websites.