Hello, friends! In today's post I offer you a a web 1.0 website evaluation to use in any of your classes. These websites are analyzed according to Dudeney & Hockly (2007) in How to Teach English with Technology. Without further ado, here is the evaluation. Hope you find it useful!
Note: every page is hyperlinked for easier access.
Unit of work chosen: FOOD & HEALTHY EATING
Level of students: intermediate
Objectives:
To identify, differentiate and classify food items.
To produce sentences to about eating routines
To express preferences about food.
To distinguish healthy eating habits and implement them.
Web 1.0 websites
Vidictionary- video dictionary
Kids Wordsmyth- English children dictionary
English Club- website designed to learn English
Vocabulary Spelling City - vocabulary practice website
Vocabulary A-Z - vocabulary website
Games4esl- YouTube channel with games
ESL Games + - Grammar and vocabulary games
Games to Learn English - Grammar and vocabulary games
Website evaluation
Accuracy: According to the Vidictionary website (n.d.), the page has been created by an experienced teacher of English who has been working in the field for over two decades. Moreover, he is a video artist, so he is experienced both in teaching and video making. The page content is also reliable and factually correct, as it displays accurate definitions.
Currency: the webpage appears to be up-to-date compared with other dictionary sites. This page has been updated in 2021.
Content: the site is very interesting because it offers learners visual aid on words rather than simple written definitions. It can be motivating for students to search for visual definitions that move rather than simply reading what a word means. However, the overall design is a bit too simple and borderline old-fashioned, which can be a drawback when engaging students. The page does not have captivating color combinations or attractive fonts, but it is very simple to navigate, even for students who don’t know much about technology.
Functionality: the site works well and there are no broken links. The content loads quickly and the sound and animations shown do not present any trouble.
Accuracy: According to the Kids Wordsmyth website (n.d), the site was created by a skilled web developer following the wishes of a school. The page is reliable and factually correct as it was written and edited by a group of full-time experienced editors. In addition, the information used integrates dictionaries and thesaurus data (Kids Wordsmyth website n.d).
Currency: the page seems up-to-date and it was last updated in 2021.
Content: the site looks engaging and more stimulating than simple dictionaries. As it is a dictionary specially designed for kids, the overall design helps to make it attractive for young learners and it is also easy to navigate. The sections and divisions are clearly stated and signalized and the information presented is very straightforward.
Functionality: there appears to be no broken links and the site works perfectly well. The site loads quickly and the sound features, albeit a bit slow, work fine.
Accuracy: According to the website English Club (n.d), the website was created by an experienced English teacher who has worked in this field for over 30 years. He also wrote several books on education, which makes him very experienced in the subject matter. Furthermore, the page has many contributors who are knowledgeable in the subject. This site is reliable and factually correct as it has several moderators who edit the content (English Club, n.d).
Currency: the content appears to be up-to-date because many people contribute regularly with feedback and new ideas. This page was last updated in 2021.
Content: the content may be stimulating and interesting mainly for older students who are already used to working on their own (they can find their own material to practice, for instance); for younger learners, the page may seem a bit overwhelming or tedious due to the amount of features offered (specially when navigating the main page). However, all learners will find the games offered gripping. The design of the page is very simple but effective, as it has all its features and content efficiently arranged.
Functionality: the site works perfectly well and there are no broken links: It also loads fast and the content provided does as well.
Accuracy: According to the Vocabulary Spelling City website (2019), the site was created by a fully qualified software developer who has a deep interest in enriching education through technology. The page is reliable and factually correct as it was developed by multiple experts, constantly introduces new features and modifies its contents according to the users’ feedback (Vocabulary Spelling City, 2019). In addition, this site has won several awards, which strengthens its reliability.
Currency: the content seems to be up-to-date as it is regularly modified and perfectioned by creators and users.
Content: the site is very stimulating and gripping for students as they are playing games while learning. The site is easy to navigate and the colors and design chosen are simple but effective.
Functionality: the page works well and there appears to be no broken links. Every other feature loads fast and works fine.
Accuracy: According to the Vocabulary A-Z website (n.d.), the site was created by an education company called Cambrium Learning. The page is reliable and factually correct because it is developed by several educational market experts and improves its content through institutional resources (Vocabulary A-Z, n.d.). In addition, this site has also won several awards.
Currency: the page is up-to-date as it is constantly improving their material by building respect and cultural awareness (Vocabulary A-Z, n.d.). It was last updated in 2021.
Content: the page is very stimulating as it presents a wide variety of activities in a very engaging way. The design is captivating for learners due to the colors used and the visual aid provided. It is very easy to navigate because every feature is clearly organized but if the user lacks a premium account navigating may become a bit troublesome (for example, the access to some features).
Functionality: Links work perfectly fine, but as it was stated above, access may be deterred. The page works perfectly fine and loads quickly in every way.
Games4esl (YouTube channel)
Accuracy: According to the Games4esl website (2020), the Youtube channel, along with the main web page Games4esl, was created by experienced ESL teachers who have worked in this field for more than 10 years and are therefore knowledgeable in the subject matter. The content they offer has been proof-tested and tried by students (Games4esl, 2020). It can also be deemed reliable and factually correct as it offers trustworthy material that can be compared with information presented by reliable sources (such as dictionaries).
Currency: the content is up-to-date and continuously being updated both in the webpage and Youtube channel. The Youtube channel was last updated on June 10, 2021.
Content: this channel offers a wide variety of videos that can be very engaging and stimulating for learners, as it offers fun games and activities containing pictures and illustrations, a nice design and aesthetic and music to accompany them. The videos provided are also short, which can be motivating for learners. Students are constantly engaging with videos in their daily lives, so presenting some in lessons is a very stimulating way for them to learn. Furthermore, they are uploaded onto a Youtube channel, a website students find familiar and practical to use, so they will most likely know beforehand how to navigate this page. Even if they never engaged with a Youtube channel, it is very easy to explore because all the material is organized in sections or “reproduction lists” depending on the kind of content. We can therefore say that the content is attractive and very easy to navigate.
Functionality: the site works perfectly well and there are no broken links (each video has links that take the viewer to other pages on its description, and they work fine). The videos load quickly, the sound and the image is high-quality (if for any reason the video does not work or it is blurry, you can adjust the quality).
Accuracy: According to the ESL Games + website (2020), the site was produced by an education company who specializes in making teaching material, and therefore it is skillful in the subject matter. It is reliable and factually correct because the content has been proof-read by skillful editors and educators.
Currency: the site is up-to-date due to the fact that other sources use similar material. This page was last updated in 2021.
Content: the content can be very stimulating and interesting for learners, specially for younger ones. It offers a wide variety of fun games for students to learn and enjoy at the same time. The games are very simple to understand, but if any student should have a problem, the site presents a fast and easy tutorial on how to play. The vibrant colors used help catch the user’s attention and the visual structure is coherent, which makes the site easy to navigate.
Functionality: the page works accordingly, loads quickly and all the links function properly. The animations and sounds work perfectly fine as well.
Accuracy: there is little to no information about the creator, so it is unknown whether they are an expert on the subject matter. The page is reliable and factually correct because the content presented resembles other websites.
Currency: the content seems to be up-to-date but the page does not offer any information about its last update.
Content: it is interesting and stimulating for students not only because of the gripping contents offered, but also because students can perfectly navigate the site on their own thanks to its simple interface. The design and color combinations are captivating and the page is extremely easy to navigate, even for young students.
Functionality: the page works accordingly and no links are broken. The games and its features work correctly as well.
References
Hockly, N., & Dudeney, G. (2007) Chapter 3 “Using websites”. In How to Teach English with Technology. Essex: Pearson.Vidtionary About. (n.d.). Vidtionary: A Video Dictionary. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from http://www.vidtionary.com/about
Origin and Development of the Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus | Wordsmyth. (n.d.). Kids Wordsmyth. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://kids.wordsmyth.net/we/?mode=history
About EnglishClub - for learners and teachers of English. (n.d.). English Club. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://www.englishclub.com/about/
VocabularySpellingCity- About Us. (2019, July 23). VocabularySpellingCity. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://www.spellingcity.com/about-us.html
Product Overview. (n.d.). Vocabulary A-Z. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://www.vocabularya-z.com/main/ViewPage/name/vocabulary-product-overview#!/member-home
About. (2020, November 20). Games4esl. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://games4esl.com/about/
About. (n.d.. Games to Learn English. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/pages/about/
ESL Games. (2020, July 20). Games for Learning English, Vocabulary, Grammar Games, Activities, ESL. ESL Games Plus. Retrieved 14 June 2021, from https://www.eslgamesplus.com/
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