WEBSITE OF SHERRI DAVIS-GOOGE
Website Evaluation for Many Things Webmasters: Charles and Lawrence Kelly www.manythings.org Reviewed by Sherri Davis-Googe
SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION: The Many Things website is described as a fun study site for learners of English as a Second Language. There are word games, puzzles, quizzes, and exercises to practice various grammar rules, vocabulary lists, and the writing of various sentence patterns. In addition, there are activities to investigate proverbs, slangs, and idioms. This site is unique in that offers visitors “listen and repeat” podcasts that teaches songs and tells jokes. The “Many Things” site is appropriately titled. Visitors to the site are offered a wealth of information on the parts of the English language as well as various activities to promote learning. This review will focus on the English Vocabulary section, which is representative of the general formats used throughout the site. ACCURACY OF CONTENT: The content of the Vocabulary section is not only accurate and complete, but is also well organized. For example, the “Beginner’s English Vocabulary Words Lists” are divided into the following categories: Body, Colors, Days of the Week, Months, Numbers 1-10 and Numbers 1-20. Users are instructed to study a set of words then choose a game. Other available lists include ESL/EFL Basic Vocabulary, Word Pairs, Comprehensive Lists and Large Lists. Instructions for games, puzzles and quizzes are described in simple terms and the content is tied to the vocabulary lists. TECHNICAL QUALITY: The technical quality of the Many Things website is exceptional. Strategically placed on the homepage is a “First Time” link. The link is a path to an introduction page which encourages the user to try a list selected activities. The page functions as a mini-tutorial, designed to familiarize the user with the content and format of the site. The site is very easy to navigate. It does not require excessive scrolling and the amount of clicks from a main page to sub-pages are few. The site’s use of graphics, sounds, and animation is effective to promote learning. Familiar sounds are used to indicate correct and incorrect responses; a bell and buzz respectively. The graphics and animation work together to keep the user engaged in the learning process. The only drawback is that there is no mechanism to exit from an activity screen. The user is not prompted to return to the main page until the end of the activity. The back browser button must be used to exit during an activity. In some cases, “how to” instructions are not clear. For example, in the Word Drop Game, the instructions read: unscramble the word by clicking two letters to exchange their places. It would be helpful if the instructions included the text “until the word is unscrambled.” The directions may be misinterpreted to mean that it only takes 2 clicks to unscramble the word. USE OF TECHNOLOGY: The Many Things website makes exceptional use of technology to promote learning. Users can choose from a variety of activities to practice the English language. To practice vocabulary words, students can choose a game of Hangman, Word Scramble, and Complete the Word. In one game students can test their typing skills while practicing spelling words.. Feedback is given throughout the activity and is summarized at the end. For example, in the “Every Other Letter Game, a buzzer sounds if the user types in a wrong answer, and then the correct answer is displayed. A beep sounds for a correct answer. A performance ticker is updated at the top of screen-it tracks the percent correct and number of remaining questions. At the end of the activity, a result page displays quiz scores, number correct and wrong, game points and total time. Much of the content is printable. Vocabulary lists can be printed for studying purposes. In addition, result summary pages can be kept to track progress. The vocabulary list associated with the activity is listed in the header. ROLE OF STUDENTS: The Many Things site does a great job of intertwining content and fun. Students benefit greatly from this combination. The vocabulary lists clearly define the content to be mastered; the games/activities and quizzes affords the students entertaining and multiple opportunities to test their knowledge. Feedback is immediate and useful. The site is easy to navigate; the format streamlined is such a way that it allows the student to construct meaning. The option of choice is employed well in the site. Students are able to choose how they would like to test their knowledge. By doing so, students are vested in the learning process. ROLE OF TEACHER: Incorporating the Many Things website into the classroom would require minimal effort from the teacher. To prepare the students to use the site, teachers can direct them to the “First Time” link. Because the site content is well defined into subject categories, teachers can easily link the site content to the curriculum. The result summary page provides a means for monitoring of students’ learning outcomes. Because the site is “fully-packaged,” teachers can dedicate their time to making the most of the content. CLASSROOM USAGE: The site can be easily adapted for any classroom learning situation. Teachers can use it to introduce/review concepts to the whole class, students can work together in small groups to tackle information and individuals can review and practice concepts. In all of these situations, students are able to effectively construct meaning. CRITICAL SUMMARY: By reviewing the Many Things website, I better understand the components of a good website: 1) useful and usable content, 2) easy to navigate, 3) entertaining presentation of content. In addition, to the above, the site is teacher and student friendly. Teachers are able to quickly adapt the website for classroom use and students can use the site without much preparation. In some cases, activity instructions are not clear and navigation prompts are not available. However, these issues do not interfere with the overall benefits of the website. OVERALL RATING: 9 EXPLANATION OF RATING: The Many Things website is a good representation of a useful website for the classroom. The deduction in score is attributed to the minor navigation issues.
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© S. Davis-Googe | Last revised April 25, 2008 | email: tdavisgooge@sjc.edu