Specific language I saw (which is hard to find because it is so familiar to me) is ELA, rubric and phonemic awareness

This site is crowded but every item can be clicked and leads you to more specific options. While the site did require me to pause and take in all I was viewing, once I understood the organization everything was organized logically and became easy to navigate. Just as Krug talks about, The site did not make me think about how to find what I need. (Chapter 5). Other technigues mentioned by Krug found in this web site are a tagline web navigation conventions and persistent navigation.

I would find the site useful as would most elementary teachers. I do like sites that more clearly separate grade levels but this site is so full of so many things I found great things.

I like the site. It references so many other sites and I think if I was looking for a addition game online I might search here before google.

CLRN homepage design layout follows good basic design principles. The choice of colors is well blended so that they are pleasing to the eye. Page Title is properly placed in the upper left with a statement of purpose for the site. The site has usability features such as, resizable text, colored links, and the use of white space. All important content is placed above the page break. The drop-down list menu bar is clearly labeled and contains links to connecting site pages. The page layout is consistent throughout the site. The resource tab contains several search options, subjects offered, and a video of how to search the site. The about us tab contain a site map.

The home page defines the terminology used throughout the pages such as, (ELR,) Electronic Learning Resources, (WILs) Web Information Links, and (ELARs) Electronic Learning Assessment Resources.

This site would be most useful to teachers, students, parents, and anyone interested in K-12 subject material.

I would rate it as a good site. It is easy to navigate through the information and the layout is straight forward, not over whelming.

In making my comments to my classmates, I was merely following suggestions of the award winning author, Steve Krug recommended in his book, “Don’t Make Me Think; A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.” This is required reading for our class.

The front page includes the subject categories in the left-hand column, and the my links to the best search tools on the front page. (There is a subject page with many more, to allow the educator the choices they need.) In addition, the shopping and kids pages are there to expose teachers to these sites, to include in links pages they make for students or for their professional growth.

The right-hand column includes the content I have created– the slide shows that I have given over the years, the bulletin board information, the yearly calendars, the assessment data, readability information, etc. All of these items have been added at the request of teachers over the years. I check the traffic on the pages each month, and, if a section is not being used, it is deleted. Everything you see is consistently used heavily by teachers each month.

I disagree that these things should be separated onto separate pages. A good Web page includes broad categories right up front in order to help the user decide if the page includes the type of information they need.

Kathy

1. Whereas this site promises to be specific to educators, it is not. While there is information for k-12 and college educators, there is also a section called “Kidstuff” for kids, and a “Shopping” section which is useful to the general public. So, there are many layers, including kids, teachers, and the general public.
2. Following are references I found that are community specific, where the community is educators: “Fry’s Readability Graph,” “Assessments and Rubrics,” “Bulletin Board Ideas,” “WebQuest,”
3. The site uses many techniques suggested by Krug. The supposed purpose of the web site is immediately identifiable by the tagline (Krug, p.101, 103-106). The site also uses web navigation conventions (Krug, p.60-61). There are clear signs delineating the parts of the home page: SUBJECT ACCESS, TEACHER HELPERS, SEARCH TOOLS, SCHROCKGUIDESTUFF. The website uses “persistent navigation”, so that the same navigation elements are on every page in the site. (Krug, p.62).
4. I think that educators would find this site useful, as it compiles a lot of information into one site. Although there is material for others such as kids, they aren’t likely to come here, considering that the tagline says the site is a guide for educators.
5. If this site were simplified, I’d be more inclined to use it. While there is a lot of useful information, the “noise” bothers me. There is way too much information on the home page. Some things could be separated and placed on another page–such as “search tools”—instead of crowding them onto the home page. The Schrockguidestuff should be deleted, or placed on another page with a link on the home page. Also, some information is redundant. For instance, the tagline, “Kathy Schrock’s Guide For Educators” doesn’t need to be there twice.