"Create 1.1.3 – Appearance" Quest
I think that an online learning site has to be easy to navigate while including interactive elements as well as consistent and easy to read fonts. I also think that it is important for sites to use consistent nomenclature so that as students move from one module to the next, activities and assignments are named in the same ways. All of these things work together to make the learning experience pleasantly navigable and easily understandable in the absence of a physical teacher to guide the students through. Here are the resources that I perused:
1. GAVL- Aside from the fact that I am partial to my home team, we do offer great courses that adhere to my standards as listed above. With consistent colors and course layouts, it is easy for students to switch between content areas and to know immediately what to do.
2. KhanAcademy- This very successful online educational site is very organized. I like the linear layout of the pages in outline form, which include images, video, and text.
3. Shmoop- This website is super user friendly and engaging. I require that my students use it as extra practice for the AP exam. It offers content organized by introduction, skills, and practice exams from a dashboard view. There is also an element of gamification in that students can accumulate points for completing activities.
4. Mountain Heights Academy- Another linear design, this site offers OER courses laid out as weekly pods that include links to videos, PDFs, worksheets, quizzes, and fill in the box forms. It seems easy to follow and navigate but many of the links I tried for the practice activities did not work and were last modified in 2012. I am not sure how useful this site is since it is not being maintained. (I visited the Language Arts courses.)
5. Français Facile- This site is exclusively in French and offers free courses, tests for determining proficiency levels, and practice for students of all levels. The major drawback of this site is that you really need a working knowledge of French in order to know what topics to even select. I like to use it with my students but I assign specific pages to them rather than encouraging them to hunt around, mainly because it is so difficult to navigate.
6. Bonjour de France- Another site entirely in French, this one is a bit more user friendly for students to navigate on their own. The main page has a menu for choosing the skill you'd like to fine tune. Many of the modules have interactive activities and self-tests. The biggest problem with this site is that, for a non-native or lower level student, there are copious advertisements that look like activities, so it is easy to be distracted and taken to a different website.
7. ALISON- This site offers free courses in multiple languages on many topics. I could not view the courses themselves without signing up for an account but the sheer breadth of courses was impressive. It was easy to see what was courses are available and the welcome page for teachers mentions that students can learn 24/7 via self paced courses, study groups, secure "flash" testing, an option of an ad-free environment, and certification at the end of a course based on global standards. They also reach a wide group of students: workforce re-entry, employers, students, teachers, publishers, and professionals.
8. FUN- Free and open courses for higher education include official start dates and services by various institutions, such as Université Paris-Saclay, Univeristé Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, etc.
9. Académie en ligne- Sponsored by the National Ministry of Education of France, this site offers free online courses ranging from elementary school through high school. It is directed at native speakers of French. After a brief exploration, it is very user friendly but really consists of a textbook in PDF form with several audio files. Not very interesting at a glance but easy to navigate.
10. Les Bons Profs- This site is very interesting! The free courses are for the last 5 years of school for students in France. They are organized by subjects and of course I looked over the French courses. They are very easy to navigate and offer video of instructors teaching, activities to do and writing assignments. I loved the colors they used that indicated the types of exercises.
I think that an online learning site has to be easy to navigate while including interactive elements as well as consistent and easy to read fonts. I also think that it is important for sites to use consistent nomenclature so that as students move from one module to the next, activities and assignments are named in the same ways. All of these things work together to make the learning experience pleasantly navigable and easily understandable in the absence of a physical teacher to guide the students through. Here are the resources that I perused:
1. GAVL- Aside from the fact that I am partial to my home team, we do offer great courses that adhere to my standards as listed above. With consistent colors and course layouts, it is easy for students to switch between content areas and to know immediately what to do.
2. KhanAcademy- This very successful online educational site is very organized. I like the linear layout of the pages in outline form, which include images, video, and text.
3. Shmoop- This website is super user friendly and engaging. I require that my students use it as extra practice for the AP exam. It offers content organized by introduction, skills, and practice exams from a dashboard view. There is also an element of gamification in that students can accumulate points for completing activities.
4. Mountain Heights Academy- Another linear design, this site offers OER courses laid out as weekly pods that include links to videos, PDFs, worksheets, quizzes, and fill in the box forms. It seems easy to follow and navigate but many of the links I tried for the practice activities did not work and were last modified in 2012. I am not sure how useful this site is since it is not being maintained. (I visited the Language Arts courses.)
5. Français Facile- This site is exclusively in French and offers free courses, tests for determining proficiency levels, and practice for students of all levels. The major drawback of this site is that you really need a working knowledge of French in order to know what topics to even select. I like to use it with my students but I assign specific pages to them rather than encouraging them to hunt around, mainly because it is so difficult to navigate.
6. Bonjour de France- Another site entirely in French, this one is a bit more user friendly for students to navigate on their own. The main page has a menu for choosing the skill you'd like to fine tune. Many of the modules have interactive activities and self-tests. The biggest problem with this site is that, for a non-native or lower level student, there are copious advertisements that look like activities, so it is easy to be distracted and taken to a different website.
7. ALISON- This site offers free courses in multiple languages on many topics. I could not view the courses themselves without signing up for an account but the sheer breadth of courses was impressive. It was easy to see what was courses are available and the welcome page for teachers mentions that students can learn 24/7 via self paced courses, study groups, secure "flash" testing, an option of an ad-free environment, and certification at the end of a course based on global standards. They also reach a wide group of students: workforce re-entry, employers, students, teachers, publishers, and professionals.
8. FUN- Free and open courses for higher education include official start dates and services by various institutions, such as Université Paris-Saclay, Univeristé Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, etc.
9. Académie en ligne- Sponsored by the National Ministry of Education of France, this site offers free online courses ranging from elementary school through high school. It is directed at native speakers of French. After a brief exploration, it is very user friendly but really consists of a textbook in PDF form with several audio files. Not very interesting at a glance but easy to navigate.
10. Les Bons Profs- This site is very interesting! The free courses are for the last 5 years of school for students in France. They are organized by subjects and of course I looked over the French courses. They are very easy to navigate and offer video of instructors teaching, activities to do and writing assignments. I loved the colors they used that indicated the types of exercises.
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