Thursday, October 30, 2014
Starfall
www.starfall.com
Starfall is an interactive online teaching tool for youngsters. It teaches phonics, alphabet, and sight words. The graphics are good, as far as animation and music. It is accessible by students and therefore easy to navigate. The colors used are bright and grab attention. When navigating through the alphabet, the letters are set up like the wooden ABC blocks. Familiar pictures help with prior knowledge when looking at what to click. The letters glitter or an arrow will move to show students where and when to click.
Starfall is an interactive online teaching tool for youngsters. It teaches phonics, alphabet, and sight words. The graphics are good, as far as animation and music. It is accessible by students and therefore easy to navigate. The colors used are bright and grab attention. When navigating through the alphabet, the letters are set up like the wooden ABC blocks. Familiar pictures help with prior knowledge when looking at what to click. The letters glitter or an arrow will move to show students where and when to click.
What to Evaluate
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High
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Med
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Low
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Score
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Instructional Aspects:
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Objectives clearly stated
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Objectives appropriately sequenced
| 5 |
4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Instructional strategies appropriate for the objectives
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
| 5 | ||
Instructional activities/process clearly described
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Tasks adequate/significant for achieving objectives
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
| 5 | ||
Resources adequate/significant for achieving objectives
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Learning achievement adequately evaluated
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Evaluation criteria clearly expressed
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Motivational Aspects:
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Gaining and maintaining learners’ attention
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Relating to learners’ interest and goals
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Building on learners’ prior knowledge & foreshadowing what the lesson is about.
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Providing positive feedback and feeling of accomplishment
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Motivational strategies serve for objectives
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Web Design Aspects:
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Navigation is clear and easy to access
|
5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Authorship and date is clearly stated
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Text follows the rules of grammar, spelling and literary composition
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Use of multimedia (Text, graphic, audio, video, animation, etc.) is visually appeal
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Mechanical aspects (No broken links, misplaced or missing images, etc.)
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Web design appropriate for objectives
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Web design appropriate for learner characteristics
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
|
5
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TOTAL
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100
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Cool find! This would be great for teaching young students to read. The colors and graphics are great for the pre-school and kindergarten age.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carrie! Website definitly caught my eye with the bright colors and bold images. Great for early elementary/pre-school age groups.
ReplyDeleteEven would be great for parents to use to interact with their kids at home to help them get ahead of the curve, before they start school. Great job Missy!
Great animation and looks like a lot of fun for younger children. In fact, I think it is one of the computer games my children have played at the computers during center time. I thought the audio was great and would help keep the interest of smaller children.
ReplyDeleteI teach in the secondary setting and this site would be beneficial for our special education children who read at elementary levels. They are shy and uncomfortable with learning disability and this is a fun way to encourage them to read. Good module!
ReplyDeleteKids would love this site. It's bright, clean and colorful. I know a first grader who is hungry to work beyond her grade level. She is already reading at the third grade level, and I think she would like this site. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteGreat site for little children. I have grand kids, so naturally, I was impressed with this site. I have always believed in using phonics to help children sound out their words when learning to read. All the visuals and sounds seemed to be very supportive in teaching the information. I was also surprised to see how comprehensive it was, as it covers a wide range of different subjects. Great site!
ReplyDeleteLove this website. The colors and interactivity is great and very appealing. This website is also got a lot of great instruction built into it. I am going to introduce this to my 4 year old niece. I think it will do a great job of introducing her to basic reading.
ReplyDeleteThis a great website for kids that are just beginning to read or are struggling readers. The animations and colors help to keep students engaged.
ReplyDeleteVery engaging website, with the target audience used to create appropriate media! I looked at the store link and it includes free apps along with workbooks and materials for purchase. Nice options to help students learn.
ReplyDeleteThis site was great. The graphics are very lifelike. I like that it captures your attention. The stars are a great visual as you navigate throughout the site. I also liked the use of audio in the site. A child can hear the sounds of each letter as well as the alphabet. Printables are also available. It was easy to navigate as well.
ReplyDeleteThis site is wonderful for younger learners- the graphics, sounds, and questions are very appropriate and keep the learner interested. I don't never figured out what the reward stars are for in the end, I also thought the pace was kind of slow, but then again, I'm not trying to use this website to learn.
ReplyDeleteThis site reminds me of ABC Mouse. My niece would love it. Great colors and ease of use make it a wonderful tool for kids. Yes, the pace was slow...for us, but for young students the objective is to learn. They don't need to rush just to get the monkey to another coin. They need to play, listen and absorb. Too much stimulation can, actually interfere with learning.
ReplyDeleteStarfall has been around for at least a decade... And, its functions are growing with the development of technologies. Yes, it is a wonderful site for young or special need learners' literacy development with its bright color, interesting stories and audio. However, we have much more tools like this nowadays.
ReplyDelete