Education Internet Site Analysis Essay, Research Paper

The Internet site I explored is gsn.org that is the Government Schoolhouse. The Global Schoolhouse recently merged with Lightspan.com to bring teachers the most educational site about teaching. The three major links within the site are Collaborative Projects, Communication Tools and Professional Development.

The Collaborative Projects link provides teachers with information concerning Field Trips, Project Registry, Geo Game, Online Expeditions, Make a Difference and Newsday. The Field Trips link provides information about Hosting a Field Trip and how to Join a Field Trip. The Hosting a Field Trip link gives detail about various field trip experiences. The Join a Field Trip link gives you the ability to post information concerning prior field trips and the different experiences teachers had with students. Also you have the ability to participate in on going field trips with other classes in various states and counties. Teachers also may perform a Learning Search where you may enter a keyword such as Reading and do a search for all Encyclopedia, Home Activities, etc. You also may sort the information by different grade levels such as K-8, K-12, 3-4, etc.

The Project Registry link provides various projects for teachers to give students as a learning experience and participating in projects as well. One example is a class is learning about farms. Other kindergarten classes will participate and tell what type of farms they have in their area. You have the ability to add a project, update a project and review various projects. The Geo Project is a game that is also a learning experience for students. The purpose is to learn geography terms, learn how to read and interpret maps and increase awareness of geographical and cultural diversity. There are various games to choose from and teachers must register once in order to get access to the game site.

The Online Expeditions link gives students and teachers the ability to have incredible adventures in exotic locales without spending a dime or leaving the room. Whether explorers travel the Silk Road of China or climb Mt. Everest, learning becomes an unforgettable adventure as students join thrilling, real-time expeditions to remote and fascinating locations. The Make a Difference link was designed by 11 and 12-year-old students at Burley Middle School in Northern England. It gives information about England’s past such as how did kings and queens of old live, where did they sleep, how did they make their food, etc. There are also various archives about other countries and there past living. In the Newsday link, students will write articles and post them for the whole world to see. Then they will read and choose articles from other schools to download and include in their own newspaper. Your students’ reading and writing skills will improve while they learn about current local, national, and global issues.

The Collaborative Site link is very helpful in that it provides various ways to get students and teachers more involved in school activities while learning at the same time. If teachers can make students learning experience fun and exciting, it will benefit the students greatly while making students want to learn. The various projects within the site also provide teachers with a different way of teaching and may also better there teaching skills as well. This portion of the site I feel is most informative and important in that it gives both the teacher and student a better way of understanding how to communicate and to get involved.

The Communication Tools link includes Classroom Conferencing, Mailing Lists, Discussion Boards, and Newsletter-Signups. With Classroom Conferencing, you have the ability to use live video conferencing to communicate to classrooms all over the world. The different Mailing Lists give you the ability to register and receive regular updates of what’s happening and what’s new in classroom education. The discussion board gives you the ability to post and discuss any information, ideas or opinions. You may post or reply on the board. The Newsletter-Signups link is a monthly newsletter that keeps you updated with the latest Lightspan news, features, and contests.

The Communication Tools link is also very helpful in that teachers have the ability to provide the class with video conferencing from other classrooms or provide the teaching themselves. This portion of the site can be helpful for teachers so they can get different ideas on how to teach students while educating themselves at the same time. The discussion board and newsletters give teachers the ability to request information on how to teach or provide information for others. This is very valuable in that the more educated the teacher, the more knowledge they will have to teach the students. I am particularly interested in the Discussion Board portion of the site for it gives the teachers the ability to post questions or concerns and to have other teachers respond to them. This is very helpful in that you will receive multiple responses and opinions concerning the post.

The Professional Development link provides teachers with various links and resources in order to gather information concerning teaching. For example, the School Leaders link provides information concerning the various resources, organizations, and tools for administrators, technology coordinators, superintendents, and other education leaders.

The Professional Development link is also very helpful in that it provides various resources for teachers to gather information concerning teaching. Quality professional development is critical to teacher effectiveness in helping students become better learners. The various links within the page include articles, conferences and workshops. This is a helpful resource in that teachers may educate themselves with different tutorials and workshops to better there teaching.