For this product, I selected three websites with different domains (teacherspayteachers.com, Xtramath.org, and Cortland.edu) and evaluated their credibility using various evaluation criteria.
The first website I evaluated was teacherspayteachers.com. When I completed a WHOis Lookup, I found out the website was created on November 1, 2005 and it was last updated on April 26, 2015. The website was registered by GODADDY.COM, LLC which seemed a little strange to me. After searching godaddy.com I learned it is a website for finding website domains. Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) does not have an author listed, however, there is an “about” link which tells the story of Paul Edelman and how he founded this website. He created this website to allow teachers to collaborate and share their creations all over the world. The “about” page also informed me that teachers have earned $330 million for selling their materials since the website’s founding, there are four million active members of the site, and 2.4 million resources are available on the site today. In addition, over 214,000 resources are specific to Common Core State Standards. The resources and information on the site seem very reliable and accurate. Some examples of resources I found on TpT include lesson plans/units, activities, classroom décor, games, and interactive notebooks. The website is very organized and has many categories to search from. Main categories include by subject, grade level, and price. Although most resources need to be paid for, there are free downloads available for its users. Overall, the page seems to have integrity and reliability as a source. The links are true to the site and is easy to navigate. I found no typographical errors or spelling mistakes. I believe this website to be a credible source and very helpful to its users.
The second website I evaluated was Xtramath.org. Similar to Teachers Pay Teachers, I did not find a listed author, however, there was an “about” link. On this page there is an XtraMath Team Photo with the seven people behind the website and idea of XtraMath. This page listed a little bit of information about each person and their role to the XtraMath crew. The site was created to provide supplemental math activities for anyone to improve their math skills. GoDaddy.com also registered XtraMath but under the registrant of David Jeschke in Seattle, Washington. According to WHOis Lookup, the website was created in 2007 and updated in 2014. However, the registry expiration date was listed in 2015, which I found odd. At the bottom left of the website a Copyright is listed from the years 2009-2016. The website is free for parents, students, and teacher use and has different tabs which link to videos with explanations for each. Additionally, there is a “Help” link available with frequently asked questions. If a question can’t be found on that list, there is also a link to contact XtraMath support for further assistance. This contact link in addition to the beneficial videos helps me to believe this is a credible source and website. My host teacher uses XtraMath in her classroom and never seems to have an issue with it. The students complete their daily math activities during one of their math centers and then the teacher can see who completed it and how they did on her end. I find this an effective educational website for educators and very advantageous to students. I plan on using this website in my future classroom.
The last website I evaluated was Cortland.edu. Again, no author is listed but there is a footer stating a postal address with a phone number and a link to contact the author or website monitor. Many links are offered through this website including a search bar to search within the website. This website also includes an “about” link listing more links and sections regarding different aspects of the college SUNY Cortland. All of the information I found proved reliable and error free with no spelling and grammar mistakes. Regarding judgment, I found no influence by emotions or personal predjuices. This website is a complete site covering all topics of the index. It is very user friendly and easily navigated. The website is directed to audiences of future and current students, parents/families, faculty/staff, and its alumni and community members. The website also links to its “myRedDragon” login site for members with users and login information. I found the search bar to allow web surfers to search the site very effective and overall found this website to be a highly credible source. Representing a college, it’s important for its website to be effective and reliable.
References
SUNY Cortland (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2017 from https://www.cortland.edu
Teachers Pay Teachers (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2017 from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com
Who Is (2015). Retrieved January 13, 2017 from https://www.whois.net XtraMath (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2017, from https://www.xtramath.org