Reviews-Websites+LIS+5250

=__**Website Reviews**__ =

__**eThemes []**__
> These sites are about George Washington, the first U.S. President. Read biographies, timelines, letters, and diaries. There is also information about the Washington Monument. Includes lesson plans, classroom activities, and online quizzes. There are links to eThemes Resources on presidents and Presidents Day.
 * COST: Free, you just have to make an account.
 * PUBLISHER: University of Missouri
 * REVIEWS: I couldn't find any specific reviewers for the site but the site is run by the University of Missouri which would lead one to think that the information should be reliable.
 * UNIQUE: They have several ways you can search the site, by date, alphabetically, or by grade level. If you can't find the category you want you can submit a request for the site to be updated. They also have resources aligned to specific state education standards.
 * U.S. President: George Washington 100% match (great that it tells you how good of a match the site is for your search)
 * Grades:5,6,7,8 (I love that this site includes grade level for each search)

**__IPL2 (Internet Public Library and Librarians' Internet Index) []__**
> || Learn about **George** **Washington** from the second grade classrooms at Pocantico Hills School. Find a **George** **Washington** timeline, a quiz, a glossary, interesting facts, activities, and more. || > || [|http://www.pocanticohills.org/**washington**/**washington**.htm] ||
 * COST: Free, site advertises itself as a public service website.
 * PUBLISHER: Drexel, College of Information Science and Technology, also supported by the College of Information at Florida State University.
 * REVIEWS: Volunteer students and library science professionals.
 * UNIQUE: Gives examples in both APA and MLA format for citing information obtained through the site. This site has around 20 different colleges that are involved with the site.
 * || <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **George** **Washington**: Father of Our Country [[image:http://www.ipl.org/div/images/magnifier.gif width="12" height="14" caption="View" link="http://www.ipl.org/IPL/Display?key=res:ipl-73806&layout=blank"]] ||

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This was one of the only hits returned that mentioned grade level.

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Sweet Search [] or Sweet Search 4 Me (elementary level) []__**
<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The first president of the United States, **George Washington**, is often referred to as the Father of Our Country. He was known for his love of the land and farming, **...** <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[]
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: Free
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLISHER: Dulcinea Media Inc.
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: Sites are reviewed by teachers, librarians, and on staff research experts.
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">UNIQUE: Site also has a day to day search so students can learn something new every day and you can also search for just biographies or just social studies topics.
 * ===<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|**George Washington** - America's Story from America's Library] ===

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Sites pulled up on this site were a little harder to wade through than the previous two. Information didn't seem to be quite as streamlined, I felt like it jumped <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> around. The first hit was for information about Washington's birthday and then it jumped to life at the White House then just information on libraries and places <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> named after George Washington. I think you would have to really make sure you know what you're looking for, otherwise, this site might prove a little hard to <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> handle.

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**Virtual Learning Resources Center []**__
> <span class="s" style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Includes portrait, a short list of biographical facts, and related links. > <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> [|www.ipl.org/div/potus/g**washington**.html]
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: Free
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLISHER: <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica;">Dr. Michael Bell, former state chair of the Texas Association of School Librarians
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: Teachers and Library Professionals
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">UNIQUE: Had options for different languages front and center on the home page. Also has categories listed in detail on the home page, great way to refine your search at the beginning so you don't have to wade through tons of information.
 * ==<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|**George Washington** - **Presidents** of the **United States** (POTUS)] ==

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> I refined my search to U.S. President biographies right off the bat and then searched for George Washington. I felt like I was able to get a lot of quality <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> information this way.

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__netTrekker d.i. (JCKL database)__**
<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[] <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Discover the real George Washington by viewing this interactive timeline which is a companion to a traveling exhibition. Highlights include animated videos on his life, battle maps, and memories from his wife, Martha. <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Social Studies] > [|U.S. History] > [|Presidents of the United States] > [|George Washington]
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: Free 14 day trial, after that you're supposed to contact an account manager to see about pricing options for your business or school
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLISHER: Thinkronize Inc.
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: Could not find any specific information about reviewers.
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">UNIQUE: Site admits to not being able to review every single thing that comes up through netTrekker. They remind clients that they will have to exercise a degree of responsibility when sorting through information. While this is true it does make me feel slightly wary of the site, isn't the purpose for them to have presorted items into credible information for me to use? Definite pro about the site is that you can sort info by elementary, middle, and high school students.
 * <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Discover the Real George Washington: New Views from Mount Vernon

<span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> I was able to sort my search by category and narrow everything down to information that better pertained to my subject. I also liked that I could search for images <span style="color: #ab350c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> as well.