Reviews-Media+LIS+5250

**Media Reviewing Tools**


 * ALA’s Games and Gaming Resources [] **
 * COST: Information on this site is free.
 * PUBLICATION: maintained by the American Library Association
 * REVIEWS: The software committee of the ALA provides recommendations for children's software, including games and education products
 * QUALITIES: This could be a great way to get younger children excited about technology. Kids almost always start their technology use with a game and this would give you options to make that gaming experience fun and educational. It would also allow you start showing students proper use of technology early on by being able to introduce the technology into younger classrooms.


 * Cnet.com http://www.cnet.com **
 * COST: Information on this site is free.
 * PUBLICATION: maintained by CBS Interactive
 * REVIEWS: The site has a list of reviewers and their biographies, as well as their individual media specialty.
 * QUALITIES: This site had reviews of products organized by category, simplifying your search, and had a list of software you could download for free. I thought it was easy to use and found it very helpful during the video lab project.


 * eSchool News http://www.eschoolnews.com/ **
 * COST: Information on the site is free, but the do have a newsletter that you have to register for. The subscription cost is free to educators, but I was able to access old issues straight from the website without being prompted for log in information.
 * PUBLICATION: maintained by eSchool Media Inc.
 * REVIEWS: I couldn't find who, if anyone, actually reviews products for the site.
 * QUALITIES: They have a section in each issue of eSchool News devoted to new technology and it has product information from the manufacturer. Also being able to access past issues online is a big plus. They also have a section on funding and obtaining grants for your school as well as a section for educator and how to use and add technology to your classroom.


 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">MacWorld http://www.macworld.com/ **
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: One year subscription is $24.97 plus a free bonus cd. You can browse the entire online site for free though.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLICATION: Mac Publishing LLC
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: This site also has its reviews separated by category and most product reviews appear to be done by someone working for MacWorld. I was unable to locate credentials on anyone and they do have some reviews done by product users.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">QUALITIES: This site is dedicated to Apple products, a one stop shopping for mac users. The site is well organized, has a great help section, and has a shop and compare section.


 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Multimedia & Internet@Schools http://www.mmischools.com/ **
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: Free site with lots of information. They have a magazine available for $19.95 (first time subscribers) and it's $45.95 a year after that. You save more if you bundle multiple year's subscriptions together.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLICATION: Information Today Inc.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: Articles are written for the site and magazine, they have the contributor's name listed and you can search all of their work by their name. At the top of the page is biographical information including their credentials. Most seem to have been media specialists of heavily involved in technology and education.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">QUALITIES: They have different columns available on the site promoting individuals working for excellence in technology and sharing how other implement technology in their classrooms. They also have a list of free resources and sections of the site devoted to specific subjects; math, social studies, language arts, elementary. There is a section on grants and funding as well. This website has a lot of information to sort through, I had a hard time deciding where to start.


 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PC World http://www.pcworld.com/ **
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: same as MacWorld $19.97 for a year subscription to the magazine or two years for $29.97. All information on the website is free and can be accessed without "singing up" for anything.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLICATION: PC World Communications Inc.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: again, same as MacWorld. Reviews are separated by category and are supposed to be made by experts in their fields. I couldn't find a listing of biographical information and they do seem to have general user reviews as well.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">QUALITIES: Reviews a wider variety of brands than MacWorld but the site has a very similar set up. Also has the same shop and compare setup, consumer advice, and downloads just without Apple products. After using this site more in-depth during the video lab part of this assignment I have to say this was not my favorite site and I found cnet to be infinitely more helpful and user friendly. I did have more luck the longer I used it but I felt like I had to backtrack a lot and start over.


 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">SuperKids Educational Software Review http://www.superkids.com/ **
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: They have a free newsletter and all of the information and products on the website can be obtained for free.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLICATION: Knowledge Share LLC
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: Reviews on this site are sorted by subject and then by date. They also have access to a review criteria and practices page, makes you feel a little more secure about product reviews than some sites.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">QUALITIES: The review pages of software and products are great. They break everything down from ease of installation to system requirements to kid friendly appeal. They also use a rating scale for every product so you can see how things stack up in comparison. They also have an education section that includes math worksheets and vocabulary activities. This section allows you to make your own worksheets and print them from home, very cool. That same section allows you to create iPhone apps for vocabulary and state capitals. Even if your students can't have their phones at school this gives them an opportunity to keep learning at home on a device that almost never leaves their hands.


 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teach With Movies [|http://www.teachwithmovies.org] **
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">COST: Subscription is $11.95 per year.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PUBLICATION: TeachWithMovies.com Inc.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">REVIEWS: They have a section on reviews of the site by teachers but they don't seem to have a section that reviews the movies themselves or the actual lesson plans.
 * <span style="color: #aa3d18; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">QUALITIES: Teachers are always trying to tie movies in with their lesson plans, how nice to have site built around helping you with that goal. The have lesson plans built around 350 different movies for a variety of age groups. They also had the site divided into different subjects making your search for related movies easier. They have shorter lessons built around movie clips and short videos in case you don't have the class time to devote to a feature length film. On the downside, I did find a typo on the home page so that makes me a little leery of how good a site it really is, I may just be being picky though. Also, some schools are really trying to stay away from using movies in the classroom, they see them as a time waster, so you would have to make sure you follow all of your school's guidelines when it comes to showing movies in the classroom.