Response #2

The puppy is in place of a child ... I didn't have any pictures of children I was comfortable putting on the web. But just like puppies, children need to experience to learn.

Reference to the REAL analysis is taken from Alan November's book Web Literacy for Educators.

It is tough with preschool children. I think you need to go with the basics. Going through the REAL analysis will be a start.

• R - read the URL. Well, these are preschoolers who don't know how to read (remember they are developmentally delayed - so if they are reading, they probably won't be in our classes / program). This would be the teachers responsibility (later I will expand).


• E - evaluate the content. The children need to be able to understand what is on the page. There needs to be more pictures than words, although words for pre-literacy and beginning site reading is encouraged. I would think that graphics and drawings would be more interesting than pictures. Also, animation is a must for the preschool level. The actions needed to use the site should be intuitive.


• A - author. I think this again relies on the adults, although websites such as Dr. Seuss or Sesame Street would be some good educational sites interesting to preschool children.


• L - links. Again, the adults should investigate the links prior to letting children go onto these websites.

So, ultimately the children will give input by telling you what they liked and didn't like (if they are able to express - otherwise, you need to figure it out by their desire to go to the different sites). they would evaluate websites mainly by evaluating the contents.

The teachers -t hat is who is really going to evaluate the websites for their preschool children. they need to follow the REAL analysis method and I would expand on that, coming up with REAL'N. Since time is limited, as with most people, I would attempt to get a small group who was interested in increasing the use of computers and websites in their class. I would attempt to meet them initially to determine the best method to communicate between members. The first meeting (in person or online) would include the explanation of REAL'N:

• R - read the URL. Sharing and explaining the extension guide would be a good start, along with the country codes in the book. This would be incorporated into a conversation about how to read the parts of the URL and what to note when looking at it (~ and %).


• E - evaluate the content. They need to have a number of websites for their children to test. That will help them determine what is going to entice the children and enhance their learning. The teachers need to look at all the pages of the website, make sure the language and any text on the screen are appropriate for the age range. Make sure the content is appropriate for the developmental level of the children in the class. For example, children working on counting shouldn't be on a site focused on division.


• A - author. The teacher needs to figure out who the author of the site is. Make sure that the people who author the site are listed somewhere (either the name of the person or the company) and if they are able to correspond to the authors. People who you can get in touch with are more likely to have a site that is well maintained.


• L - links. Teachers will also need to check the links that are on the site. Make sure the links within the site go to the appropriate places as well as links that might take you away from the site. If the links don't work, then the author hasn't maintained the site (or if you can contact them - let them know - they may need to fix it). While I would encourage the teachers to check the links both to and from the site, I doubt they would do it. It would be a talking point and they would be encouraged to do so.


• 'N - navigation. The teachers need to look at the site navigation. Make sure it is intuitive and inviting for a preschooler. Are the buttons on the screen and the navigation tools big enough for children to use while still developing fine motor skills? Is text located close to the corresponding picture? All questions that will help with determining the appropriateness of the navigation.

The Kathy Schrock elementary evaluation tool for elementary may be able to be adapted for the preschool teacher to use to evaluate the websites they find for their students. I would like to see a question or tow about animation, use of color, and navigation from the preschoolers perspective.