The web contains a wealth of resources for help when students are struggling with concepts, looking for additional information, needing to practice skills, or self-teaching. As such, teachers are sometimes called upon to provide suggestions as to which ones are best, or may preemptively provide a list of suggested sites for students to consider.
Perhaps the more obvious reason to choose a website is that the content is similar to what is being taught in class. But two important tips to determining which websites to use are to also consider whether or not the sites require student registration and what learning styles are addressed.
Websites Requiring Registration
Websites that do not require any type of registration offer their information for free. These websites do not directly collect personal data about the student and, as such, likely will not provide statistics about improvement.
Websites that do require registration come under the rules of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA specifically applies to websites aimed at children under the age of 13 years, but may also be used by sites aimed at older children in case their material is suitable to younger children. Where this assists students, teachers, and parents is that parents have access to their child's personal information provided to the website.
Many textbooks provide a supplemental website for their printed material which provide teachers and students with WebQuests, games, and other learning activities. Some of these sites also email parents and teachers statistics such as the child's progress and login activity. One difficulty, however, is keeping track of usernames and passwords if the site is used in class and the teacher does not receive this information from the site.
Consider Learning Styles When Choosing Sites
Just as each child learns differently, each website presents its information in its own way. Some presentations require reading while practicing examples on paper, while others have practice windows in the site. Some websites offer games to practice skills, and still others provide different types of challenges.
For example, consider the math topic of reducing fractions. Math.com provides small bits of text to read and a mix of examples to look at and examples to click on and watch, and a practice section where students can try reducing many different fractions and click a button to check if they are correct. Math Playground gives a similar approach, but with a shorter explanation and an interactive practice area that gives partial credit and includes color and sounds. Fun Brain assumes students have received instruction for reducing fractions, provides directions as to how to play, then students try to get 24 problems correct in order to put their name on Fraction Jackson's list of Master Pie Bakers.
Determining the learning styles of students and whether parental or teacher monitoring of practice is necessary are important to consider when finding online learning help for students. Providing parents and students a list of sites to try at home can also create a home-to-school link that empowers parents with the ability to help their child.
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