Dictionary.com

For this blog I chose to do Dictionary.com. I love this website because it has been so helpful to me and my students. It also has a sister site that has a direct link called Thesaurus.com which is equally helpful. This site it most helpful when writing a paper and trying to avoid repetition.

Support for reading in the content areas
    This site is absolutely helpful when reading in the content area. If a student is reading on their own and comes up on a word they do not understand they can easily type the word in and receive the definition. What is cool about this site is that is does not only give the definition but, a ton of other information as well. For example, it will tell the part of speech, synonyms, what it is related to, and will let the student hear the word being pronounced.

Ease of navigation
    This site could not be easier to navigate. Right at the top is a search bar where the word in question can be typed. Next, he/she just selects search and the information comes up. From that screen it is easy to learn more about the word by just clicking on the links or scrolling down. On that screen is also an option to switch over to Thesaurus.com to get synonyms, antonyms, and other information.

Availability of classroom resources
    I would not say that this site has an abundance of resources because it is the resource. This site would be a good resource for any class that involves reading and writing, which should be all of them. Students can learn new word with the click of a few buttons!

Usability for intended audience: students, parents, teachers, or a combination
    This site could absolutely be used by students, teachers, and parents. Students could use it if they did not know a word in their reading. Students could also use it to add variety in a paper they are writing. Parents could use it if they are helping their child with homework and did not know the meaning of the word. Lastly, teachers could use it in a number of ways. For example, a teacher could give each student a new word and tell each him or her  to become an expert on the word and prepare to teach the rest of the class. Using this site students could gather all the information they would need to become and “expert”.

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