Create 1.1.3

Create 1.1.3
Appearance

Appearance is everything when it comes to websites. Students prefer to visit visually attractive websites that have cool images and graphics. However, sometimes flashy graphics and sound effects can make the site too busy and hard to focus on what is important. It is important to find a nice balance. I explored 10 instructional sites and found some to have better design than others.

5 Instructional Site with Clear Design:

1. ck12.org - a free online educational site that provides math and science content. The website is visually appealing and easy to navigate.
2. khanacademy.org - a free online tool that provides educational support for students. The website is easy to use and sign up. The graphics are professional and not distracting.
3.  kids.nationalgeographic.com - excellent instructional website. This site features great graphics and animation that is not distracting. Students can easily navigate this site.
4.  discoveryeducation.com - is a user friendly site that provides a tab for students to find resources. The images on the page are pictures not animated graphics. This is a professional site.
5.  starfall.com - an easy to navigate site with cartoon images and pictures. The site is visually pleasing to younger students. The colors are great and the site is inviting.

5 Instructional Sites with Distracting Design:

1. Brainpop.com - I found the home page of this site to be too flashy. There are many moving graphics and I did not know where to focus my attention first. 
2. coolmath.com - The black background on the home page made the graphics hard to focus on. The homepage also looks unprofessional to me - much like an untrusted website.
3.  knowledgeadventure.com - this site is visually pleasing and does not contain flashy images that are distracting. However, the site has many ads that would be distracting to a young user.
4. funbrain.com - this site had good educational tool but there was too much searching to find an appropriate game. 
5. enchantedlearning.com - way too much going on on this site! Too distracting!