websites reviewed for students

1. Katie Wright
Tools that Review Websites
ETHEMES
 Cost: Free
 Publisher: Universityof Missouri
 Reviewers: graduate studentsinLibraryScience
 Comments: Contentisnolongerbeingupdated. Theyinclude the differentlearningstandards.
Theyqualifywebsitesbygrade level,appropriateness. Theyalsohave veryaccurate and
detaileddescriptionsof whatthe websitesare aboutandwhois the publishers. The onlyads
presentare for the university;sothere isnofearof any inappropriate adsbasedon
controversial searches. Isearchedfortopicssurroundingthe deathpenalty. eThemes
separatedthe resultsintothree topics:adebate topicand twoliterature themesbasedonthe
booksof In Cold Blood andThe Green Mile.

2. 2
NETTREKKER
 Cost: perstudentcostyou mustcontact for a quote
 Publisher: Knovation
 Reviewers: Studentsandteachers
 Comments: Itincludesthe learningstandardsforeach state as well asCommonCore standards.
Searchresultscan be limitedtoelementary,middle,orhighschool-agedresults. The resultsare
dividedbysubjects. There are noads as it isa subscriptionservice. Theyinclude different
ratingsand listif the source is recommendedbyastudentor a teacher. Theyevenlisthow
manygrade levelsare appropriate foreachsite. Ilove theirfamouspeople searchwhereyou
can lookfor historical figuresbasedonatime periodor an accomplishment.

3. 3
EDSHELF
 Cost: free
 Publisher: Mike Lee
 Reviewers: Educators
 Comments: Thissite doesn’tjustreview websitesbutalsoapps,programs,andelectronicsas
well. Itlistsall toolsbycategories,subjects,age,andplatforms. There are noads as the site
receivesitsfundingfromthe appsandprograms that itreviews. However,Idon’tfeel thattheir
reviewsare skewedbythisastheyshare how manyschoolsactuallyuse the site andhow many
of itsusersactuallypinthe appon their“shelves.”Thisinformationisindicative of how many
educatorsare actuallyusingthe product. I foundthatthe search functionwaslesshelpful than
actuallybrowsingthroughbasedonthe age range or the subject. My searchterm of the death
penaltyactuallybroughtupnoresults. However,browsingthroughsocial studiesappsactually
allowedme tolookat howdifferentappshelpwithdifferentthingslike emotional skills. Unlike
the othersitesthe site doesnotinclude the variouslearningstandards.

4. 4
SWEETSEARCH
 Cost:free
 Publisher: DulcineaMediaGroup
 Reviewers: All of theirwritershave atleastaBachelor’slevel educationandspecialize in
differentareas.
 Comments: The resultscanbe orderedbyrelevance ordate,butthere isnoindicationof grade-
level appropriatenessoranyreview informationavailable. There isonlyabrief descriptionof
whatthe site or newsarticle is. There are a numberof ads at the topof the searchresultspage.
My searchtermof the deathpenaltybroughtupa particularlyconcerningad. Itis a linkto
Amazonto purchase an unratedmovie starringKevinBacontitled“DeathSentence”thathasa
reviewcitingthe movie asaparticularlyviolentandbloodyfilm.

5. 5
FINDINGDULCINEA
 Cost: free
 Publisher: DulcineaMediaInc.
 Reviewers: Thisisthe same teamas the onesbehindSweetSearch. Itconsistsmostlyof
educatorsand bookeditors.
 Comments: Thisisnot justa search site like SweetSearch. Italsocontainsa numberof “Web
Guides”linkedthatinclude articlesandsitesbased onvarioussubjectssuchasPoliticsand
Religion. There are some of the same problemsasSweetSearchhere aswell. The results
provide noreal reviewthatsearcherscanreview. There isonlybrief descriptionsof the site.
The same troublesomeadfromSweetSearchisalsopresentbecause whenyouclickonthe
SelectedSitesof the searchitsimplybringsupthe same resultsandpage from the previoussite.

6. 6
KIDTOPIA
 Cost: free
 Publisher: InfotopiaWorld
 Reviewers: School librariansandteachers
 Comments: Thissite isgearedtowardelementaryschool students. Itisverysimple touse.
There isonlythe search bar and eventhe linksinthe headerare popupboxesinsteadof
directingyoutoanotherpart of the website. There are anumberof categoriesthatsearchers
can browse through. It isa Google basedsearchsite thateditsandfiltersinappropriate sites
froma simple Google search. The results canbe dividedbasedoncategorythatthe searcheris
lookingfor,sortedbyrelevance ordate,andinclude websitesaswell asimages. However,the
same ad for the same movie asmentionedabove isalsopresent. WhatI am realizingisthata
numberof these siteshave theiradssimplygeneratedbyGoogle andthatiswhythe same
movie andlinkisincludedinanumberof sites. The imagesare not toocontroversial. However,
there isan image of a noose hangingthatmaybe a bitprovocative fora site gearedtowards
elementarystudents.