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Peer Review

Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

Reviewed:

Mar 31, 2016 by Biology
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 4.0 stars
Content Quality: 4.5 stars
Effectiveness: 3.5 stars
Ease of Use: 4.2 stars
Overview:

An award winning searchable database/field guide of information and more than 6204 identification photos for over 850 species of plants found in Kansas. It is maintained by Kansas State University (Mike Haddock) and last updated in March 2016 (as of this review).
Type of Material:

This site is a tutorial that helps users learn about all the different types of wildflowers and grasses in Kansas.
Recommended Uses:

  • as a field guide for users who want to identify plants
  • as a guide for homework or a class project
Technical Requirements:

A good Internet browser with the ability to view pictures.
Identify Major Learning Goals:

The purpose of this site is to help the user identify the plants in Kansas and to give the user information about those plants.
Target Student Population:

  • General public (weekend botanists)
  • Academically: Upper division undergraduates or Graduate students
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Some specialized botanical terminology is used

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

  • Clear Photographs
  • Good descriptions of plant characteristics
  • The information is accurate and provides a good basic background about the material
  • Frequently updated and expanded (the original Merlot entry the site had 350 species, as of March 2016 it is up to 850)
Concerns:

  • It is a field guide, so it is not very flexible.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The pictures are clear
  • The information for each plant is accurate
  • The large collection makes it fun to explore many aspects of the subject matter
  • This is a searchable database
Concerns:

  • It does not build on previous knowledge
  • It is primarily useful in Kansas, although most of the plants can be found in other regions

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

  • It is easy to use; very easy to navigate to the different major sections of the site
  • The information is organized and follows a logical order
  • The user can look up plants by type, color or name
  • The photographs are clear and engaging
Concerns:

  • It wouldn't engage a casual browser
Other Issues and Comments:

I liked the site overall. It is a very good field guide for plants, but it has a limited audience.I think it would be tough to design class work for, but it would be useful as a guide for field trips. This animation is copyrighted by the author. While it is freely available on the internet and could be used in your class or lab, it would be a copyright violation to make it part of a set of course materials that others may use.
Creative Commons:
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