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Peer Review

Country Maps and Facts

Reviewed:

Dec 12, 2017 by Business
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Quality: 3.5 stars
Effectiveness: 3.0 stars
Ease of Use: 3.8 stars
Overview:

This website provides facts, figures and statistical data on geography, climate, people, religion, language and the economy. Additionally, political and physical maps of the countries can also be viewed.
Type of Material:

Reference Material
Recommended Uses:

• This site could serve as a resource for many assignments, across many disciplines. • • • Instructors would need to develop specific learning goals and assignments using the data.
Technical Requirements:

Browser, Acrobat pdf reader if user downloads sample maps or license agreement
Identify Major Learning Goals:

• Understand statistical data for countries worldwide • Learn to navigate this reference source • Learn basic encyclopedia-level information on hundreds of countries
Target Student Population:

• Elementary through undergraduate students in any discipline. • In marketing and business, it could serve as a source for comparative analysis of international opportunities.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

None

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

• This module is very easy to use • The user can quickly get basic information on hundreds of countries. • It can be a resource for a wide variety of courses. • For a fee, high-quality maps may be downloaded. • Instructors will need to determine how they wish to use the site for free.
Concerns:

• The last update to the site appears to be 2011. • The modern history section of all countries examined covered the period of WWII to 1993. • Instructors and teachers need to write assignments to make effective use of the material. • Advertisement links on the site detract from the overall site continuity, and it is recommended instructors advise students to be sure they are not clicking on ad links.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

• The module is very efficient; a user can quickly get basic information on many countries. • A wide variety of assignments in a wide variety of courses can leverage the module. • • • Additional course materials are available for a modest fee to purchase a School Use Copyright License. • While no learning objectives or activities are available from the site itself, instructors can easily develop those relative to the assignment.
Concerns:

• There are no interactive capabilities. • The information provided is similar in content and depth of that in a printed encyclopedia. • Teachers and instructors will need to consider how to design assignments that go beyond a simple summary of a country.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

• The module is very easy to use • The minimal instructions are clear. • Links and materials load very quickly
Concerns:

• The module has the look of a website of the mid-to-late 1990s. A redesign incorporating more advanced web technology would make it more engaging and visually appealing, and support interactivity. • Reviewing the individual information on the political and physical statistical data much of it is more than a decade old. • For many countries in the list, giving the political and economic upheaval, the data appear out-of-date.
Other Issues and Comments:

Given the date of many of the statistics, I would encourage instructors to point out that the statistics are not "current today" numbers when having students review.
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