Peer Review

Teacher Education: Theory and Applications for Teachers

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 23, 2004 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This site is a comprehensive overview of theories, topics, resources and current
events in the field of teacher education. It is designed and maintained for
global use; however, it presents teacher education issues in Australia.There
are approximately 25 major links to other teacher education sites. Furthermore,
along the top menu bar there are direct links to specific information for
Education Theories, Topics (such as Special Needs, Multiculturalism, Behavior
Management, and Teaching Strategies), Resources, and Updates about current
education news. A search is possible from this site, but at the time of this
review, it was not working.
Type of Material:: Collection.
Recommended Uses:: To support learning theories and general teaching methods coursework in teacher
education as well as serve as a virtual "mentor" for novice teachers and/or a
"refresher" course for practicing teachers.
Technical Requirements:: The site has difficulty working properly with Netscape 4.7 or lower. No
technical support should be needed on this site's page, but certain players may
be needed once you leave this site to view the many related links.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The major learning goals for the site include:
1. provide a broad overview of theories, topics, and resources for novice
teachers.
2. present current events and updates to the teaching profession for teachers
in Australia.
It provides a collection of large amounts of teacher
education information, links to other resources, relevant facts and varying
opinions that relate to a student teacher's quest for developing into an
effective teacher.
Target Student Population:: The site is primarily directed at first/second year teacher education students
who are based in South Australia, but educators worldwide will find a wide range
of useful resources available at this site. The content applies to both
elementary and secondary teachers.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Basic Internet navigation skills.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: This site is an interesting repository of educationally-related information.
Numerous links are provided for investigating many areas of education pertinent
to student teachers and teachers. Since this site is geared for student
teachers in Southern Australia, the actual content that student teachers in
other countries may need for completing specific methods courses and research is
limited and uneven in selection. The lesson examples that are submitted for
this site are also uneven in development. Many do not address or include any
assessment piece. There are however, many links made to other teacher education
sites that may also provide valuable information.
Concerns:: The information addresses a wide range of educational interests, but the
depth of the content is lacking with some links or uneven in presentation. The
rationale for the site is to collect large amounts of information and in doing
so, the quality content student teachers also need may be missed. Likewise, the
resources and updates are specific to Australia.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: Offers a virtual "mentor" for new teachers and a "refresher" for practicing
teachers in Australia. However, universal learning activities could be
developed from information found here. As a result, the site could easily serve
as a reference for online investigations, comparative studies, independent
research projects, and group projects for preservice teachers.
Concerns:: It is directed toward teacher education in Australia. Furthermore, those new to
the internet may find it difficult to locate the desired
information on this site. Also, sources of some information are not always
given. In still other items, the actual source of the information is
questionable. Student teachers using this site for completing assignments need
to consider the sources, as well as appropriate and complete referencing and
citations.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The page layout for this site is organized, however the main page is long so
significant scrolling is required to find and view all of the choices.
Concerns:: The Search link and other such links under Theories from the main page do not
work when using Netscape 4.7 or lower. New pags do come up, but they are
either empty or very incomplete. The loading of links does appear to be
smoother when using Internet Explorer 5.0. A strong suggestion would be to test
the site with both Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers and on Macs and PCs.
Furthermore, it would be useful to users to indicate on the opening page near
the top, if there are certain platform preferences needed for optimal use of
this site.

Other Issues and Comments:: This site has received various online awards including: Blue Web'n Site,
Awesome Library Editor's Choice, and Education World A+ Review.
Creative Commons: