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Peer Review

KEY TO INSECT ORDERS

Reviewed:

Feb 23, 2004 by Biology
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Ratings

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

The site is called the Amateur Entomologists? Society (AES) Bug Club for young
entomologists. It is a site out of the United Kingdom and has most of the
information and orientation for the United Kingdom. The AES is a registered
charity that is run by volunteers interested in entomology and natural history.
Their objective is to ?promote the study of entomology, especially among
amateurs and the younger generation.? The website is designed to accomplish
this objective. The Bug Club site has links to a forum page that allows members
to post questions about the study, rearing and identification of insects,
membership page that explains how to become a member of the Bug Club, a
newsletter page that gives references to the newsletter published six times a
year and has links to selected articles of the most recent newsletter, a Bug
Pets page which gives information about keeping some insects as pets, a Pen Pals
page that has been closed due to member abuses and is being moved to the forum
page, a Bug ID page which is an interactive key to the orders of insects, and a
Books and Bugs page which lists a categorized list of other websites that may be
of interest to amateur entomologists.
This key to the Orders of insects is directed at a base-novice lacking a
university-level training in biology. It is constructed to provide a quick and
easy determination with uncritical characteristics that are useful for
generalizing identifications on British insects, but has no applicability on a
wider geographic or educational audience.

Type of Material:

A hybrid site that contains a collection of facts about insects, and articles
that could be used for instruction. With regard to the insect key, it is a
simple textual couplet-style identification tool. The remainder of the site
utilizes simple animations, colored text, photographs, drawings, and anecdotes
to relay pieces of information to the user.
Recommended Uses:

Good for K-12 science classes and general audiences interested in entomology.
Technical Requirements:

Netscape Navigator 3 or higher with 800 X 600 dpi and 256 colors. The site
works well with Internet Explorer 6.
Identify Major Learning Goals:

To promote the study of entomology, especially among amateurs and the younger
generation. The site appears more utilitarian than educational, but is
generally set to provide a basic training about insects to a pre-university age
group already interested in insect biology.
Target Student Population:

The intended audience is for people ages 3 to 15 and a general population
unfamiliar with or wiht rudiemtary familiarity with insects and their relatives
and anyone else interested in entomology.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

None are apparent, though it would be helpful for users to have a rudimentary
knowledge of insect anatomy and morphology, and some entomological terminology.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The site is very well laid out and is easy to navigate and return to the
    beginning. The vocabulary is for youth but does not detract from the
    information for the older user.
  • The site is excellent for providing an introduction to insects and
    identification of the insect orders to students and other users that lack
    significant prior knowledge of these organisms.

Concerns:

  • The accuracy and documentation of information presented is limited in some
    articles and completely lacking in other articles.
  • The focus areas for user age and knowledge preclude value for university
    students.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The site can be used by children to gain information about a limited number
    of insects that can be raised in a home or school environment.

Concerns:

  • There is a limited amount of instructional information on the site. Not
    pertinent to university education.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The site is easy to navigate, simple and straigtforward.
  • The site is well written and the site developer added graphics that load
    rapidly for a very high speed response.

Concerns:

  • There are a few of the links in the Books and Bugs site that are out-of-date
    and do not work.

Other Issues and Comments:

This site seems excellent for elementary students and should be expanded and
enhanced to include postsecondary education.
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