BLOG 3; Website Critique

The website I chose to critique was ovationlearningcenter.com. It is a site to a local daycare. The site is actually very effective in what it is trying to do, which is to try and persuade perspective parents into enrolling their child/children into Ovation Learning Center. The site provides a great amount of information about the center to where the parent could feel comfortable sending their child there. Right on the home page there is a contact number and some random information. Although the information the homepage describes is through and useful it is a bit unorganized. There are also some inaccuracies found on the homepage, for one it states that there are five directors on staff, however when you scroll down the page there is a title that gives the directors names and their position on staff, there is only four directors. I would just suggest getting some more main and subtitles as a way to better organize the homepage and to double check the page to make sure everything is accurate. The "contact us" page of the site gives very useful information. It provides directions to the center, a phone number, a place to put your information and request someone call you, as well as providing times in which the parent would be able to come and take a tour of the school. All of this is very useful information however the page is not very visually appealing. Maybe a map to the school and some more pictures would liven up the "contact us" page. The next page on the site is the "programs and classes" one, which breaks down each age group available for care at the center and what the children will be learning during that time period. The information is useful and will also help in convincing parents that their child will leave the center emotionally and socially ready for kindergarten. The "program and enrichment" page is next and when you first look at the page it visually is unappealing to the eyes. It seems to be like one big paragraph of information that you do not feel like going through. The colors also do not contrast together well and makes it even more difficult to read. I would suggest regrouping the paragraphs by adding more distinctive subtitles and changing the colors to something not quite as bright to make it easier on the eyes. The parents corner section of the website provides parents with advice they might not generally know of. For instance it explains the parent referral program and how parents could participate, it also discusses how parents can help prevent sickness in the center and explains how the center is doing some remodeling. That page could use some work as well because every paragraph uses different colors, none of which really flow together. Some of the pictures do not really make sense either. Overall this website is very helpful in giving current parents information about the center and prospective parents the information they need to draw them in to come check out the center and see if they would like their children to attend. Some main points I would recommend them to consider would just be to have well contrasting colors, appropriate and even more pictures, and to be careful to not just have random facts all around the site but rather have it organized in such a way the parents know whats going on.

BLOG 2

In my literacy class I was assigned to read two journals and write a reflection on them. One of the articles I chose was "Picture Books; Reading Aloud" by Denise Johnson. In this article the writer wrote about how reading aloud to children is effective and why it is so important. I found this article on a link that was posted by the teacher. The writer of the article was I believe another teacher. The main purpose of this article is to explain the importance of reading aloud to children and using picture books. She also posts other links to websites that provide quality children literature. I believe this article was meant for other teachers or people wanting to become a teacher because it gives important tips that a teacher could use when teaching a student how to become more comfortable with reading. The writer does not use any specific slang or terms directed to any certain group, and she writes persuasively in such a way that she wants to encourage you to follow the advice she is giving. I did not notice there being a larger debate or controversy on the subject.

ENG 333 POST 1

My name is Jill Stapleton I just completed the intro block for elementary education. I am 21 years old and have been married for a year. I have two beautiful boys Elijah 4, and Jordan 1. I enjoy writing essays and journal entries. I dislike research papers and things of that nature. I prefer to just write from the heart about things I feel strongly about without having to worry about the precise indentation or grammatical errors. It is required that I take this course but I look forward to it and learning more, especially since English hasn't always been my best subject.