Sources of Educational Interest: Deep Learning

#1 http://www.froguts.com/flash_content/index.html
This is a site I would recommend on my own. When arriving at this site, it advertises it's products, however on the right side of the page it offers a free "demos" link. With this link, students are brought to an interactive page where they can participate in interactive medical projects. They can choose to dissect a frog, build the bone structure of a owl pellet or test their knowledge of the parts of a squid. These activities can not only be used to introduce a unit, but to assess their knowledge after a unit (perhaps in biology). The images are real and lifelike, not drawings and provide an authentic experience. It would provide an activity that students would be able to experience in a way that they would be able to recall information through personal interaction.

#2 http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/art2/choose/index.html
This other educational website I looked at was chosen from the the Art site from the "Mixed Bag" selection offered in class. This website seemed like it could have some value if it was implemented properly...but it would take work. All of the art images were very small and hard to view. There were a few activities on the site, and one asked the student(s) to click on a few pieces of art and explain why they like the ones chosen. This would not be enough for an effective learning activity. It may not necessarily demonstrate what the students know or have learned about art, or even what they need to learn about art. More guidelines would have to be made on a teachers part...perhaps comparing and contrasting different artist work. I would almost rather take my students to a museum than use this site, as well as create their own art projects whether using technology or hand-on art materials. The site itself does not seem very practical or useful. Tools should not necessarily have to be manipulated in order to be effective.