1. Website: A Lifetime of Color
2. Website Address: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/index.html
3. Copyright date and/or Last Update: ©2010
4. Author/Organization Credentials: The Smithsonian Education web site is hosted by the Smithsonian Museum. They also offer research opportunities for professional development programs for educators at all levels, and they have also established a collaborative relationship with teacher training and resource development projects, that cover a number of subjects. The program also manages internships, heritage month celebration, school tour programs and other education programs that are responsible for the collection and analysis of educational data.
5. Web Site Design and Ease of Navigation: On the homepage of the web site is the main menu containing four main subject boxes that are located toward the middle of the page: Education, Families ,Students and What’s New. Here the visitor can access the information with relative ease by clicking on one of the three selections. For example: when you click the Education box you open a second page of resources that are divided into three main menus, Lesson Plans, Find Resources and State Standards of Learning. Under the Lesson Plans box, you will find a list of four subjects to select from, Art and Design, Science and Technology, History and Culture and Language Arts. To narrow this search there are three search criteria boxes to enter a Keyword, By Grades or by Subject making it fairly simple to locate information. Next ,you will find a list of appropriate resources to choose from and also a rating link where you can view ratings and add ratings.
The second search box contains a subject heading entitled “Find Resource”, under the tab is a list of three options to help narrow your search including: Keyword Box, Grade and Subject. This again is a great help to narrow your search.
The next subject is the “State Standards of Learning” box which again has three selections to narrow your search including: Select State, Select Grade and Select Subject. What is really convenient about this link is that you are provided with TEKs that fit your search, so you can select a lesson that meets the learning standards for your selected subject and grade.
In the "What’s New box”, a visitor will find a list of newly listed information and/or technology.
At the top of the menu is a menu bar that remains unchanged as you maneuver throughout the menu that includes: For Educators, Fieldtrips, Professional Development, Lesson Plans, Resource Library and Educational Services providing a unique learning opportunity for a student or teacher to find numerous resources easily. If you click on one of the four subjects on the left hand side of the stationary menu bar you can find lesson plans that fit the search plus they are listed with the grade level at the bottom to help narrow down your search.
Overall the site is very colorful and well designed, it is not the most efficient of the other four I have reviewed thus far, but it seems to work fairly well given time to learn and explore the site.
6. Response and Recommendation for Use: The Smithsonian Education Website has many great features that make it a good resource for the teacher, such as lesson plans or the library resources. It is not as multidimensional as the first site I reviewed and does not offer nearly as much information on art research, but it is still a good resource to add to your favorite’s link.
Under the Families Tab, visitors can find great resources to help plan a fun and educational trip to the museum; this is certainly a useful site for parents to use.
Students will enjoy the site, there are several links that offer many opportunities to learn, discover and explore the museum and its resources. The menu on the left includes the following subjects that kids will really like: Everything Art, Science and Nature, History and Culture and People and Places. Kids who click on the Everything Art tab will find three interesting topics, New and Cool, Games and Activities and Favorites. When I clicked on the Everything Art tab, I found great information about Pandas and an art activity that is printable. I think that this is a great place to learn about art, making this a site a good choice for kids to explore.
I would recommend this site to teachers, students, and parents because it is fairly easy to navigate, and locate relevant resources; it has great information for the teacher, families and students; however I don’t think this site is quite as informative for art education, as the other four sites I have reviewed thus far.
