Professional Communities Online

Once I take look at Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators, it is kind of confusing to me since it belongs to Discovery Education site as featured content. However, I felt that it is very simple and organized while clicking the content. I see the layers divide into five sections and one advertisement section. In other words, the author, Kathy Schrock, has designed layers by categorizing list of sites useful by theme such as subject access, teacher helpers, schrockguide stuff, Kathy’s Picks and search tools. Above all, I like best that she emphasizes on the important information of the month as the name of Kathy’s Picks in the middle of the site. I would believe most of her collection for educators is to enhance curriculum and professional growth. When I click the content critical evaluation tool, this part has different layers by grade-level specific. For example, to help the youngest of students to think critically about Web sites, she has designed three grade-appropriate site evaluation forms depending on elementary, middle, and secondary grades.
As examples of language and terminology, I found that the sub folders of Teacher Helpers has specific terminology for educational site such as assessment and rubrics, critical evaluation, digital gadgets, Web Quest, search the leveled books database, the virtual tour, blog, podcast and so on. She used the following expression in the category of slide shows for teachers: Icing on the Cake: Online Tools for Teaching and Learning, Abracadabra: The Magic of Technology Gadgets for Educators, Get A MUVE On!: Online Synchronous Environments, Navigating Primary Source Materials on the Internet. I think these are specific jargon for educational community.
Obliviously, I would like Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators site design because it looks good, but also looks appropriate. She used just two colors on the main homepage like purple and yellow color. She used the same tab color and the same color letter with purple in the navigational elements, and yellow color as a background. Fresh eye! It would be easier to find the content I need without being fascinated by colors. I agree with Krug’s idea that color coding of sections is a very good idea (Krug p.83). In addition, as an example of information design, she lays out the main menu and submenu and links the huge amount of information. She clarifies her goals and arranges her ideas into the site by organizing the content of each theme (Kristof & Satran pp.7-9). I found that she used site maps to give the users an overview of the site contents. She organized text links major menus and submenu pages as the invisible hand of structure (Kristof & Satran pp.30). As a result, I think this site has proper balance of menus and content page for users’ target even though sometimes it is hard to read because of small font, spacing, or formatting of the list. More importantly, regarding as interface design, I can interact with this site easily and effectively by clicking menus, components, forms, and all the other ways by using podcast and mp3. Thus, I would recommend this site that educators including parents, students can use this site to get information they need and do feedback critically.
Overall, with a well-balanced, functional hierarchy I can easily touch menus that provide quick access to huge information. Even though this site looks simply designed, it gives me the most appropriate information to learn. If I teach students someday, I will be trained by this site for improving my thoughts, ideas, and skills. As design references for educators, those books in related to design like S. Krug’s Don't make me think! A common sense approach to Web usability and R. Kristof & A. Satran’s Interactivity by design Creating provide a motivating and valuable reference tool to assist better design on the computer effectively.