Review of "Edublogs-Gormanston Religion"
The website I reviewed in relation to the topic of Islam was a site called “Edublogs”. It was one of the first results after I used the key terms “Junior Certificate Religious Education Islam”. The link brought me to a specific blog on the website, “Gormanston Religion”. It was a blog from what seemed to be a secondary school teacher and it looked as if it was intended for use by her own junior certificate religious education students.
From my first impressions of the website, I did not think that it was one of the “prettiest” websites I had ever seen, but it did look like there was at least a minimum amount of effort in choosing the bright green colour theme that it had displayed! It was not an incredibly inviting page. It bore a lot of text with little images used to make it more appealing.
For myself, initially, I found that it was a little difficult to navigate around. There were a lot links to pages that I did not know may be relevant to the topic that I had chosen for my own website. However, I did need to keep in mind that the intended users of the website were the secondary students of that school teacher and perhaps they would be used to whizzing through that ocean of text. After spending a bit of time exploring hyperlinks and trawling through archives, I eventually got used to the pages and of course, in turn found it easier to manage my way around it.
The content was not exactly relevant to what I was researching for my own website. The information that the website gave was more related to what the religious education students had done in their classes with their teacher. If you were looking for some serious study tips and information, then this website would have been no good. However, as I was looking for ideas for religious education classes, I found that by having come across these activities, class and homework assignments and school trips that they have inspired some new ideas for my own future lesson plans. The fact that the activities and such are being displayed on this website for the world to see suggests that they must have proven to be successful and due to their success would encourage myself to take these activities on in my own lesson plans.
A lot of the material that is on this website is for the benefit of the students of that particular religious education teacher and probably serve to benefit no one else other that the students. However, there are a number of universal study tips on the website and may come in useful for students that are looking for additional help when it comes to studying for a religious education examination. The teacher has put up a number of questions on the website from past papers by which students outside of that school could use as part of their religious education study.
One of the things I liked the most about the website was that it had a section of the liturgical and significant religious events that has been happening and that IS to happen throughout the year. Not only does it serve as a good reminder for the students of that particular secondary school, but it also reminds students outside of that school also. For example, one particular even that is posted on the website is Pope Francais’ first Lenten Letter. For students and teachers alike, this is a useful facility for accessing information and news on such topics like this where as before, these would have not been as easy to get access to before having found the website. Another good thing about the webpage is that it seems to be updated regularly. Regular updates to the website ensure that all information is current and keeps people informed on what is going on in regards to religious affairs and events.
One thing in particular that I did not like about this website was that it was pretty exclusive in the way things were written onto the webpage. It was obvious that the audience for the website was aimed at one particular group. On first glance, I was compelled to leave the page because of the way it was not inclusive of people outside of that school, who seek help or tips in regards to the subject. But, again, as I had mentioned before, its initial impression was that that was the purpose of the website.
In brief, the website I have reviewed is perfect for those as members of the institute that it was intended for. It provides the World Wide Web with study and presentation tips that can be used by anyone. It is updated regularly and has a great facility in which a religious calendar of events are made clear.
From my first impressions of the website, I did not think that it was one of the “prettiest” websites I had ever seen, but it did look like there was at least a minimum amount of effort in choosing the bright green colour theme that it had displayed! It was not an incredibly inviting page. It bore a lot of text with little images used to make it more appealing.
For myself, initially, I found that it was a little difficult to navigate around. There were a lot links to pages that I did not know may be relevant to the topic that I had chosen for my own website. However, I did need to keep in mind that the intended users of the website were the secondary students of that school teacher and perhaps they would be used to whizzing through that ocean of text. After spending a bit of time exploring hyperlinks and trawling through archives, I eventually got used to the pages and of course, in turn found it easier to manage my way around it.
The content was not exactly relevant to what I was researching for my own website. The information that the website gave was more related to what the religious education students had done in their classes with their teacher. If you were looking for some serious study tips and information, then this website would have been no good. However, as I was looking for ideas for religious education classes, I found that by having come across these activities, class and homework assignments and school trips that they have inspired some new ideas for my own future lesson plans. The fact that the activities and such are being displayed on this website for the world to see suggests that they must have proven to be successful and due to their success would encourage myself to take these activities on in my own lesson plans.
A lot of the material that is on this website is for the benefit of the students of that particular religious education teacher and probably serve to benefit no one else other that the students. However, there are a number of universal study tips on the website and may come in useful for students that are looking for additional help when it comes to studying for a religious education examination. The teacher has put up a number of questions on the website from past papers by which students outside of that school could use as part of their religious education study.
One of the things I liked the most about the website was that it had a section of the liturgical and significant religious events that has been happening and that IS to happen throughout the year. Not only does it serve as a good reminder for the students of that particular secondary school, but it also reminds students outside of that school also. For example, one particular even that is posted on the website is Pope Francais’ first Lenten Letter. For students and teachers alike, this is a useful facility for accessing information and news on such topics like this where as before, these would have not been as easy to get access to before having found the website. Another good thing about the webpage is that it seems to be updated regularly. Regular updates to the website ensure that all information is current and keeps people informed on what is going on in regards to religious affairs and events.
One thing in particular that I did not like about this website was that it was pretty exclusive in the way things were written onto the webpage. It was obvious that the audience for the website was aimed at one particular group. On first glance, I was compelled to leave the page because of the way it was not inclusive of people outside of that school, who seek help or tips in regards to the subject. But, again, as I had mentioned before, its initial impression was that that was the purpose of the website.
In brief, the website I have reviewed is perfect for those as members of the institute that it was intended for. It provides the World Wide Web with study and presentation tips that can be used by anyone. It is updated regularly and has a great facility in which a religious calendar of events are made clear.