Purpose
The purpose of this website is to serve as a resource for chemistry teachers. They will be able to look for classroom lessons and resources that other teachers have shared, as well as share some of their own great resources for others to use.
Use Case
Use Case #1: A teacher who would like others to have good resources for teaching can use this website would be organized by main topics of chemistry. The teacher would be able to share their lesson plan with a description in the correct topic folder.
Use Case #2: A teacher who is in need of a lesson to teach would be able to search and find lessons based off of the organization of the different topics.
Use Case #3: As different teachers use different lesson plans, they can give feedback on their experience of using the lesson plan, and they can also rate the lesson plan. When teachers are searching for new lesson plans, they can use the ratings and comments to help them select the best lesson plan for their situation.
Design Concept
Audience
This website is designed for all science teachers, new and old, teaching high school. It is not limited to any region, teachers from all over the world will be able to share here. It will also serve as a good resource for those studying chemistry and chemistry education. It would one day be great if it expanded to many more subjects, but for now I will focus on chemistry.
Reference Websites
- Chemmybear This website is filled with many resources for chemistry. Its organization is not what I want to model my website. Everything is organized in a grid like set up. To get to new resources, you have to click on the icons, and the new pages do not have a link back to the main page. Also, there is no sharing of resources. All of the resources are posted by one auther. There is no rating system, so you are to assume that resources are good or not.
- Teachers Pay Teachers This website is also filled with many resources, and one could easily get lost. It includes all subjects and grade levels. You have to set up an account, but once you do, you are able to post resources or use resources. As the title implies, most of the resources you do have to pay for. The teachers that share the resources are able to set the price and some of them are free. Also, each resource that you look at are rated with comments from other users.
- Education.com This website is set up very similar to Teachers Pay Teachers. The user is able to search for lesson plans and resources easily and able to navigate back to the main page easily. It includes resources for all subjects and age groups. It appears that all one has to do is set up an account to share resources. On the main page of their website, they highlight that some of their main authors are teachers of the year. There is a rating on each of the lesson plans, but reading comments is not as easy to find.
- Better Lesson What is great about this website is that all of the lessons are linked to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The main page is basic, and I like that. It gives you a list based off of the grade levels. Once you selected your grade level, it gives you a list of each standard. Once you have clicked on the standard that you want to teach, you have a list of lessons that apply to that standard. If you have an account you can organize your lessons by favorites. I did not see any type of rating system or comments from users of the lessons.
- Teacher.org This website is limited in the resources that they have. The only way to look for lessons is to search by grade level. Once you are in your chosen grade level, there is a limited amoiunt of resources. Once you get into the resource there is a lot of information to help suppor the person who will be using it. There is no rating system, but users are able to leave comments on the page about the lessons. Many of the lessons that I looked at, however, did not have any comments.
Presentation Information
Content Synopsis
Since this website will be set up for high school chemistry teachers, the best way for me to present the information is to have the main page set up with a list of topics taught in chemistry. Once the user has clicked on that initial link, they will be presented with a list of lessons and resources within that topic. A search option for the page would also be an option.
Text Outline
On the main page, there will be the title "Chemistry Share" at the top. Below it will be a short description of the purpose of the website. Below the description, there will be a menu bar where the user can choose to go back to the home page, select from chemistry topics, read about the website, or click on the search option. At the bottom of the main page, there will be the chemistry topics listed for the user to click on.
The next layer of the website will be the "Topic" page. Here there is a list of resources that are narrowed down by the topic that the user has chosen. The title and menu bar still remain at the top of the page.
The final layer of the website has the lesson that the user has chosen. The title of the webpage and menu bar remain at the top of the page. The user will find a description of the lesson that they selected, along with how to use the lesson. There will be links to download the documents that come with the lesson. At the bottom of the page there will be space for ratings and comments from other users.
Wireframe of Website Organization
Rationale for Organization
I believe that the organization of this website is simple, therefore easy to use. Incorporating the menu bar at the top of the website will allow the user to easily move back and forth in the website. Usually when teachers are looking for a lesson or resource, they have a good idea of what they are looking for. Teachers spend a lot of time preparing lessons before their students see the lesson. This format of looking by topic on the main page or using the search feature will allow the user to find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently.
Media
The media used on this website will include pdf documents, pictures, and videos. At first, I will supply the media, because I will supply the resources and lessons available on the website. However, as the site takes off, other teachers will be able to upload media to the website. The pdf documents will be available, because they will have the detail of the lessons for the user as well as student handouts. The pictures and videos will be used to help clarify how to accomplish the lesson. There will not be copyright issues, because the teachers can choose to share or not. They will not be allowed to share media that is already copyrighted. Each teacher will be given credit for their work that they contribute.
Color Scheme
The color scheme in which I would like to use is much like what you are seeing on this page. I chose these colors, because they balance each other well. They are warm and cool hues together, but are not overwhelming.
- Orange
- Blue
- Light Orange
- Mauve
- Green