Post #3

Link to website used: http://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/stratosphere-overview

Rule #1: The website incorporated a picture into the text that helps explain what the text is about.
Rule #2: There aren't any headings to break up the information... It is a bit overwhelming when there is multiple paragraphs and no headings to separate them.
Rule #3: The text is all left justified, however the author of the website didn't indent any of the paragraphs.
Rule #4: The website only uses one type of text, so the entire page feels very coherent and concise.
Rule #5/6: The two colors used were yellow and blue, and since they used the same colors throughout the entire page, it really brought together the website's theme.
Rule #7: Unfortunately, there was only one picture on the entire page. I definitely think the page could have been enhanced and easier to understand if there were more charts/pictures.
Rule #8: All the content on the page was necessary.
Rule #9: The upper vs. lower case rules were followed correctly.
Rule #10: The sentences on the site weren't that long, however the paragraphs were.
Rule #11: The book says to skip a space between each line, but to not indent. The site followed this rule, however I didn't know it was a rule!
Rule #12: The page that I was on was only one page, and all the information was right there in plain site, so it was very well structured.
Rule #13: There was only one idea on the page. The entire page talked about the Stratosphere.
Rule #14: There was no use of italics, underlining, or bolding.
Rule #15: The site used a somewhat higher vocabulary, but the site wasn't hard to follow, no matter who the audience is.
Rule #16/17: There was no flashing text or bullited lists,
Rule #18: The navigation buttons are all the same on the top and bottom of each page.
Rule #19: There was no stacked text. Everything is formatted into paragraphs.
Rule #20: There was only one graphic, even though there was multiple paragraphs.
Rule #21: The website looks very concise and organized, and is not visually distracting.
Rule #22: All font is the same size, so nothing stands out or seems more/less important.
Rule #23: The graphic is at the top of the screen, which emphasizes its importance.


Before listening to the Podcast, I had no clue what open source or open content was. After hearing the podcast, I do thing open source and open content are both very important in the education field so teachers can share and adapt work within the teaching community. I also think it saves money, while allowing teachers to customize each piece of content to fit their specific needs. I like the idea of open content/sources because it seems very useful and convenient, but I don't think I would ever contribute to them. I would most likely adapt them to fit my class' needs, but I wouldn't adapt them for any other teachers.

For the Newsletter assignment, it was fairly simple to do since Word provides an outline of a sample Newsletter. The sample even has directions on how to create columns, or how to add pictures. Having the outline and directions together made it a very easy assignment. I thought there were too many elements/instructions for the assignment so it took a long time, but it definitely wasn't hard and I don't have any recommendations for change.