I figured in doing a Resource Review project, probably one of the key places to look for another type of resource to review on my blog would be - quite obviously - other reviews about the tool. So quite simply, this entry will focus on the ins and outs of online review articles.
Article: Gapinski, James. (2009). A Review of EPals.com: Connecting Global Classrooms, Students, and Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/38129.aspx.
Article synopsis: I found this article on Bright Hub, a website that posts science and technology articles, buyer's guides, how-to tips and software reviews. In this review found in the K-12 Education tab, the author reviews EPals.com. He highlights the interactive and exciting features the website offers free of charge to teachers and administrations. His review spans the services, features, and user-friendliness of EPals.com, but while he emphasizes the site's central commitment to connecting global classrooms, the author cites what he sees are some drawbacks of the digital tool. He ends the article positively, however, with a recommendation to use the site while acknowledging potential shortcomings.
The "Resource Review" verdict: I believe this article balanced enough of the good with the less good in order to stray from any hint of bias. I appreciated the concrete examples he supplied to illustrate both the positive and negative aspects of the website. For example, he referred to African and American classooms' collaboration in book talks using the Chinua Achebe novel Things Fall Apart, and he pointed out the site's busy interface that may take an educator months to learn and to find ways to integrate different elements of it into his/her curriculum. His inclusion of these examples gave me a greater sense of the article's validity, as if to say, "This guy sure knows his stuff." Thus, using my own experience with the both the tool and other online articles discussing EPals.com, it is my opinion that the author provided a straightforward, authentic review of the tool.
So in closing...: Sensing how positively the author's specificity influenced my impression of his review opinion, I was reminded to evaluate my own review writing style for this blog. In general, I have found review articles of EPals.com to be helpful in exposing "both sides of the fence" and providing relatively thorough feedback. However, I realized that sometimes (if not most of the time), it depends on the site with which the article is associated whether the review is objective and/or helpful. All in all, I've found that when I find a good site for dependable reviews, bookmarking it now ensures I remember to check back with them later for more trustworthy, solid reviews of digital tools.
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