evaluating educational web sites

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

1-1-2006

Evaluating educational Web sites Evaluating educational Web sites

Denber Rey S Cruz University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds

Repository Citation Repository Citation Cruz, Denber Rey S, "Evaluating educational Web sites" (2006). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2096. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/dakr-eml1

This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected].

http://library.unlv.edu/

http://library.unlv.edu/

https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds

https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds?utm_source=digitalscholarship.unlv.edu%2Frtds%2F2096&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/dakr-eml1

mailto:[email protected]

EVALUATING EDUCATIONAL WEB SITES

by

Denber Rey S. Cruz

Bachelor o f Science University o f Nevada, Las Vegas

2005

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the

Master o f Science Degree in Curriculum and Instruction Departm ent of Curriculum and Instruction

College of Education

College of Education University of Nevada, Las Vegas

May 2007

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.

UMI Number: 1443744

INFORMATION TO USERS

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy

submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and

photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper

alignment can adversely affect reproduction.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript

and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized

copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

UMIUMI Microform 1443744

Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.

All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against

unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road

P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346


Thesis ApprovalThe Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas

A p r il 13 _,2007_

The Thesis prepared by

Denber Rev S. Cruz

Entitled

E v a lu a tin g E d u c a tio n a l Web S i te s _____

is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

M aster o f S c ien ce in C urricu lum and I n s t r u c t i o n

Examination Committee MembernL

Examination Committee Member

Graduate College Faculty Representative

Examination Committee Chair

Dean o f the Graduate College

1017-53 11


ABSTRACT

Evaluating Educational Web Sites

by

Denber Rey S. Cruz

Dr. Randall Boone, Committee Chair Professor o f Educational Computing and Technology

University o f Nevada, Las Vegas

A rubric was created to compare and contrast Web sites based on four criteria: (a)

technical aspect, (b) types o f content available, (c) authority and, (d) accessibility. The

rubric was designed to compare sites to one another. The sites were also grouped into

categories: (a) higher education sites, (b) content sites, (c) commercial sites, (d) school

districts. The categories were also compared to each other.

To compare the sites to each other, a percentage score was given for each o f the four

criteria. A total percentage score was also given to each site. The score for all o f the

sites evaluated for each criterion was averaged and used as a category score to compare

the categories.

in


TABLE OF CONTENTS

A BSTRA CT...........................................................................................................................................iii

CHAPTER 1 IN TRO D U CTIO N ............................................................................................... 1Technical Aspects and D esign.....................................................................................................2C ontent......................................................................................... 3A uthority ...........................................................................................................................................4A ccessibility..................................................................................................................................... 4Scoring...............................................................................................................................................5

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE R E V IE W ..................................................................................6Academic Journals..........................................................................................................................6Other R esources.............................................................................................................................. 8

CHAPTER 3 SCORE COLLECTION M E T H O D ............................................................... 9

CHAPTER 4 DESCRIPTION OF CA TEGORIES.............................................................12W ebQ uests......................................................................................................................................12Commercial S ites............................................... 14Educational Institu tions.............................................................................................................. 16School D istric ts................................................ 17Content S ite s ......................................................................... ’....................................................... 19Overall Percentage S co res ......................................................................................................... 20

CH APTERS D ISCU SSIO N .................................................................................................... 21

A PPEN D IX ........................................................................................................................................... 23

BIBLIO G RAPHY ................................................................................................................................99

V IT A .....................................................................................................................................................104

IV


LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 W ebQuests vs. Section Percentage Score................................................................. 14Table 2 Commercial Site vs. Section Percentage S co re .......................................................15Table 3 Educational Institutions vs. Section Percentage S co re .......................................... 17Table 4 School District vs. Section Percentage S co re .......................................................... 18Table 5 Content vs. Category Percentage S core .................................................................... 20Table 6 Type o f Web Page vs. Average Category Score..................................................... 20

R eproduced witti perm ission of ttie copyrigfit owner. Furtfier reproduction profiibited witfiout perm ission.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

A sample search for the word “zebras” on Google yielded over 2.3 million hits

(http;//www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=zebras&btnG=Search accessed on

March 4, 2007). This is a single example, but it holds true for most searches done online.

W hether using Yahoo!, Google or some other method o f searching the vast resources

available online, nearly any topic will yield hundreds, thousands, or even millions o f Web

sites.

Granted, not all o f the Web sites will be relevant to the search. Not all o f the Web

sites will be good. Elizabeth Kirk (1996) said, “Excellent resources reside along side the

most dubious. The Internet epitomizes the concept o f Caveat lector: Let the reader

beware'" (Paragraph 1, jhu.edu). With more and more people using the Web as a

resource, online patrons need to be skilled in determining a good site from bad and the

ugly.

This is especially true for educators who share their Web resources with their

students. W eb sites need to be thoroughly evaluated before they are given to students in

classes. Teachers are (or at least should be) regarded as accurate sources o f information

and students receiving a Web site from a teacher might not question the possibility that

the site is less than accurate.


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=zebras&btnG=Search

There are already several rubrics for evaluation that are available (Kalkman, 2003;

Schrock, 2006, Payton, 2003; Christie, 2007) online. However, not all o f the rubrics have

the same questions or cover the same topics. There are rubrics in which the scoring is

ambiguous or not clearly defined. There are even rubrics that are based on a multiple-

point system that does not give clear directions for scoring “yes or no” type questions.

While each rubric is good for its specific purpose, a rubric that can be broken down into

different components with a scoring method that allows for certain features to be

removed or added as is wairanted by each site was needed for this study.

A new rubric was created using rubrics already available as guides. The new rubric is

separated into four sections; (a) Technical Aspect and Design, (b) Content, (c) Authority,

and (d) Accessibility. The new rubric utilizes a point system in which the total points

possible varies depending on what is available on the Web site being evaluated. The final

score is given a percentage.

Technical Aspects and Design

Most people will judge a book by its cover. Web pages are unique in that every page

can be treated as its cover. A good W eb site will have a theme that will give its visitors a

sense that each page is part o f the site as a whole in case the home page is not the first

page the patron visits. However, the W eb page should have an obvious home page with

the content(s) and purpose(s) o f the site listed. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004)

The entire site should be accessible and easy to navigate. Buttons or links should be

available that allow patrons to jum p to im portant sections o f the site or back to pages that

were recently visited. Headings and subheadings should also be employed and assist

further with the navigation o f the site. Information should be easy to access. A patron


should not have to scroll down more than a few pages. If a patron is required to scroll

down continually, the information should be broken down into more pages. (Yale Web

Style Guide, 2004)

A good Web site will also have colors that do not obstruct any images or text. Blue

text on a blue background will make the text difficult to read. Also, underlined text,

specifically blue text, usually denotes a link. The colors and style o f the text should not

lead patrons to believe that the text is more than just text. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004)

Content

The Web gives its patrons more than one w ay to experience its content. Web sites

will usually contain a combination o f text, images, sounds, animation and interactive

elements. But a good Web site will also include details such as a (a) title that is

indicative o f the contents o f the page, (b) a time stamp o f when the page was last

updated, and (d) links to other sites and sources. Better Web sites will also lack

distractions such as unrelated ads or inconsistent content.

Regardless o f how many pages a Web site has, there should be a title page that allows

patrons to know where they are in the site. The title should also inform the visitor o f the

content(s) o f the page. Because most Web sites are longer than the screen height, a title

that gives a preview o f what patrons will find on the page will minimize scrolling and

will allow for more efficient access to information. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004)

Books, magazines, journals and newspapers have the dates that they were published

printed in or on them. The date that an article or book was written is important because

some inform ation changes rapidly. Unfortunately, not all Web sites have time stamps

that inform the visitor the last time that the site or page was updated. A good Web site


should have a current time stamp. If a site has been stagnant for a while, it m ight be a

good idea to find a site that has been recently updated and compare the information.

(Schrock, 2006; Yale W eb Style Guide, 2004)

Aside from time stamps, other sources should also be provided by the Web site.

Links that are relevant or related not only add credibility to a site but also can increase

the amount o f information that is available to patrons. However, Web sites that have

links that are not related will slow down the efficiency o f the patrons and should be

avoided. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004; Kapoun, 1998; Kirk, 1996)

Links and other resources are not the only components that should be related to the

main topic o f the site. All o f the information, including the media should be relevant to

the topic. The images, sounds, animation and interactive media, should be related to the

topic. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004; Christie, N/A; Payton, 2003; Schrock, 2006;

Kalkman, 2003; Kirk, 2003)

Authority

One o f the standards used in reviewing information is authorship. It is important that

the author o f the Web site is listed somewhere on the site. It is also important that the

author be reachable and that the author’s organization is listed and reachable. There is a

greater level o f accountability when an author or the author’s organization can be

reached. (Kapoun, 1998; Kirk, 1996)

Accessibility

Not all patrons will be viewing the Web sites in the same manner. Different visitors

will use different operating systems and Web browsers. Also, not all visitors will be

using browsers that display media other than text. There will also be visitors that will be


using screen readers to have the text on the Web page read aloud. It is important that the

W eb site have alt text tags for any visual media (e.g., graphics, photos, etc.) as well as the

ability to be viewed on at least two o f most common browsers and two o f the two most

common operating systems. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004)

There are also commands that are given to Web browsers, such as Java scripts and

Flash files that need to have alt text tags. Some o f these commands are for visual or

audio commands that patrons might not be able to view if they have no access to audio (if

text only) or visual (for screen readers) cues. (Yale Web Style Guide, 2004)

Scoring

Each o f the four sections on the rubric will receive a score. Each section has a

different number o f point values available depending on what is available on the Web

site. As an example, not all sites have sounds, animations and/or interactive elements.

These sites should not be penalized. If the media are present, the total score goes up to

reflect the extra component. Each section is given a percentage score instead o f a raw

score.

R eproduced witti perm ission of ttie copyrigfit owner. Furtfier reproduction profiibited witfiout perm ission.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review consisted basically o f three different types o f resources:

academic journals, other rubrics that have already been created, books on e-Learning

(i.e.,Yale Web Style Guide 2"‘* edition). The academic journals were used to reference

what types o f content and media were effective in a multimedia educational setting, the

rubrics were used as a guide and template that the rubric in this study was created, and

the books and style guide were used to reference the types o f layout and page attributes

that were most effective.

Academic Journals

Hall and Cushing assigned students into three groups in a study done in 1947. The

first group received an actual instructor, with real equipment and a slideshow that gave

instructions on how to read a micrometer. The second group received a film that had the

same script as the instructor. The third group received the instructions in a printed form

with images and text. Which group was actual able read the micrometer? There was no

significant difference among the groups, (as cited in Clark and Mayer, 2003)

This study was one o f the first studies that suggested that instruction other than the

traditional models o f instruction can be effective. Recently, m ore studies have been done

that give us scenarios o f how learning and transfer takes place best.


One o f the most common elements found on Web sites are images. On some pages,

the images sit in the middle the page with no direct explanation as to the purpose o f the

image. On other sites, a one or two word label is added to the image. On other Web

sites, images appear to be random ly placed on the page with no rhyme or reason. Studies

show that images with a meaningful and short description increases transfer. The images

and descriptions help guide the attention o f the student to the important aspects o f the

article. (Mayer, 1989)

Similar research has been done that compares the effectiveness o f other types of

media. Animations, much like the film example from 1947, have also been studied. For

accessibility reasons, sites that have animations and videos should give the patron the

option o f viewing the videos with subtitles. However, studies have shown that when on

screen text accompanies the animation, there is a good chance that the cognitive load in

the visual working memory becomes overloaded and cannot process the information as

easily. If subtitles in the videos and animations are present, there should be an option to

disable the subtitles (Mayer and M oreno, 1998).

Screen readers have become so advanced that some provide an auditory aesthetic that

is more pleasing to the ear than previous versions. Aside from narrations, sounds and

music have also been studied. Studies have shown that if narration is available, then

there should be no music or extraneous sounds. Similar to the on-screen text with

animation study, too much information going into a single sensory working memory may

cause cognitive overload and ham per student learning and transfer. (Moreno and Mayer,

2000)


Other Resources

The book e-Leam ing and the Science o f Instruction (Clark and Mayer, 2003) served

as a guide in the construction o f the rubric for the types o f multimedia content that is

acceptable in a W eb page. The book also served as an outline for the way that the

different types o f media should interact with each other.

Other guides that were used included rubrics by Kathleen Schrock, 2006; Dr. Alice

Christie, 2007; Tammy Payton, 2004; and Deborah Kalkman, 2003. Although each

rubric had its strengths, each one was designed with a different audience in mind. Using

the Yale Web Style Guide, 2'"' edition, and the other rubrics that available online, a new

rubric was fonmed designed to compare and contrast educational Web sites with other

types o f Web sites available.


CH APTER 3

SCORE COLLECTION METHOD

Due to the large number o f pages that some o f the sites contained, only a sample o f

the pages available in each site was considered when assigning scores. Each o f the Web

sites evaluated was critiqued using the same rubric. Also, for all o f the scores given, with

the exception o f the browser and operating system specific components o f the rubric,

Eire fox for Mac OSX was used as the browser.

The home page o f each site was first examined for its technical aspects and design by

following a few links at the surface o f the site. Aspects such as theme and navigation for

the site begin to shape and show themselves at this level o f inspection.

This level o f inspection was also used to determine the spelling and grammar score,

the colors, and page layout scores for the technical category. The title score, the time

stamp score, the score for ads, and the relevance o f information score were gathered for

the content section. The authority score and accessibility scores were also gauged at this

level of inspection.

A deeper examination into the hierarchy o f the site was used for the remainder o f the

scores. In order to properly get a score for the types o f content available, several

branches deep into the site was used. Also, site layout could only be accurately evaluated

after several branching sweeps deep into a site had been performed.


The navigation components o f the site, if present, were also used to determine if the

links that had been previously viewed changed in color. If the navigation components

were not present, then the brow ser’s forward and back buttons were used. A refresh on

the site was also done to ensure that the link, if visited, changed in color.

The alternate text score in the accessibility section and the broken links score in the

technical section were determined using the webXACT (Bobby, 2007) online version.

The number o f images without alternate links and the number o f broken links were

provided by the page scan o f the online application.

The accessibility section score for text-to-speech used the text reader that is built into

the Apple Mac OS X.4 Accessibility Suite. The text reader read the site and if the

navigation components, text, and tables were read properly, full scores were given. The

text-only version o f the site was examined by turning the pictures o ff in the browser.

However, instead o f text-only, the line item should be changed to image-disabled,

because certain flash animations and other non-image items in the site still appeared.

Current modern browsers do not have a text-only function. They have a function for

preventing images from showing

Viewing the same sites with two different computers determined browser and OS

compatibilities. Internet Explorer and Firefox were used for the W indows-based

computer and Safari and Firefox were used for Mac OSX computer. Because moiré

people use Internet Explorer 6 than Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 6 was used for

the study, (w3c.org, 2007)

Each site had a possible 24 points for its technical aspect and design, between 11 and

19 points for its contents, 4 points for its authority, and 9 points for its accessibility. The

10


reason that there was a range possible for the num ber o f points possible for the content is

because not all W eb sites had the same content. The lowest possible score for each

section was 0, with the exception o f accessibility, where the site could actually score

negative points. None o f the sites examined scored fewer than 3 points in any category.

Because there was a variation in the total num ber o f points possible, the score that

each site received in each section was converted to a percentage score. This way, each

site can be compared to each other more accurately than if a raw score had been used.

Once all o f the scores were filled in for a site, the next site on the list was then evaluated.

Once all 5 o f the sites were reviewed, then the scores were averaged for each o f the

sections and a category score was given. The process was repeated for all five categories.

The results follow.

1 1


CHAPTER 4

DESCRIPTION OF THE CATEGORIES

The following is a brief description o f the Web site categories and the results that

were found for each category. The sample for the categories was small (there were only

five sites reviewed in each category). Also, not every page available in the sites

evaluated was viewed when the scores were given.

WebQuests

A WebQuest is defined as “an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all o f the

information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet” (Dodge,

1997). Aside from the definition, WebQuests must also have the following attributes: an

introduction, task(s), information source(s), description o f process(es), guidance and

conclusion. W ebQuests are designed to have learners use information and to support

thinking at all levels. (Dodge, 1997)

There are literally thousands o f W ebQuests that are already available on-line. One o f

the reasons for the proliferation o f W ebQuests is that W eb designers o f all levels can

jum p right in and design a W ebQuest with little or no effort. There are templates,

flowcharts, and instruction manuals that are available to anyone wanting to make their

own WebQuests. (http://www.educationworld.com)

12


http://www.educationworld.com

However, just like mentioned earlier, there are the good, the bad and the ugly.

Several W ebQuests were evaluated with the rubric to see how a sample o f W ebQuests

compared to the other category o f educational Web sites examined.

The selection process for W ebQuests was relatively basic. A matrix search method

on webquests.org was used. Technology was selected for the subject and 3-5 was

selected for the grade level. The site webquest.org redirects to questgarden.com for the

search results. The first five that came up in the search were chosen. Here are the URLs

for the first five W ebQuests that came up during the search:

• http://questgarden.eom/47/74/6/070310154830/


• http://questgarden.eom /47/l 5/9/070303074747/



The W ebQuest site evaluations were different from the other site evaluations m that

every page that was available in each W ebQuest was used as part o f the score. The

WebQuests had only a limited num ber o f pages in each site making it possible to take

into account all o f the pages.

One o f the things that were easily noticeable about the WebQuests found at

questgarden.com, was that they w ere all designed the same way. With the exception o f

colors and the images found on the site, the layout o f the site and the pages were all the

same. W hile each individual W ebQuest had a distinct theme to each site, all the

WebQuests on questgarden.com shared a similar format.


http://questgarden.eom/47/74/6/070310154830/


http://questgarden.eom/47/l



However, even though each W ebQuest followed the same formula, each site scored

differently. The total scores for the W ebQuest ranged between 74% to 84%. The

average total score for the category was 80.8%. Compared to the total average for all o f

the sites examined, WebQuests scored higher in technical (82.5% vs. 79.5%), lower in

content (86.1% vs. 88%), lower in authority (75% vs. 87%), and lower in accessibility

(75.6% vs. 76.4%).

Table WebQuests vs. Section Percentage Score

Technical Content Authority Accessibility TotalBritish 75 92.3 75 77.8 74Safari 87.5 84.6 75 77.8 84

Pilgrims 83.3 84.6 75 66.7 80Revolution 79.2 84.6 75 77.8 82

St. Louis 87.5 84.6 75 77.8 84

Note. This table is a summary o f the percentage that each Web site scored in each o f the

four categories. The total score is also provided.

Commercial Sites

The Web sites classified as commercial sites were sites that charge a fee for the use o f

the content and/or resources offered. The type o f content that was offered in each site

varied widely. Some sites offered full interventions. Other sites were programs that

students use each day, with each students’ progress being charted and compared to other

data to ensure that students were growing in each topic. Some sites offered instructional

aids, such as videos or worksheets. Other sites offered services for the teachers and not

the students.

14


A com mercial educational Web site will have educators and students as its primary

target audience. Other commercial sites offered goods and services that widely varied.

Educational commercial sites offer goods and services whose prim ary function serves an

educational purpose.

The f iv e sites that were evaluated in the commercial sites categories are:

• recipes4success.com

• leachfirst.com

• unitedstreaming.com

• japanesepodl01.com

• britannica.com

The five commercial sites chosen were all pay for use sites that offered their patrons

tutoring or reference resources. The sites varied greatly in the scores that they received.

The average scores for the commercial sites compared to the average for all the sites were

as follows: higher in technical (80.8% vs. 79.5%), higher in content (90.5% vs. 88%),

higher in authority (90% vs. 87%), lower in accessibility (71.1% vs. 76.4%), and higher

in the overall total (83% vs. 82%).

Table 2 Commercial Site vs. Section Percentage Score

Technical Content Authority Accessibility TotalBritannica 95.8 93.3 100 77.8 92.3

JapanesePod 79.2 94.7 75 44.4 78.6Recipes 75 76.9 75 100 80

UStreaming 83.3 94.1 100 77.8 87Teach 1 St 70.8 93.3 100 55.6 76.9



15


Educational Institutions

Web sites whose general top level domain (gTLD) name ended in .edu were

considered as educational institutions and evaluated. According to Wikipedia, “Under the

present system, only post-secondary institutions that are accredited by an agency on the

U.S. Department o f Education's list o f nationally recognized accrediting agencies are

eligible to apply for a .edu domain.” Although the eligibility requirements only apply to

new applicants, most o f the sites that have the .edu gTLD arc post-secondary institutions.

(Wikipedia.org, 20Ü7; educause.edu/edudomain, 2007)

The Web sites selected were evaluated are the first five Web sites that came up during

a Google search o f the phrase “universities .edu” whose domain actually ended in .edu.

The Web sites were:

• www.oregonstate.edu

• www.harvard.edu

• www.nyu.edu

• www.stanford.edu

• www.wisc.edu

It is important to note that pages that have been created by faculty and staff for use

with a specific class or other activity were not considered for any o f the scores. Only the

pages that appeared to be part o f the main university site were considered for scoring

purposes. Although it may be a good idea, not all institutions closely monitor content

being put up by faculty and staff that are being hosted on their main site.

Educational institutions had the Web sites that scored highest overall. As a category,

educational institutions scored 85.6% compared to the overall average o f 82.0%. In each

16


http://www.oregonstate.edu

http://www.harvard.edu

http://www.nyu.edu

http://www.stanford.edu

http://www.wisc.edu

o f the sections educational institutions scored higher than the overall average except in

technical and design (77.5% vs. 79.5%). Educational institutions scored higher in content

(92.9% vs. 88%), authority (100% vs. 87%), and accessibility (82.2% vs. 76.4%). In fact,

educational institutions scored the lowest in technical and design and highest in content,

authority, and accessibility.

Table 3 Educational Institutions vs. Section Percentage Score

Technical Content Authority Accessibility TotalWise 83.3 92.3 100 100 90

Harvard 70.8 100 100 77.8 82.7NYU 70.8 86.7 100 66.7 76.9

Stanford 79.2 93.3 100 66.7 88.5osu 83.3 92.3 100 100 90



School Districts

School District Web sites are the Web sites for different school districts in the

country. School District Web sites are an important source o f information for the faculty

and staff who work as well as the students who attend in those school districts. It is also

an important source o f news and information for the families and for those thinking about

moving to a different district.

Selecting the school district Web sites for this study was similar to finding the

university Web sites. A Google search for “School D istrict” was performed and the top 5

school districts that came up were chosen.

17


The five schools that came up were:

• w ww .phila.kl2.pa.us/

• w w w .lausd.kl2.ca.us/

• www.ccsd.net/

• w ww.palm beach.kl2.fl.us/

• w ww .sdhc.kl2.fl.us/

Individual school and teacher Web pages that are being hosted by the main school

district site were not considered. Although these pages were being hosted by the school

district and were inclusive, they were clearly sites o f their own and did not meet criteria

for inclusion in this study.

The school district Web sites as a group scored the lowest overall percentage at

75.7% compared to the overall percentage o f 82.0%. In fact, school districts scored

lowest in technical with a score o f 71.7% (overall technical is 79.5%) and the lowest in

content (81.6% vs. 88%). The school district Web sites also scored lower than the overall

percentage in authority (85% vs. 87%) and lower in accessibility (73.3% vs. 76.4%).

Table 4 School D istrict vs. Section Percentage Score

Technical Content Authority Accessibility TotalSDHC 75 93.9 75 77.8 80.8

Palm Beach 66.7 92.3 100 44.4 72CCSD 62.5 62.5 100 100 72

LA USD 79.2 76.9 75 77.8 78Philadelphia 75 82.4 75 66.7 75.9




http://www.phila.kl2.pa.us/

http://www.lausd.kl2.ca.us/

http://www.ccsd.net/

http://www.palmbeach.kl2.fl.us/

http://www.sdhc.kl2.fl.us/

Content Sites

Content sites are sites that provide information and content. The sites are usually free

o f charge, but some will have advertisements to generate funding for the upkeep o f the

site and for other expenses.

The topics that can be found on content sites vary. Some content sites are topic

specific and will cover only certain subjects. Other content sites are encyclopedic in the

range o f topics and will cover as many topics as there are patrons interested. The sites

that were selected cover a wide range o f topics.

The selection process for the sites was arbitrary. Several methods were attempted at

generating a fomial, reproducible process, but the list o f sites generated was inconsistent.

The following is the list o f sites that were selected arbitrarily for the content section;

• Howstuffworks.com

• W ikipedia.com

• About.com

• Answer.com

• Encarta.msn.com

The content sites scored the 2"^ highest overall in terms o f overall percentage scores.

The average percentage score for all the sites are 82% and content sites came in at 85%.

Content sites scored higher in the technical section (85% vs. 79.5%), content (88.9% vs.

88%), and accessibility (80% vs. 76.4%). Content sites scored lower in authority (85%

vs. 87%)

19


Table 5 Content Site vs. Category Percentage Score

Technical Content Authority Accessibility TotalEncarta 8T3 69 2 100 6 6 3 78

Answers 8T3 8 9 ^ 100 7 7 3 85.7About 8T5 9 3 3 100 7 7 3 883

W ikipedia 91.7 100 25 100 90How 7 9 ^ 9 2 3 100 7 7 3 84



Overall Percentage Scores

In overall scores, the average was 82% with educational institution Web sites scoring

highest (85.6%) and school district Web sites scoring lowest (75.7%). Educational

institution sites scored the highest in content (92.9%), authority (100%), and accessibility

(82.2%). Content sites scored highest in technical aspect and design (85%). School

districts scored lowest in technical aspect and design (71.7%) and content (81.6%).

W ebQuests scored lowest in authority (75%). Commercial sites scored lowest in

accessibility (71.1%)

Table 6 Type o f Web Page vs. Average Category Percentage Score

Technical Content Authority Accessibility TotalW ebQuests

823 863 75 7 5 3 8 03

EducationalInstitutions

77.5 92 9 100 82.2 85u5

SchoolDistricts

71.7 8T6 85 7 3 3 75.7

CommercialSites 8 03 9 0 3 90

............$71.1 83

Content Sites85 8&9 85 80 85

20


CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION

The results might seem surprising at first glance. It might be expected that the

commercial sites would score better than content sites. The commercial sites and content

sites, in general however, offered the same content and services.

This can be explained by the lack o f details that the rubric used when these sites were

evaluated. There was nothing in the rubric that evaluated into cost vs. product. Looking

back at the information that was available in the commercial sites vs. the content sites

evaluated, there were actually more exclusive content available on the commercial sites

than on the content sites. There were also more services that were available and those

same services were more accessible.

As an example, W ikipedia.org has thousands o f articles that cover an enormous range

o f topics. There are articles on W ikipedia.org that would not be found in a “regular”

encyclopedia, but is in as much depth as any other article. However, there is not a single

author for W ikipedia.org and tracking down the authority o f any given article is a hit and

miss situation.

While not all o f the articles in W ikipedia.org can be found on the commercial site

Britannica.com, the authority score gave Britannica.com a higher percentage score

overall. In fact, W ikipedia.org outscored Britannica.com in content and in accessibility.

21


It is also surprising that school district and higher education Web sites did not all

receive 100% in accessibility. From the sites surveyed, only one school district and less

than half o f higher education W eb sites scored 100% in accessibility. This was mostly

due to lacking alternate text in their images. New Web publishing software makes it

simple to add alternate text to images. And online applications such as Bobby make it

easy to “see” if there are any images without an alternate text.

It is also surprising that less than half o f all school district Web sites evaluated scored

100% on authority. A lot o f the school district Web sites surveyed discussed the

importance o f accountability, but authorship on these sites were lacking. Please note that

during the review process, care was taken to ensure that only pages on the main school

district Web sites were evaluated. School and teacher-created Web sites were not taken

into consideration.

Another study could go into more detail comparing individual school Web sites

within a school district to individual school Web sites in another district. A similar

methodology could be employed, and a similar rubric, fine-tuned specifically to the needs

o f a school Web site could be used.

WebQuests are different from the other W eb sites evaluated in that they have specific

requirements. There are literally thousands o f WebQuests that are already available, and

there are several sites that facilitate finding these WebQuests for teacher and student use.

Because WebQuests have specific requirements, the rubric used for the other sites does

not accurately evaluate a W ebQuest. There are several rubrics that are available that

gauge a WebQuest on items such as level on B loom ’s taxonomy, ease o f use, teacher

resources and other items relevant specifically to WebQuests.

22


APPENDIX 1

DATA COLLECTED

23


Evaluator’s Name: Denber CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/22/07The URL of the website: www.about.comThe N ame of the website: Welcome to About.com

46Total Score 52Divided by Total Possible 88 .5Percen tage Score

Technical Aspects and DesignExemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Home Page Labeled a s the home p ag e and provides the site contents and purpose

Does not provide the site contents

Home page is not labeled a s the home pag e for the site

2/2

Spelling and Grammar

P a g e requires no editing of spelling or grammar.

There are so m e (less than 4) g ram m ar and/or spelling errors.

Spelling and/or gram mar errors throughout the page (4 or more).

2/2

HeadingsandSubheading

P resen t and ass is ts with navigation

Present but arbitrary Not present 2/2

Plug-ins All n ece ssa ry plug-ins identified and links provided to viewers

Plug-ins identified, but no links provided

Plug-ins required, but no mention of which o n es are required

2/2

Links None of the links are broken

There are a few broken links (less than %)

More than % of the links are broken

2/2

External links are labeled a s external

External links are not labeled

2/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the home page are available (foot prints)

Navigation links back to the home p ag e or to previous p a g e (not both)

Browser buttons only for navigation

2/2

Visited links a p p ea r in a different color

Visited links the sa m e color as links not visited

0/2

Design Colors are pleasing and c a u s e no conflicts or hide any text

There are so m e color s c h em e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p ag es have color sc h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a them e to the site that allow each page of the site to be identified a s a sub-page

There is no obvious theme, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site

P ag es are random In ap pearance

2/2

The site layout Is appropriate for the amount of p a g e s in the site

The site layout could be more efficient by the use of more internal links

2/2

P a g e layout is ideal for the amount of Information and media on the page

The information is still e a sy to find, but the page is becoming cluttered with too much

P age layout is too cluttered and Information n eed s to be redistributed

1/2

Section Score 21/24 87.5%

ContentExemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Title The title of the page is indicative of the contents of the page

The title is present, but do es not represen t the content of the page

There is no title on the page

2/2

Timestamp The da te of the docum ent is less than 2 months since last update

The docum ent is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months

The document is more than 6 months old

2/2

There is a da te that show s when pag e (site) w as last updated

There is no date when pag e w as last updated

0/1

24


http://www.about.com

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing ( 1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources

The links provided are related and relevant to the subject of the page (site)

Not all of the links provided link to related topics

S o m e of the links are sent to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the information on the pag e is relevant to the subject

Most of the information is related to the main topic

Information on the page is incoherent

2/2

Media Photographs are relevant to the topic, and labeled appropriately

S om e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (Including ad s that are not related)

None of the pictures are related to the topic

[2/2]

Music clips are relevant to the topic [If present]

Not all of the music or sound files are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)

More than 3 music clips are not relevant to the topic

[ /2]

Movie clips are relevant to the topic and are narrated appropriately [If present]

Not all of fhe movie clips or files are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)

More than 3 clips are not relevant to the topic or are not narrated

P #]

Interactive media clips are relevant to the topic [If present]

Not all of the interactive clips are available relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)

More than 3 of the interactive media clips are relevant to the topic

1 /2]

Ads Ads are inconspicuous or nonexistent

Ads pop up on som e of the p a g e s visited, but c a u s e no other distractions

Ads are distracting 2/2

Section Score: 14/15 93.3%

AuthorityExemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m e an s to contact author

Author nam e is given, but no other information

No nam e of authorship is provided

2/2

Author institution, organization or affiliation is provided

No additional author information is provided

1/1

Citations A list of citations and other sources are available

There are no additional sources available

1/1

Section Score: 4/4Accessibility

100%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text L ess than 3 im ages have

are missing alt textMore than 3 im ages are missing an alt text

0/2

There are blinking images on the screen (-1 points)

0

There are blinking text on the sc reen (-1 points)

0

T ables and graphs

R eadable by text readers in the correct format

Not readable by text reader In correct format

2/2

Browsercompatibility

Both IE and Firefox in Win XP

Either IE or Firefox in Win XP

2/2

Both Safari and F irefox in Mac OS X

Either Safari or Firefox in Mac OS X

D oes not work with Mac OS X

2/2

Text only version of site works

Text only version does not work or not present

1/1

Bobby 1 or less priority error 2 priority errors 3 priority errors /2Section Score: 7/9 77 .8%

25


Briefly answer the following questions. These questions are not scored on the rubric, but kept as a record.

What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □ Institution □D istr ic t E lC on ten t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The genera l public is the audience for this site. There is nothing complicated given in any of the explanations viewed.

Describe the site:Site navigation is great. The s idebar ch a n g e s to represent what is currently being viewed. There are also footprints located at the top of the p a g e to show the patro where they are and where they could backtrack to from broad to specific.The way that external links are handled are also great - they are designated with a different color. The ads are not intrusive, but are random. This do es not detract from the site.What d o e s detract from the site is that there are no alternate text on the images. The text reader can read the site, and the site still looks fine without any of the images.For mot of the site, the pag e layout sys tem is fine. However, som e articles are longer and should have anchors , or be sepa ra ted into sep a ra te sites.Overall, the site is great and provides quite a bit of information.

26


Evaluator's Name: Denber Cruz 42Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/16/07 SODivided by Total PossibleTtie URL of the website: http://www.questgarden.eom/47/75/0/070310184951/ 8 4 P ercen tage Score The Name of the website: African Safari



D oes not provide the site contents

Home p ag e is not labeled as the hom e pag e for the site

2/2


P a g e requires no editing of spelling or g rammar.

There are som e (less than 4) g ram m ar and/or spelling errors.


2/2



P resen t but arbitrary Not present 2/2

Plug-ins All n ecessa ry plug-ins identified and links provided to viewers


Plug-ins required, but no mention of which o n e s are required

2/2




2/2



0/2

Navigation links to previous p ag es and the hom e page are available (foot prints)

Navigation links back to the hom e page or to previous pag e (not both)


1/2

Visited links appear in a different color


2/2

Design Colors are pleasing and c a u s e no conflicts or hide ' any text

There are som e color s c h e m e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text becom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a theme to the site that allow each page of the site to be identified a s a sub-page

T here is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site

P a g e s are random in a p p ea rance

2/2

The site layout Is appropriate for the amount of p ag e s in the site


2/2

P age layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the p age

T he information is still e a s y to find, but the page is becoming cluttered with too much

P age layout is too cluttered and information n eeds to be redistributed

2/2




The title is present, but d o e s not represen t the content of the page


2/2

Timestamp The date of the document is less than 2 months since last update

T he docum ent is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months

The docum ent is more than 6 months old

2/2

T here Is a da te that show s w hen pag e (site) was last updated


0/1

27


http://www.questgarden.eom/47/75/0/070310184951/

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Em erg ing (Opts) ScoreOtherS ou rces

The links provided are related and relevant to the subject of the pag e (site)


S o m e of the links are sent to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2




2/2


Som e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (Including ads that are not related)


[1/2]




[ /2]


Not all of the movie clips or files are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)


[ /2]




[ /2]


Ads pop-up on som e of the p a g e s visited, but c a u se no other distractions



AuthorityExemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Authorinformation




1/2



1/1

Citations A list of citations and other sou rces are available

T here are no additional sources available

1/1


75%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text Less than 3 images have


0/2

There are blinking im ages on the sc reen (-1 points)There are blinking text on the sc reen (-1 points)

Tab les and graphs

Readable by text readers In the correct format

Not readable by text reade r in correct format

2/2




2/2

Both Safari and Firefox in Mac OS X

Either Safari or Firefox in Mac O S X

D oes not work with Mac O S X

2/2



1/1

Bobby 1 or less priority error 2 priority errors 3 priority errors 12Section Score: 7/9 77 .8%

28



What category d o es this site fall under?lÉl W ebQ uest □ C o m m e rc ia l □ Inst itu tion □ District Q C o n te n t

Who is the target audience for the site:A'” and 5'^ g rade s tudents and teachers of 4'" and S'” graders.

Describe the site:The color sch e m e works great for a safari them e. The am ount of information per page is great. The links are easy to follow in the student introduction, but a way to ge t back to the introduction without having to hit the back button on the browser would be better.There are no tags on any of the Images. However, the Im ages detract more from the activity than augment. The text only version works great , but the text reader could get confusing when the rubric is being read, although the sc reen reader did a fair job.

29


Evaluator’s Name: D enber Cruz 48Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/22/07 56Divided by Total PossibleThe URL of the website: www.answers.com 85 .7P ercen tage ScoreThe Nam e of the website: Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and much more


Home P ag e Labeled a s the home pag e and provides the site contents and purpose


Home pag e is not labeled a s the hom e page for the site

2/2


P ag e requires no editing of spelling or grammar.


Spelling and/or grammar errors throughout the page (4 or more).

2/2


Presen t and a ss is ts with navigation

Present but arbitrary Not p resent 2/2



Plug-ins required, but no mention of which on es are required

0/2




2/2



2/2


Navigation links back to the home pag e or to previous page (not both)


1/2


Visited links the sa m e color a s links not visited

2/2

Design Colors are pleasing and c a u se no conflicts or hide any text

There are so m e color sc h e m es that c a u s e som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the pag es have color s c h em e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious theme, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sa m e site

P a g e s are random in a p p e a ran ce

2/2

The site layout is appropriate for the amount of p a g e s in the site


2/2

P a g e layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the pag e


P ag e layout is too cluttered and information n ee d s to be redistributed

1/2



Title The title of the pag e is indicative of the contents of the page


T here is no title on the pag e

2/2


The document is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months


2/2

There is a date that show s when page (site) w a s last updated

There is no date when p a g e w as last updated

0/1


http://www.answers.com

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) D eveloping (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources



S om e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the Information on the p age is relevant to the subject


Information on the pag e is incoherent

2/2


S o m e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including a d s that are not related)


[2/2]




[2/2]




[2/2]




[2/2]


Ads pop-up on som e of the p a g e s visited, but c a u s e no other distractions




Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, a s well a s a m ean s to contact author



2/2



1/1


There are no additional sou rces available

1/1


100%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All Images have an alt text L ess than 3 images have


0/2

There are blinking im ages on the sc reen (-1 points)

0

T here are blinking text on the sc reen (-1 points)

0

Tables and graphs



2/2




2/2



D oes not work with Maco s x

2/2


Text only version do es not work or not p resent

1/1

Bobby 1 or less priority error 2 priority errors 3 priority errors 12Section Score: 7/9 77.8%

31



What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □ Inst itu tion □ D is tr ic t jg C o n ten t

Who is the target audience for the site:This site app ea rs to be designed for a broad audience

Describe the site:Great site. This site has a lot of bells and whistles. Every word on the pag e can be double clicked (Mac), and there are som e great Interactive elem ents Involved.The major concern that I have with the site is that there are no alternate text to most of the images. The only other concern are the ad s that ap pea r before the videos - they detract from the videos on the site.The so u rces are great.The navigation is average. There are no footprints or any true navigation buttons. The site is easy enough to navigate, but with som e minor c h a n g e s could be even better. There is a considereable amount of scrolling in most of the article and the internal links ap p ea r to be random.All In all, one of my favorite sites that I have the p leasure of navigating.

32


Evaluator’s Name: Denber CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/23/07The URL of the website: http://www.britannica.comThe Name of the website:

48Total Score 52Divided by Total Possible 92 .3P ercen tage Score

Technical Aspects and DesignExemplary (2pts) Developing (1pt) Emerging (Opts) Score




2/2



There are som e (less than 4) gram m ar and/or spelling errors.

Spelling and/or g ram m ar errors throughout the page (4 or more).

2/2







1/2




2/2



2/2




2/2

Visited links ap pea r in a different color


2/2


There are so m e color s c h e m e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s ee

More than % of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2


There Is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site

P a g e s are random in ap p ea rance

2/2



2/2

P a g e layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the page


Page layout is too cluttered and information n e ed s to be redistributed

2/2



Title The title of the page Is indicative of the contents of the page

The title is p resent, but d o e s not represent the content of the page


2/2




2/2

There is a da te that shows w hen p a g e (site) w as last updated


0/1

33


http://www.britannica.com

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ip t) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherSources

The links prov ided are related and relevant to the subject of the pag e (site)

N ot all o f the links provided link to related topics

S om e o f the links are sent to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the information on the p ag e is relevant to the subject



2/2


Som e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (Including a d s that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




[2/2]




1 /2]


Ads pop-up on so m e of the p a g e s visited, but c a u s e no other distractions




Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, a s well a s a m eans to contact author



2/2



1/1

Citations A list of citations and other so u rces are available


1/1


%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


0/2


0


0

Tables and graphs

Readab le by text readers in the correct format

Not readable by text reader in correct format

2/2




2/2




2/2


Text only version d o es not work or not p resent

1/1

Bobby 1 or less priority error 2 priority errors 3 priority errors /2Section Score: 7/9 77.8%

34



What category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t KlCommerclal □ Institution □D istr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud ience is for anyone looking for an online reference source

Describe the site:The site has so m e aw e so m e navigation techniques. There are pag e num bers that tell patrons w here they are in an article. There are branching options for when patrons get deep within the subject pool. There aer also footprints that give the patron a list of where they have been in the site, when they are not in an article. There is even a s idebar that ass is ts with navigation.Plug-ins are indetified, but no links were provided a s to where to get the plugins for the page.The colors are pleasing. Oddlly, the text only version and the with text version gives the patron less information than the sc reen gives. The screen reader gives a preview and provides more information about wher the link will lead to.All in all, a g rea t site.


Evaluator’s Name: Denber Cruz 37Total ScoreDate site a c ce sse d : 3/16/07 SODivided by Total PossibleThe URL of the website: http://www.questgarden.eom/47/04/7/070222081655/ 74 P ercen tag e ScoreThe Name of the website: British Holilday Hullabalool


Home Page Labeled a s the home page and provides the site contents and purpose


Home p a g e is not labeled a s the hom e pag e for the site

2/2





2/2


P resent and ass is ts with navigation


Plug-ins All n ecessary plug-lns Identified and links provided to viewers


Plug-lns required, but no mention of which on es are required

2/2




2/2


External links a re not labeled

0/2

Navigation links to previous p ag es and the home page are available (foot prints)

Navigation links back to the hom e p ag e or to previous p ag e (not both)


1/2

Visited links app ea r in a different color


0/2


There are so m e color s c h e m e s that c a u s e som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p ag es have color sc h e m e s were text becom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a theme to the site that allow each pag e of the site to be identified a s a sub-page

There Is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar e nough to warrant being part of the sa m e site


2/2

The site layout is appropriate for the amount of p ages in the site


2/2

P age layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the page

The information is still e a sy to find, but the page Is becoming cluttered with too much

Page layout Is too cluttered and Information n eed s to be redistributed

1/2

Section Score 18/24 75%


Title The title of the page Is indicative of the contents of the page



2/2




2/2

There is a da te that show s w hen p a g e (site) w a s last updated

There is no da te when pag e w as last updated

0/1

36



(Content) Exemplary (2pts) D eveloping (Ip t) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherSources

T he links provided are related and relevant to the subject of the pag e (site)


S om e of the links a re sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the information on the p a g e is relevant to the subject


Information on the p ag e is incoherent

2/2

Media P hotographs are relevant to the topic, and labeled appropriately

S om e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including ad s that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]






Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, a s well a s a m e a n s to contact author



1/2



1/1

Citations A list of citations and other so u rce s are available


1/1


75%



2/2


0


0

Tables and graphs

R eadab le by text readers in the correct format


0/2




2/2

Both Safari and Firefox in Mac O S X


Does not work with Mac O S X

2/2


Text only version d o es not work or not p resent

1/1


37


Briefly answer tfie following questions. Ttiese questions are not scored on ttie rubric, but kept as a record.

What category d o es this site fall under?K lW ebQ uest □ C o m m e rc ia l □Inst i tu tion □Distr ic t □ Content

Who Is the target audience for the site:The target aud ience is 4"̂ to 6'" g rade s tudents and 4'” to 6"’ g rade educators.

Describe the site:The color for the site is fair. The color doesn 't really add othe them e of the site, but It Is not distracting either. The text only version of the site works, but not well. The links are all images. Although there is still something to click on, the user will need to wait for the alternate text to know what they are clicking on. Text readers canno t find the links.

38


Evaluator’s Name: D enber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/15/07The URL of the website: http://www.ccsd.netThe Name of the website: Clark County School District

36Total ScoreSODivided by Total Possible 72 P ercen tage Score




Home page is not labeled a s the home page for the site

1/2





2/2




Plug-ins All n ece ssa ry plug-lns Identified and links provided to viewers



2/2




2/2



0/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the hom e p a g e are available (foot prints)



1/2


Visited links the s a m e color a s links not visited

0/2


There are som e color s c h e m e s that c a u s e som e text to be hard to s e e

More than 14 of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a them e to the site that allow each page of the site to be identified a s a sub -page



2/2

The site layout Is appropriate for the am ount of p a g e s in the site

The site layout could be more efficient by the u se of more internal links

0/2

P a g e layout Is ideal for the am oun t of information and media on the page


P ag e layout is too cluttered and information n e e d s to be redistributed

1/2



Title The title of the pag e Is Indicative of the contents of the p a g e

The title is present, but d o es not represent the content of the page

There is no title on the pag e

2/2

Timestamp The da te of the document is less than 2 months since last update


The docum ent Is more than 6 months old

2/2

There is a da te that show s when p ag e (site) w as last updated

There is no date when p ag e w as last updated

1/1

39


http://www.ccsd.net

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ip t) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources

The links provided are related and relevant to the subject of the p a g e (site)



2/2

Information All the information on the page is relevant to the subject

Most of fhe information is related to the main topic

Information on the page Is incoherent

2/2


Som e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (Including ad s that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




1 /2]




[ /2]


Ads pop-up on so m e of the p a g e s visited, but c a u se no other distractions


Section Score: 13/13 100%


Authorinformation




0/2



1/1



1/1


100%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreIm ages All im ages have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


0/2

There are blinking images on the sc reen (-1 points)

0


0

T ables and graphs



0/2




2/2




2/2



0/1


40


Briefly answer tfie following questions. T fiese questions are not scored on ttie rubric, but kept as a record.

What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l □ Institution □ D is tr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The target aud ienc es for the site is varied. There are sections from students, employees, possible em ployees and parents. There are a lso other resources available to m em bers of the community.

Describe the site:The site is nicely layed out, but there are som e significant flaws in the way that the site is arranged. D eeper into the site, there is no ea sy way to get back to the hom e p age . None of the external links are labelled, and none of the Images have alt text descriptions. There is also significant vertical scrolling, escpecially on the home page.The colors are nice and appealing. However, there is so much information on the site and not all of the information is easily accessible. The site map helps, but footprints and better way to a c c e s s the previous page visited would be nice.The text on the screen is also arranged in a way that the default text reader in Mac OSX 10.4.8 w as reading the text in the wrong order.

41


Evaluator’s Name: D enber Cruz 39Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/22/07 SODivided by Total PossibleThe URL of the website: http://encarta.msn.com 7 8P ercen tage ScoreThe Nam e of the website: MSN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Homework


Home Page Labeled a s the home pag e and provides the site contents and purpose


Home page is not labeled a s the hom e p ag e for the site

2/2





2/2




Plug-ins All necessa ry plug-ins identified and links provided to viewers



2/2




2/2



0/2


Navigation links back to the hom e pag e or to previous pag e (not both)


2/2



0/2


There are so m e color s c h e m e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p ag es have color sc h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a them e to the site that allow each pag e of the site to be identified a s a sub-page

There is no obvious them e, but p ag es are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site

P ag es are random In appea ran ce

2/2



2/2

P ag e layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the page


P age layout is too cluttered and information n e ed s to be redistributed

2/2



Title The title of the p ag e is indicative of the contents of the page

The title Is present, but d o es not represent the content of the page


2/2

Timestamp The date of the docum ent is less than 2 months since last update

T he docum ent is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months


2/2


There is no da te when pag e w as last updated

0/1

42


http://encarta.msn.com




S o m e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2




2/2


S o m e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not.labeled (including ad s that are not related)


[1/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]






Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m ean s to contact author



2/2


No additional author Information is provided

1/1

Citations A list of citations and other sou rce s are available


1/1


100%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text L e ss than 3 im ages have

are missing alt textMore than 3 images are missing an alt text

0/2


-1


0

Tables and graphs

R eadable by text readers In the correct format


2/2


Both IE and Firefox In Win XP


2/2




2/2


Text only version d o e s not work or not present

1/1


43



What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □ Inst itu tion □ Distr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:Judging by the large amounts of resources that are available on this site, I would say that nearly all web users at any level would feel ok at this site. There are resources for students in the elementary and secondary level. Including how to get into collge guides. T here are information for those that are already in college. There Is a lso a way to sea rc for information for the casua l user. There Is something here for almost everyone - threw me off guard.

Describe the site:The site has a grea t layout. The navigation features of the stie are not great , but they do m eet the criteria se t forth by the rubric. Som e of the p a g e s of the site h a s more advertising than anythig else. They can be a distraction. Also, since most of the a d s are animated, so m e have flashing items in them that could c a u se a problem.The Information In the site, however is great. There is something here for almost everyone. The layout is great, but could be Improved. Navigation at the top and the left had columnt. Information In the middle. Ads everywhere else. Too many ads.The articles that I s c an n e d did have the author's information a s well a s an affiliation or a site where the original article w as published. The information in this site is great.

44


Evaluator’s N ame; Denber Cruz 40Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/16/07 SODIvided by Total PossibleThe URL of the website: http:/ /www.questgarden.eom/47/69/9/070310091054/ SOPercentage Score The Name of the website: The Pilgrims and The First Thanksgiving


Home Page Labeled a s the home p a g e and provides the site contents and purpose



2/2





2/2




Plug-ins All n e ce ssa ry plug-ins Identified and links provided to viewers


Plug-ins required, but no mention of which ones are required

2/2




2/2



0/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the hom e pag e are available (foot prints)

Navigation links back to the hom e page or to previous page (not both)


1/2

Visited links ap p ea r in a different color


2/2


There are som e color sc h e m e s that c a u s e so m e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text becom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a them e to the site that allow each page of the site to be Identified a s a sub-page


P a g e s are random in appea ran ce

2/2

The site layout is appropriate for the am ount of p a g e s In the site


2/2

P a g e layout Is ideal for the am ount of information and media on the page

The information is still ea sy to find, but the page is becoming cluttered with too much

Page layout is too cluttered and information n ee d s to be redistributed

1/2




The title is p resen t, but do es not rep resen t the content of the pag e

There is no title on the p ag e

2/2


The d ocum en t is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months


2/2

There is a da te that show s when p a g e (site) w as last updated


0/1

45






S om e of the links a re sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2



Information on the p a g e is incoherent

2/2


Som e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including ads that are not related)


[1/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]






Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, a s well a s a m e an s to contact author



1/2



1/1


There are no additional so u rces available

1/1


75%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


1/2


0


0

Tables and graphs



0/2




2/2



Does not work with Maco s x

2/2


Text only version d o e s not work or not p resen t

1/1


46



What category d o es this site fall under?é lW e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □Institu tion □ District □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The target audience of the site are third g raders and third g rade teachers.

Describe the site:While the color sc h e m e might have b e en c h o sen better to suite the topic, the colors do not take away from the site by being a distraction or by hiding text. The text only version works, but not well. S om e of the links are simply a straight line that n eed s to be clicked on carefully.The text reader did not work on the site b e c a u s e som e of the links are image b a se d and were not given an alternate text tag. The text reader simply skipped the vertical bar (straight line) and read onto the next part.

47


Evaluator’s Name: Denber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/19/07T he URL of the website: www.harvard.eduThe Name of the website: Welcome to Harvard University

43Total Score 52Divided by Total Possible 82 .7Percen tage Score




Home page is not labeled a s the home p ag e for the site

2/2



There are som e (less than 4) gram mar and/or spelling errors.


2/2


Presen t and ass is ts with navigation





2/2




2/2



0/2


Navigation links back to the home page or to previous page (not both)


1/2



0/2


There are som e color sc h e m e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p a g e s have color s c h e m e s were text becom e difficult to read

1/2

T here is a them e to the site that allow each p ag e of the site to be identified a s a sub-page

There is no obvious them e, but p ag es are similar enough to warrant being part of the sa m e site

P a g e s are random in ap pea ran ce

2/2



2/2

P ag e layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the pag e


P age layout is too cluttered and information n eed s to be redistributed

1/2






2/2




2/2

There is a da te that show s when page (site) w as last updated


1/1

48


http://www.harvard.edu





2/2




2/2


S om e of the photographs a re not related to the topic or not labeled (including a d s that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




[2/2]




[ /2]






Authorinformation




2/2



1/1



1/1


100%



0/2

' There are blinking images on the sc reen (-1 points)

0


0

Tables and graphs

Readable by text readers in the correct format


2/2




2/2




2/2



1/1


49



What category d o e s this site fall under?n W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l g]lnstitution □ D is tr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The target au d ience for the site is: Neighbors and visitors, s tudents , faculty, alumni, and staff.

Describe the site:The site layout is great . There is also a site map included that gives the patron a s e n s e of location. However, there are no back buttons or footprints that make navigating the site any easier . Another problem that this site h a s with navigation is the use of anchors . S om e p a g e s on the site could be broken down into other p a g e s to prevent too much vertical scrolling. Also, if anchors are to be used, then it would be nice to have a button or a link that would take the patron back to the top of the page.The site excludes som e alternate tags for som e text. B e cause this is a requirement of the rubric, a deduction is n ecessary . My problem with this is that the image is described just below the image placeholder. However, I can s e e how the blank placeholder might c a u se som e confusion to som e screen readers.

50


Evaluator’s Name: Denber CruzDate site accessed: 3/22/07The URL of the website: www.howstuffworks.com

42Total Score5QDivided by Total Possible84Percentage Score

The Name of the website: HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works I




Home p ag e is not labeled as the hom e p ag e for the site

2/2





2/2







2/2



More than 14 of the links are broken

2/2



2/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the hom e pag e are available (foot prints)

Navigation links back to the hom e pag e or to previous page (not both)


2/2



0/2


There are som e color s c h e m e s that c au se som e text to be hard to s e e

More than 14 of the p a g e s have color s c h e m e s were text b eco m e difficult to read

0/2


There is no obvious them e, but p ag es are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site


2/2

T he site layout is appropriate for the am ount of p a g e s in the site


2/2


The information is still e a s y to find, but the page is becoming cluttered with too much

Page layout is too cluttered and information n eed s to be redistributed

1/2




The title is present, but d o e s not represent the content of the page


2/2




2/2



0/1


http://www.howstuffworks.com

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ip t) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources



S o m e of the links a re sent to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2




2/2


S om e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including ads that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]


Ads pop-up on som e of the pages visited, but c a u s e no other distractions




Authorinformation




2/2



1/1



1/1


100%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


0/2


0


0

Tables and graphs

R eadab le by text readers In the correct format


2/2




2/2




2/2


Text only version d o e s not work or not p resent

1/1


52



What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l □Institu tion □D istr ic t ^ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud ience for the site is your casual browser. However, almost anyone that com es into the site should find it relattively e a sy to navigate.

Describe the site:O ne of the first things that I noticed is the way that the site navigation is. There are footprints and a hierechial m ap that show s you where you are in the site. The way that the navigation of the site is done is very well.Another thing that I noticed is that advertisements are labelled clearly a s advertisements. Also, the advertisements actually have something to do with what is being d iscussed in the site. Most of the a d s are also done well and do not detract at all.I w as surprised that the text reader read the java scripting a t the top of the page where the day's articles are rotated. However, the text reader read each article in the order that they are at the bottom of the screen. There shold have b een a designation about text readers that d is cu sse s what happ ens when a mouseover reader is used vs. a full s c reen reader. The m ouseover sc reen reader would have probably not read the site a s well.There were also no alternate text for the im ages on the screen.For the mainstream user, this site would be great, but there are several accessibility features that need to be ad d re s se d in order for the site to be great.

53


Evaluator’s Name; Denber Cruz Date site a c c e s s e d : 3/23/07The URL of the website: http://www.japanesepod101 .comThe Name of the website: Learn J a p a n e s e with J a p a n e s e P o d lO l .com

44Total Score56Divided by Total Possible78.6Percentage Score




Home pag e is not labeled a s the home page for the site

2/2





2/2







0/2




2/2



2/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the home pag e are available (foot prints)



2/2



0/2


There are som e color s c h e m e s that c a u s e so m e text to be hard to s e e

More than 14 of the p ages have color sc h e m es were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2




2/2



2/2

Page layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the page


P ag e layout is too cluttered and information n ee d s to be redistributed

1/2






2/2



T he docum ent is more than 6 months old

2/2

There is a date that show s when page (site) w as last updated

There is no date when p a g e w as last updated

0/1

54


http://www.japanesepod101




S om e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the Information on the pag e Is relevant to the subject



2/2


S om e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including a d s that are not related)


[2/2]

Music clips are relevant to the topic [if present]



[2/2]




[2/2]




[2/2]






Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m e a n s to contact author



2/2



0/1



1/1


75%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All Images have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


0/2


0


0

Tables and graphs

Readable by text reade rs in the correct format


0/2




2/2




2/2



0/1


55


Briefly answer tfie following questions. T fiese questions are not scored on tfie rubric, but kept as a record.

Wfiat category d o e s tfiis site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t [^C om m ercia l □ Inst itu tion □D istr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The target audience are those wishing to learn the Japanese language.

Describe the site:The site offers a great deal of lessons, both in print and in audio with som e video. The way that the site is laid out is good. There are several w ays to get to the information and there is a back button that allows the user to go to the previous page without having to u se the browser button.The site claims to have high accessiblity, but the sc reen readers do not work with the navigation at the top of the sc reen and the text only version also loses the top bar navigation. Navigation b ecom es more complicate once those a sp e s c ts are removed. The site is still useable , but the criteria called for the site to have the sam e functionality without the images.There are several tiers of services available to subscribers depending on the amount they wish to pay or learn.This is a g reat site, with som e minor flaws.

56


Evaluator’s Name: D enber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/15/07The URL of the website: http://www.lausd.k12 .ca .usThe Nam e of the website: Los Angeles Unified School District

39Total ScoreBODivided by Total Possible78Percentage Score


Home P ag e Labeled a s the home p ag e and provides the site contents and purpose


Home p a g e is not labeled a s the hom e page for the site

2/2




Spelling and/or gram m ar errors throughout the page (4 or more).

2/2



P resen t but arbitrary Not p resen t 2/2



Plug-ins required, but no mention of which o nes are required

2/2




2/2



0/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the hom e page are available (foot prints)



1/2

Visited links ap p ea r in a different color


0/2



More than 14 of the p a g e s have color s c h e m e s were text beco m e difficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site


2/2



2/2



Page layout is too cluttered and information n eeds to be redistributed

2/2






2/2




2/2


There is no date when p ag e w a s last updated

0/1

57


http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us

(Content) Exemplary (2pls) D eveloping (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherSources



Som e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2




2/2




[0/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]






Authorinformation




1/2



1/1



1/1


75%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreIm ages All im ages have an alt text L ess than 3 im ages have


0/2


0


0

Tables and graphs

Readab le by text readers in the correct format


2/2




2/2



Does not work with Mac O SX

2/2


Text only version d o es not work or not present

1/1


58



What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □ Institution District □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:T he target aud iences for the site are parent and s tudents. There are also reso u rces available to vendors, the general public, em ployees and those wishing to be employed with the LA Unified School District.

Describe the site:T he colors are nice and appealing, but at the s a m e time can c au se som e confusion. The way that links are treated are not consistent. On so m e pages , links that have been visited com e up a s a different color. On other pages , the links are static. Also, the im ages are no consistent. Som e p a g e s have clip art while others have real photographs.Also, none of the photos ap pea red to have b een provided with an alternate text.Surprisingly, even though there were drop down menus, the text reader found them a s well a s the text only version working.

59


Evaluator’s Name: Denber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/18/07The URL of the website: www.nyu.eduThe Name of the website: New York University






2/2


P age requires no editing of spelling or grammar.



2/2


P resen t and a ss is ts with navigation

Presen t but arbitrary Not present 2/2




0/2




2/2



0/2




1/2



0/2



More than 14 of the p a g e s have color s ch em es were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious them e, but p ag es are similar enough to warrant being part of the sa m e site


2/2



2/2

P age layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the page


Page layout is too cluttered and information n eeds to be redistributed

2/2






2/2




2/2

There is a date that show s when p age (site) w as last updated


0/1

60


http://www.nyu.edu

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing ( 1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources



S o m e of the links are sent to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the Information on the pag e is relevant to the subject



2/2




[1/2]




[ /2]




[2/2]




[ /2]

Ads Ads are Inconspicuous or nonexistent

Ads pop-up on som e of the p ag es visited, but c a u se no other distractions




Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, a s well a s a m ea n s to contact author



2/2


No additional author Information is provided

1/1



1/1


100%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All images have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


0/2

T here are blinking images on the sc reen (-1 points)T here are blinking text on the sc reen (-1 points)

T ables and g raphs



2/2




2/2




2/2



0/1



Briefly answer I fie following questions. T fiese questions are not scored on tfie rubric, but kept as a record.

Wfiat category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l |E1 Institution □D istr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud ience for the site are university s tudents , prospective students of all post-secondary educational levels, facult and staff of the university.

Describe the site:The site layout is aw ewom e. The way that the information on the p age is laid out is very well done. All of the information is e a sy to get to. Navigation for most of the shallow level p a g e s are easy enough to get to. The home pag e is easily a c c e s s e d by clicking on the NYU logo at the top of the page. The side bar exands to let you know where you are relative to the rest of the site. The drawback with navigation s tops right there. Deeper into the site and you are lostSpeaking of lost, there are no alternte im ages for the text. A university a s large and prestigious a s NYU and th e ra re no alternate text. The text only version is more difficult to navigate b e c a u se the side bar d isappears, but the text reader can read it quite well.

62


Evaluator's Name: Denber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/18/07The URL of the website: www.oregonstate.eduThe N am e of the website: Home pag e for Oregon S tate University

45Total ScoreSODivided by Total PossibleSOPercentage Score

Technical Aspects and DesignExemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Home P ag e Labeled a s the home page and provides the site contents and purpose



2/2


P a g e requires no editing Of spelling or grammar.



2/2

H eadingsandSubheading

Present and ass is ts with navigation


Plug-ins All necessary plug-ins identified and links provided to viewers



2/2


There are a few broken links (less than 14)


2/2



0/2


Navigation links back to the hom e pag e or to previous page (not both)


2/2

Visited links appear in a different color


0/2


There are so m e color s c h e m e s that c a u s e some text to be hard to s e e

More than 14 of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a theme to the site that allow each p ag e of the site to be identified a s a sub-page

There is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sa m e site


2/2

The site layout is appropriate for the amount of p ag es in the site


2/2




2/2




The title Is present, but d o e s not represen t the content of the pag e


2/2



The docum ent Is more than 6 months old

2/2

There is a da te that show s when p age (site) w as last updated

There is no da te when p ag e w as last updated

0/1

63


http://www.oregonstate.edu

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS o u rces



Som e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2




2/2


Som e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including ad s that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]





AuthorityExemplary (2pts) Developing (1pt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Authorinformation




2/2



1/1



1/1


100%



2/2


0


0

T ab les and graphs



2/2




2/2




2/2


Text only version d oes not work or not p resent

1/1

Bobby 1 or less priority error 2 priority errors 3 priority errors /2Section Score: 9/9 100%

64



What category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l □Institu tion □ D is tr ic t □ C o n te n t

Who is the target audience for the site:T he target audience for the site, in the order that they a p p ea r at the top of the home page: Future Students, Current Students, Parents & Family, Faculty & Staff, Alumni and Visitors

Describe the site:The site layout is great . All of the information on each pag e is within reach without overly scrolling in any of the directions. When the site u se s the footprints, the feature works great. The problem is that it is not entirely consistent. Som e p a g e s will open a new tab or window (depending on browser) while others will simply take you to a site with the footprints. No points were dedu c ted b e c a u se the footprints were implemented, even though it w as not implemented throughout the site.Another problems is that p a g e s outside of the site will open up without warning. The external sites (the ones examined) are different enough from the OSD site that it brings up red flags, but a warning would have been nice.The colors are all appealing and none of the text colors ever conflict with an of the backgrounds or other colors on the page. The text color for som e visited links do change , but o thers do not. B ecause most of the links do not ch ange color, there w as a deduction. Looking at the way this pag e is designed, I like the way they worked with the link colors, but knowing the parts of the pag e you've been to is always a nice touch.

65


Evaluator’s Name: Denber S. Cruz Date site a c c e s s e d : 3/15/07The URL of the website: http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.usThe Name of the website: The School District of Palm Beach County

36Total ScoreSODivided by Total Possible72Percentage Score




Home p a g e is not labeled a s the hom e page for the site

2/2

Spelling and G rammar

P age requires no editing of spelling or grammar.

There are som e (less than 4) grammar and/or spelling errors.


2/2



Presen t but arbitrary Not p resen t 2/2




2/2




2/2



0/2




1/2



0/2



More than 14 of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text beco m e difficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site

P a g e s are random in a p p ea ran ce

0/2



2/2

P ag e layout is ideal for the amount of information and media on the pag e


P a g e layout is too cluttered and information n ee d s to be redistributed

1/2



Title The title of the p ag e is indicative of the contents of the page


T here is no title on the p ag e

2/2


T he document is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months

T he docum ent is more than 6 months old

2/2

T here is a da te that show s w hen page (site) w as last updated

T here is no date when p ag e w as last updated

1/1

66


http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us





2/2




2/2




[1/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]



More than 3 of the Interactive media clips are relevant to the topic

[ /2]






Authorinformation




2/2



1/1


T here are no additional sou rces available

1/1


100%



0/2

There are blinking im ages on the sc reen (-1 points)There are blinking text on the sc reen (-1 points)

Tables and graphs



0/2




2/2



Does not work with Mac OS X

2/2



0/1


67



Wfiat category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l □Institu tion □ District □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud iences for this site ap p ea r to be educators and other em ployees of the school district. There d o es not s e e m to be an e a sy to navigate s tudent or parent section. In the s idebar of the main hom epage , there are links to instructional sites, but even those a p p ea r to be designed for teachers and administrators.

Describe the site:The site is divided up into different departments. But the way that each department organizes its sites have no ties with each other. The only way to tell that each site is even related Is that they all state that they are part of the School District of Palm Beach. Even then, a quick glance to the ad d ress bar w as n ee d e d to ensure that we are still on the sam e page.The ca lendars on the site are all Images. Text only and sc reen readers could will not help. Also, the text reader repea ted all of the dropdown m enus several times and read the menu in a way that w as not understandable .The home p a g e is a bit cluttered but is nicely done. The colors are nice and having sys tem information in a nice, e a sy to read window must be a plus for employees. The quick links are also nice, especially the way that they are colored making each link e a sy to identify.

68


Evaluator’s Name: D enber S. Cruz Date site a c c e s s e d : 3/15/07The URL of the website: http://www.phila.k12.pa.us The Nam e of the website: School District of Philadelphia

41 Total Score54Divided by Total Possible75.9Percentage Score





2/2





2/2






Plug-Ins required, but no mention of which o n es are required

1/2




2/2


External links a re not labeled

0/2




1/2



0/2



More than 14 of the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text becom e difficult to read

2/2


There Is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sa m e site

P ages are random in app earance

2/2



2/2

P ag e layout is ideal for the am ount of information and media on the page

The information is still e a s y to find, but the page is becoming cluttered with too much


2/2




The title is p resent, but d o e s not represen t the content of the page


2/2




2/2

There is a da te that show s w hen p ag e (site) w as last updated

There is no da te when page w as last updated

0/1

69


http://www.phila.k12.pa.us

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherSources

The links provided are related and relevant to the subject of the p ag e (site)


S om e of the links are sent to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2




2/2


Som e of the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including a d s that are not related)


[2/2]




[ /2]




[2/2]









Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m e a n s to contact author



1/2



1/1



1/1


75%



0/2


0

T here are blinking text on the sc reen (-1 points)

0

Tables and graphs



2/2




2/2

Both Safari and F irefox in Mac O S X

Either Safari or F irefox in Mac O S X

D oes not work with Maco s x

2/2


Text only version d oes not work or not p resent

0/1


70



What category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t ^ C o m m e rc ia l Q Institution District CJContent

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud ien ces are varied. There are things of interest ranging from students to parents, community m em bers and em ployees of the district. There are a varied list of resources that are available to a broad range of people.

Describe the site:The site is laid out well. The main thing that caught my attention is that the image map is not access ib le in text only mode. There is nothing to click on on to get to the site map or any other link on the menu. It is needed to tab around until the correct link is available in the s ta tus bar. Althougt the links are there when tabbing, for those wishing to view the site with text only will have a difficult time.The colors are nice. The tables are also read perfectly by the text reader in Mac OS 10.4.8. The only problem again is with the im age m ap - it w as not read or even detec ted by the text reader even though I highlighted the im age (when im ages were turned on) and the sp ace (when images were turned off).There were missing plug-ins (quicktime w as needed , but no link was provided), but at least there w as a link provided for Adobe Flash.

71


Evaluator’s Name: D enber Cruz Date site a c c e s s e d : 3/23/07The URL of the website: http://www.recipes4success.com/ The Name of the website: R ec ipes4Success





Home page is not labeled as the home pag e for the site

2/2



There are so m e (less than 4) gram m ar and/or spelling errors.


2/2



Presen t but arbitrary Not p resent 2/2




1/2




2/2



0/2




1/2

Visited links appea r in a different color


0/2


There are so m e color sc h e m e s that c a u s e som e text to be hard to s e e

More than 'A of the p a g e s have color sc h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2




2/2



2/2



P age layout is too cluttered and information n ee d s to be redistributed

2/2




The title is p resent, but d o e s not represen t the content of the p ag e


2/2




0/2

There is a da te that shows when p ag e (site) w a s last updated


0/1

72


http://www.recipes4success.com/


T he links provided are related and relevant to the subject of the page (site)


S om e of the links a re sen t to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2




2 ^




[2/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]


Ads pop-up on som e of the p a g e s visited, but c au se no other distractions




Authorinformation




2/2



1/1



0/1


75%



2/2


0


0

Tables and graphs



2/2




2/2



Does not work with Mac OS X

2/2


Text only version d o es not work or not p resen t

1/1



Briefly answer tfie following questions. T tiese questions are not scored on tfie rubric, but kept as a record.

What category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l □Inst i tu tion □ D is tr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The target aud ience is teachers .

Describe the site:The site is actually Bobby approved (section 508).The site provides instructional materials for software applications, W eb sites, and som e hardware. The site layout is e a sy enough to follow and each pag e layout, while could be better, ge ts the job done.

74


Evaluator’s Name: Denber Cruz 41 Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/18/07 SODivided by Total PossibleThe URL of the website: http:/ /questgarden.eom/47/74/6/070310154830/ 82P ercen tage ScoreThe Name of the website: Important Events and People of the Revolution





2/2



There are so m e (less than 4) gram mar and/or spelling errors.


2/2







2/2




2/2



0/2




1/2



0/2


There are som e color sc h e m es that c au se som e text to be hard to s e e

More than 'A of the p ages have color s c h e m e s were text becom e ditficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious theme, but p ag es are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site


2/2



2/2



Page layout is too cluttered and information n eed s to be redistributed

2/2


ContentExemplary (2pts) Developing (1pt) Emerging (Opts) Score




2/2




2/2



0/1

75




The links provided are related and relevant to the subject ot the pag e (site)

Not all ot the links provided link to related topics

S om e ot the links are sent to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2


Most ot the information is related to the main topic


2/2


Som e ot the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including a d s that are not related)

None ot the pictures are related to the topic

[1/2]

Music clips are relevant to the topic [It present]

Not all ot the music or sound tiles are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)


[ /2]

Movie clips are relevant to the topic and are narrated appropriately [It present]

Not all ot the movie clips or tiles are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)


[ /2]

Interactive media clips are relevant to the topic [It present]

Not all ot the interactive clips are available relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)

More than 3 ot the interactive media clips are relevant to the topic

[ /2]


Ads pop-up on som e ot the p a g e s visited, but c a u s e no other distractions



AuthorityExemplary (2pts) ■ Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Authorinformation


Author na m e is given, but no other information

No nam e ot authorship is provided

1/2



1/1

Citations A list ot citations and other sou rce s are available


1/1


75%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreImages All im ages have an alt text L ess than 3 im ages have


0/2

There are blinking im ages on the screen (-1 points)

0


0

Tables and graphs



2/2




2/2




2/2

Text only version ot site works


1/1


76



What category d o e s this site tall under?K IW ebQ ues t □ C o m m e rc ia l □Institution □D istr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience tor the site:The target aud ience tor the site are 5"’ grade teachers and 5"' g rade students.

Describe the site:The topic ot the site is the revolutionary war. The colors ot the site are nice and appealing with the exception ot the title pages . However, since the color sc h e m es do not make the text any harder to read, no points w ere deducted.The text reader works well tor the site. The site a s well without the images a s it d o e s with the images - but the images have no alternate tags.The main concern that I have with this site is that way that som e ot the pags a re arranged. They are no perfect, but can be improved upon. Since the page layout does m eet the requirements, no points were deducted.

77


Evaluator’s Name: Denber Cruz 43Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/18/07 SODivided by Total PossibleTtie URL ot the website: http:/ /questgarden.eom/47/15/9/070303074747/ SOPercentage ScoreThe Name ot the website: Show-Me St. Louis!




Home page is not labeled a s the home page tor the site

2/2


P ag e requires no editing ot spelling or grammar.

T here are som e (less than 4) g ram m ar and/or spelling errors.


2/2




Plug-ins All n ecessary plug-ins identified and links provided to viewers


Plug-ins required, but no mention ot which on es are required

2/2

Links None ot the links are broken

There are a tew broken links (less than %)

More than % ot the links are broken

2/2



0/2

Navigation links to previous p a g e s and the home page are available (toot prints)

Navigation links back to the hom e p age or to previous page (not both)

Browser buttons only tor navigation

1/2


Visited links the sam e color a s links not visited

2/2


There are so m e color s c h e m e s that c au se some text to be hard to s e e

More than % ot the p ag es have color s c h e m e s were text becom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a them e to the site that allow each pag e ot the site to be identified a s a sub-page

There is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being pari ot the sa m e site


2/2

The site layout is appropriate tor the amount ot p a g e s in the site

The site layout could be more efficient by the use ot more internal links

2/2

P a g e layout is ideal tor the amount ot information and media on the page



2/2



Title The title ot the page is indicative ot the contents ot the page

The title is present, but d o e s not represen t the content ot the page


2/2

Timestamp The date ot the document is less than 2 months since last update

The d ocum ent is more than 2 months old, less than 6 months


2/2

There is a da te that shows w hen p a g e (site) w as last updated


0/1

78



(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources

The links provided are related and relevant to the subject ot the page (site)

Not all ot the links provided link to related topics

S om e ot the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2


Most ot the information is related to the main topic


2/2


S om e ot the photographs are not related to the topic or not labeled (including ads that are not related)

None ot the pictures are related to the topic

[1/2]

Music clips are relevant to the topic [It present]

Not all ot the music or sound tiles are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)


[ /2]

Movie clips are relevant to the topic and are narrated appropriately [It present]

Not all ot the movie clips or tiles are relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)


[ /2]

Interactive media clips are relevant to the topic [It present]

Not all ot the interactive clips are available relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)

More than 3 ot the interactive media clips are relevant to the topic

( /2]


Ads pop-up on som e ot the p a g e s visited, but c a u se no other distractions




Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m eans to contact author


No nam e ot authorship is provided

1/2



1/1

Citations A list ot citations and other sources are available

There are no additional so u rces available

1/1


75%



0/2


0


0

T ables and graphs



2/2




2/2




2/2

Text only version ot site works

Text only version d o es not work or not p resen t

1/1


79



What category d o e s this site fall under?é lW e b Q u e s t Q C om m erc ia l □Inst i tu tion □ Distr ic t n C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud ience of the W ebQ uest are 3"' g raders and 3"" g rade teachers.

Describe the site:The site is a W ebQ uest that a sk s the s tudents to introduce different parts of St. Louis to the rest of the world by having the s tuden ts create a booklet about the city. The colors are pleasing and the im ages do not always distract from the point of the story.However, none of the im ages have alternate tags. Also, each picture has a link to the original source of the page, but the link itself d o es not explain where the patron is going. The text reader works fine. In fact, the text only version of the pag e actually looks nicer and works better than the version with images.

80


Evaluator’s Name: Denber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/15/07The URL of the website; http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.usThe Name of the website: SDHC





Home page is not labeled a s the hom e page for the site

2/2



There are som e (less than 4) gram mar and/or spelling errors.


2/2


Present and a ss is ts with navigation





0/2




2/2



0/2




2/2


Visited links the sam e color as links not visited

0/2


There are som e color s c h e m e s that c a u s e som e text to be hard to s e e


2/2

T here is a them e to the site that allow each page of the site to be identified a s a sub-page


P a g e s are random in app ea rance

2/2



2/2


The information is still ea sy to find, but the page is becoming cluttered with too much

P ag e layout is too cluttered and information n eed s to be redistributed

2/2






2/2




2/2

There is a date that sho w s when p age (site) w as last updated


0/1

81


http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources




2/2



Information on the pag e Is incoherent

2/2




[2/2]

Music clips are relevant to the topic [If present[



[ /2]




[ /2]




[2/2]






Authorinformation


Author n am e is given, but no other information


2/2



1/1



0/1


75%

Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreIm ages All im ages have an alt text Less than 3 im ages have


2/2


0


0

Tables and graphs

R eadable by text reade rs in the correct format


0/2




2/2




2/2


Text only version do es not work or not present

1/1


82



What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □ Institution □ District □ C o n te n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The site is quite clear that the intended au d iences are students, visitors, parents, and employees.

Describe the site:The site has som e great accessibility options built in, however th ese options are not consistent throughout. S om e p a g e s will have a built in text-only option, while o thers do not. Also, most of the site is accessible with the text reader, but there are instances where the tables are not se t up correctly and information becom es confusing. An example is the ca lendar where March and April are next to each other. It read March then April, then the dates . It did not distinguish betw een March and April da tes . It simply read numbers and then the items on the agenda.The home page is nice, neat and all of the information is in the prime real e s ta te a rea of the browser. Most of the su b p a g e s are similar.

83


Evaluator’s Name: Denber S. CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/19/07The URL of the website: www.stanford.eduThe N am e of the website: Stanford University


Technical Aspects and DesignExemplary (2pfs) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Home P age Labeled a s the home p ag e and provides the site contents and purpose


Home pag e is not labeled as the hom e p ag e for the site

2/2





2/2







2/2




2/2



0/2

Navigation links to previous p ag e s and the hom e page are available (foot prints)



1/2


Visited links the s a m e color as links not visited

0/2


There are so m e color s c h e m e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s e e


2/2




2/2



2/2




2/2




The title is present, but d o e s not rep resen t the content of the page


2/2

Timestamp The date of the document is less than 2 months s ince last update



2/2

There is a da te that show s w hen p a g e (site) w a s last updated


0/1

84


http://www.stanford.edu




Som e of the links are sent to advertising or other commercial services not related to the subject

2/2




2/2




[2/2]




[ /2]




[2/2]




1 /2]






Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m eans to contact author



2/2



1/1



1/1


100%



2/2


0

There are blinking text on the screen (-1 points)

0

Tables and graphs



2/2




0/2




1/2


Text only version d oes not work or not present

1/1


85


Briefly answer tfie following questions. These questions are not scored on the rubric, but kept as a record.

What category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l g | Institution □D istr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The target aud ience for the site is: Students, Faculty, Staff & Employment, Alumni,Prospective S tudents, Visitors & Neighbors.

Describe the site:The site layout is great. It's too bad that the way the site is navigated does not meet the criteria of having a way to go back to the previous pag e without hitting the back button. A way to know where within the site structure would have been nice a s well. The p ag e layout is also great. Something that looks particularly well is the index. The way that the letters are arranged in the 3x9 grid works well.The site app ea rs to be using layers. This w as a problem in Firefox b e cau se the layer covered up the index. The text only version w as no compatible in both Windows and Mac OSX. I w as surprised that an institution of higher learning will have a Web site that is not compatible with the Firefox.The site looks great with or without the graphics in Safari and IE. Firefox did not keep the image placeholders a s well a s the other browsers.The site has som e advanced multimedia elements, such a s ltunes.stanford.edu. Flowever, there were not any indication that additional software, not just plug-ins were required. The sa m e is true for the videos that are found on the site.

86


Evaluator’s Name: D enber Cruz 40Total ScoreDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/23/07 52Divided by Total PossibleThe URL of the website: http://www.teachfirst.com 76 .9Percen tage ScoreThe Name of the website: TeachFirst - B ecau se a g reat education starts with a grea t teacher.

Technical Aspects and DesignExemplary (2pts) Developing (1pt) Emerging (Opts) Score




2/2





2/2







0/2




2/2



0/2


Navigation links back to fhe home p ag e or to previous page (not both)


1/2



2/2


There are so m e color sc h e m e s that c a u s e som e text to be hard to s e e

More than % of the p ag es have color s c h e m es were text becom e difficult to read

2/2

There is a them e to the site that allow each page of fhe site to be identified a s a sub-page



2/2



2/2


The information is still e a sy to find, but the pag e is becoming cluttered with too much

P age layout is too cluttered and information n ee d s to be redistributed

1/2



Title The title of the p age is indicative of fhe contents of the page

The title is present, but d o es not represen t fhe content of the page


2/2




2/2



0/1

87


http://www.teachfirst.com

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing ( ip t) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources



S om e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2



Information on fhe page is incoherent

2/2

Media P hotographs are relevant to the topic, and labeled appropriately



[2/2]




[ /2]




[2/2]



More than 3 of fhe interactive media clips are relevant to the topic

[ 12]


Ads pop-up on so m e of the p a g e s visited, but c au se no other distractions



Authority1 Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Authorinformation




2/2



1/1



1/1


100%



0/2

There are blinking im ages on fhe sc reen (-1 points)

0


0

Tables and graphs

R eadab le by text reade rs in the correct format


0/2




2/2



D oes not work with Mac O SX

2/2



1/1


88


Briefly answer tfie following questions. T tiese questions are not scored on ttie rubric, but kept as a record.

Wtiat category d o e s ttiis site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t KICommercial □ Institution □ Distr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Wtio is tfie target aud ience for tfie site:Tfie target audience for ffiis site are tacfiers and administrators.

Describe tfie site:Ttie site fias a specific target audience and caters to that audience well.The site has a nice overall layout, but so m e of the p a g e s has too much vertical scrolling. However, the horizontal size of the pag e is great.There is nowhere listed where plug-ins can be downloaded. That would have been a nice touch.The site has no alternate tags for the Images, and so m e of the java scripting is not readable by a screen reader.

89


Evaluator’s Name: Denber Cruz Date site a c c e s s e d : 3/23/07T he URL of the website: http:/ /www.unitedstreaming.com T he Nam e of the website: unitedsfreaming.com - Home

47Total Score54Divided by Total Possible87Percentage Score




Home p age is not labeled a s the hom e p a g e for the site

2/2





2/2



P resen t but arbitrary Not p resent 2/2




2/2




2/2



0/2


Navigation links back to the home p a g e or to previous page (not both)


2/2


Visited links the s a m e color as links not visited

0/2


There are so m e color sc h e m e s that c a u se som e text to b e hard to s e e

More than % of the p ages have color s c h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious theme, but p a g e s are similar e n ough to warrant being part of the sam e site

P ag es are random in appea ran ce

2/2

The site layout is appropriate for the amount of p ag es in the site


2/2



P age layout is too cluttered and information n e e d s to be redistributed

2/2



Title The title of the page is indicative of fhe contents of the page

The title is present, but d o es not represen t the content of the page


2/2




2/2


There is no da te when page w as last updated

0/1

90


http://www.unitedstreaming.com





2/2




2/2


S o m e of the photographs are not related to fhe topic or not labeled (including ad s that are not related)


[2/2]

Music clips are relevant to fhe topic [If present]



[2/2]

Movie clips are relevant to fhe topic and are narrated appropriately [If present]



[2/2]




[ /2]





_Authority^Exemplary (2pts) Developing (1 pt) Emerging (Opts) Score

Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, as well a s a m ea n s to contact author

Author n am e is given, but no other information


2/2



1/1



1/1


100%



0/2

There are blinking im ages on the screen (-1 points)

0


0

Tables and graphs



2/2




2/2




2/2



1/1



Briefly answer tfie following questions. These questions are not scored on the rubric, but kept as a record.

What category d o es this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t g lCom mercial □ Inst itu tion □D istr ic t □ C o n te n t

Who is the target aud ience for fhe site:The target audience for the site is educators.

Describe the site:It is a site that provides teachers and other educators, quite literarily thousands of media clips (videos and audio) to use in their day to day teaching. The site also offers lesson plans and links to other sou rces and citations to each fo the clips available. There are also other reso u rces that the teachers can use, such as writing prompts and quiz builders. There are even w ays to bookmark your favorite media so that you can go back to it w henever you want.O ne of the things that I really like about the site is the way that your computer can be checked for compatibiliy with the site. There are also links where software can be obtained for everything that the site offers. This is one of the better sites that are available.The problem is that none of the im ages are labelled. Most of the images are positioned in a way that they are not needed , but part of the requirements is to have all of the im ages with alternate tags.

92


Evaluator’s Name: D enber CruzDate site a c c e s s e d : 3/22/07The URL of the website: www.wikipedla.orgTfie Name of the website: Wikipedia




Does not provide fhe site contents

Home p ag e is not labeled a s the home page for the site

2/2



There are som e (less than 4) grammar and/or spelling errors.

Spelling and/or gram mar errors throughout the p age (4 or more).

2/2


P resen t and a ss is ts with navigation





2/2




2/2



2/2




1/2

Visited links a p p ea r In a different color


2/2


There are som e color s c h e m e s that c a u se som e text to be hard to s ee

More than % of the p a g e s have color s c h e m e s were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2

T here is a them e to the site that allow each p age of fhe site to be Identified a s a sub-page

There is no obvious theme, but p ag es are similar enough to warrant being part of the sam e site


2/2

The site layout is appropriate for the am ount of p a g e s in the site


2/2

P ag e layout is ideal for the am ount of information and media on the page


P a g e layout is too cluttered and information n eed s to be redistributed

1/2



Title The title of the pag e is indicative of fhe contents of the page

The title is present, but d o e s not represent fhe content of the page

T here is no title on the p ag e

2/2




2/2



1/1

93


http://www.wikipedla.org

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherS ources



S om e of the links are sent to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the Information on the page is relevant to the subject

Most of the information Is related to the main topic

Information on the page Is incoherent

2/2




[2/2]

Music clips are relevant to the topic[If present] ^



[ /2]




[ /2]


Not all of fhe interactive clips are available relevant to the topic (1 to 3 clips)


[ /2]






Authorinformation




0/2



0/1



1/1


25%



2/2

T here are blinking im ages on the sc reen (-1 points)

0


0

T ables and graphs



2/2




2/2




2/2



1/1


94



What category d o e s this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m erc ia l □Institution □ D is tr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target aud ience for the site:The site targets everyone. The site has articles listed in d o z en s of languages. There are topics on nearly everything.

Describe the site:This is a great site. There is information on just about everything. There is ineractivity (somethig that I should have added a s a criteria). The problem is that there is som ew hat of a learning curve in using this site. The site, being powered by Wiki technology, has som e protocol in the way that articles are written and viewed.This is a perfect example of what educational web sites should be.

95


Evaluator’s Name: Denber S. CruzDate site a c ce sse d : 3/18/07The URL of the website: www.wisc.eduThe Name of the website: University of Wisconsin-Madison

45Total ScoreSODivided by Total Possible90Percentage Score




Home p ag e is not labeled a s the hom e page for the site

2/2





2/2




Plug-ins All n ecessary plug-ins identified and links provided to viewers



2/2




2/2



0/2




2/2

Visited links ap p e a r in a different color

Visited links the sam e color a s links not visited

0/2



More than % of the p ages have color sc h e m es were text b ecom e difficult to read

2/2


There is no obvious them e, but p a g e s are similar enough to warrant being part of the sa m e site


2/2



2/2




2/2

Section Score 20/24 83.3$

ContentExemplary (2pts) | Developing (Ipt) Emerging (Opts) Score




2/2




2/2



0/1

96


http://www.wisc.edu

(Content) Exemplary (2pts) Developing ( 1 p() Emerging (Opts) ScoreOtherSources



S o m e of the links are sen t to advertising or other commercial serv ices not related to the subject

2/2

Information All the information on the p age is relevant to the subject



2/2




[2/2]




[ /2]




[ /2]




[ /2]






Authorinformation

Author nam e is provided, a s well a s a m e a n s to contact author



2/2



1/1



1/1


100%



2/2

T here are blinking im ages on the sc reen (-1 points)

0


0

T ab les and g rap hs


Not readable by text reade r in correct format

2/2




2/2



D o es not work with Mac O S X

2/2


Text only version do es not work or not present

1/1


97



What category d oes this site fall under?□ W e b Q u e s t □ C o m m e rc ia l □ inst i tu tion □ Distr ic t □ C o n t e n t

Who is the target audience for the site:The target audience for the site is: Faculty/staff, Alumni, Parents, and Business/industry.

Describe the site:There a p p e a rs to be J a v a scripting that c a u s e s the im ages to change each time that a p ag e is a ccessed . This type of thing is nice b ec a u se it gives the site a living, breathing e s s e n c e to it. Flowever, the alternate tags for all of the image are the sam e . This m ea n s that even though the site m eets the requirements of having an alternage tag, it's not a good tag to have.The layout of the site and of the p a g e s are great . There "prime" real estate of each pag e is used well and footprints (where are they are implemented) serve to show the user where they are relative to the home page. Each link on the footprint can also be ch a se d back to where they are. The main problem is that the footprints are only available from the major links. Sublinks connected to each of the major links do not provide footprints or any indication where on the Web pag e the patron Is. Flowever, since the requirements are there, no points were deducted.

98


BIBLIOGRAPHY

About, inc. (2007). Welcome to About.com. Retrieved March 22, 2007 from

http://www.about.com/

Answers Corporation (2007). Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and much more.

Retrieved March 22, 2007 from http://www.answers.com/

Board o f Regents o f the University o f Wisconsin System (2007). University o f

Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved March 18, 2007 from http://www.wisc.edu/

CCSD (2007). Clark County School District. Retrieved March 15, 2007 from


Celzo, Cristina. African Safari. Retrieved March 16, 2007 from

http://www.questgarden.eom/47/75/0/Q70310184951 /

Christie, A. (2007). Arizona technology^ in education alliance exemplary web site awards.

Retrieved February 4, 2007, from

http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/wehaward/ruhricl .html

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2003). E-learning and the science o f instruction .Proven

guidelines fo r consumers and designers o f multimedia learning (1st ed.). San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Discovery Education (2007). unitedstreaming.com - Home. Retrieved March 23, 2007

from http://www.unitedstreaming.com/

99


http://www.about.com/

http://www.answers.com/

http://www.wisc.edu/


http://www.questgarden.eom/47/75/0/Q70310184951

http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/wehaward/ruhricl

http://www.unitedstreaming.com/

Dodge, B. (1997). About WebQuests. Retrieved February 4, 2007, from

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about webquests.html

Dodge, Bernie (1997). The WebQuest Page at San Diego State University. Retrieved

March 13, 2007 from http://webquest.sdsu.edu/

Dodge, Bemie (2007). W ebQuest Portal. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from

http ://webq uests. or g/

Education World (2000). WebQuests are Easy. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from

http://www.educationworld.eom/a lech/tech/techOl 1 .shtml

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (2007). Encyclopœdia Britannica. Retrieved March 23,

2007 from http://www.britannica.com/

Google (2007). SchooLDistrict - Google Search. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from

http ://w ww.google.com/search?hRen& q=% 22School+District%22& btnG=Googl

e+Search

Google (2007). Universities - Google Search. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Universities+.edu&btnG=Search

Google (2007). zebras - Google Search. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from

http://ww w . google.com/search?hl=en&safe==off&q=zebras&btnG=Search

Hallock, Rebecca. British Holilday Hullabcdool. Retrieved March 16, 2007 from


Hillsborough County Public Schools (2007). Hillsborough County Public Schools

(HCPS). Retrieved March 15, 2007 from http://ww w.sdhc.kl2.fl.us

HowStuffW orks, Inc. (2007). HowStuffWorks - Learn H ow Everything Works! Retrieved

March 22, 2007 from http://www.howstuffworks.com/

100


http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/

http://www.educationworld.eom/a

http://www.britannica.com/

http://www.google.com/search?hRen&q=%22School+District%22&btnG=Googl

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Universities+.edu&btnG=Search

http://www


http://www.sdhc.kl2.fl.us

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Huffman, Todd. Im portant Events and People o f the Revolution. Retrieved March 18,

2007, from http://questgarden.eom/47/74/6/070310154830

.lapanesePodlOl .com (2007). Learn Japanese with JapanesePodl01.com. Retrieved

March 23, 2007 from http://www.iapanescpodl01 .com/index.php

Kalkman, D. (2003). Website evaluation rubric. Retrieved February 4, 2007, from

http://www.cedu.niu.edu/pt3/centter/lTC/W ebsite Evaluation Rubric.pdf

Kapoun, .1. (1998). Teaching undergrads WEB evaluation: A guide for library instruction.

College and Research Library News, 59(7)

Kirk, E. E. (1996). Evaluating information found on the internet. Retrieved February 4,

2007, from http://www.librarv.ihu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html

LA USD (2003). Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved March 15, 2007 from

http ://w ww . 1 au sd . k 12.ca.us/

Mayer, R. E. (1989). Systematic thinking fostered by illustrations in scientific text.

[Electronic version]. Journal o f educational psychology, 81, 240-246.

Mayer, R. E., & Anderson, R. B. (1992). The instructive animation: Helping students

build connections between words and pictures in multimedia learning. [Electronic

version]. Journal o f educational psychology, 84, 444-452.

Mayer, R. E., Bove, W ., Bryman, A., Mars, R., & Tapangco, L. (1996). When less is

more: M eaningful learning from visual and verbal summaries o f science textbook

lessons. [Electronic version]. Journal o f educational psychology, 88, 64-73.

Mayer, R. E., Heiser, J., & Lonn, S. (2001). Cognitive constraints on multimedia

learning: W hen presenting more material results in less understanding. [Electronic

version]. Journal o f educational psychology, 93, 187-198.

101


http://questgarden.eom/47/74/6/070310154830

http://www.iapanescpodl01

http://www.cedu.niu.edu/pt3/centter/lTC/Website

http://www.librarv.ihu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html

Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (1998). A split-attention effect in multimedia learning:

Evidence for dual processing systems in working memory. [Electronic version].

Journal o f educational psychology, 90, 312-320.

Microsoft (2007). M SN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and

JJoniework. Retrieved March 22, 2007 from http : / /encarta. m sn.com/

Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A coherence effect in multimedia learning: The case

for minimizing irrelevant sounds in the design o f multimedia instructional

messages. [Electronic version]. Journal o f educational psychology, 92, 117-125.

New York University (2007). New York University. Retrieved March 18, 2007 from

http://www.nyii.edu/

Niemera, Erica. Show-M e St. Loiiisl Retrieved March 18, 2007, from

http://questgarden.eom /47/l 5/9/070303074747/

Oregon State University (2006). Home Page fo r Oregon State University. Retrieved

March 18, 2007 from h ttp ://oregonstate.edu/

Payton, T. (2004). Web evaluation fo r secondary grades. Retrieved February 4, 2007,

from http://www.tammvpavton.net/courses/print/rubric3.htm

Piwowar, Elizabeth. The Pilgrims and The First Thanksgiving. Retrieved March 16,

2007, from http://www.questgarden.eom/47/69/9/070310091054/

The President and Fellows o f Harvard College (2007). Welcome to H arvard University.

Retrieved M arch 19, 2007 from http : //w w w . h arvard. edu/

School District o f Palm Beach County (2007). The School District o f Palm Beach

County. Retrieved M arch 15, 2007 from http://www.palmbeach.k 12.fl.us

102


http://www.nyii.edu/

http://questgarden.eom/47/l

http://oregonstate.edu/

http://www.tammvpavton.net/courses/print/rubric3.htm


http://www.palmbeach.k

School District o f Philadelphia (2007). School D istrict o f Philaclelphia. Retrieved March

15, 2007 from http://www.phila.k 12.pa.us/

Schrock, K. (2002). Teaching media literacy in the age o f the internet. Retrieved

February 4, 2007, from school.discovery.com/schrockguide/pdf/weval.pdf

Schrock, K. (2006). Critical evaluation o f a web site: Secondary school level. Retrieved

February 4, 2007, from

http://school.discoverv.com/schrockmiide/pdl7schrockwebevalscc.dot

Stanford University (2007). Stanford University. Retrieved March 19, 2007 from

http://www.stanford.edu/

TeachFirst, Inc. (2007). TeachFirst - Because a great education starts with a great teacher.

Retrieved March 23, 2007 from http://www.teachfirst.com/teachfirst/index.cfm

Tech4Learning, Inc. (2004). RecipesdSuccess. Retrieved March 23, 2007 from


W atchfire Corporation (2004). Watchfire W ebXACT. Retrieved from

http://webxact.watchfire.com/

W ikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). .edu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved

March 13,2007 from http://en.wikiped1a.0rg/wiki/.edu

W ikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 22, 2007 from

http://www.wikipedia.org/

W 3C (2007). Browser Statistics. Retrieved February 4, 2007 from

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers stats.asp

103


http://www.phila.k

http://school.discoverv.com/schrockmiide/pdl7schrockwebevalscc.dot

http://www.stanford.edu/

http://www.teachfirst.com/teachfirst/index.cfm


http://webxact.watchfire.com/

http://en.wikiped1a.0rg/wiki/.edu

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers

VITA

Graduate College University o f Nevada, Las Vegas

Denber Rey S. Cruz

Local Address:6701 Del Rey Avenue #142Las Vegas, NV 89107

Degrees:Bachelor o f Science, Educaiton, 2005 University o f Nevada, Las Vegas

Thesis Title: Evaluating Educational Web Sites

Thesis Examination Committee:Chairperson, Dr. Randall A. Boone, Ph. D. Committee Member, Dr. Kent L Crippen, Ph. D. Committee Member, Dr. Kyle Higgins, Ph. D. Committee Member, Dr. Kendall W. Hartley, Ph. D.

104


evaluating educational web sites

Documents