Website Evaluation

Evaluating websites is not a completely new phenomenon to me, yet there are still many things I discovered through this activity. I understand the reliability factor. I knew I must locate an author or authors and their profession and experience. By identifying these traits I am able to deduce bias and subjective opinions often hidden in text. There were many new and enlightening things the activity asked me to evaluate. I then learned the importance of assessing a site in the right manner so that my students would have useful information and the ability to navigate a website with ease.
 

 

One thing I instantly learned was important was whether the website required additional software such as Flashplayer. This was important to me, because on my own personal four year old laptop, I cannot use certain softwares that allow animation and video. This is useful to spot when assigning homework online. I also learned organization and manuverability is extremely important, especially for computer novices. If items are cluttered and not consistent throughout the site, exploration can be difficult and not to mention, frustrating. It is important to make sure wording and font are clear and readable, especially for users that may have sight difficulties. The same thing goes for games or activities that require sound. In order to expect visitors to come back, audio must be in good working order with no interruptions, especially for students or adult who lack the capacity to hear well. So, overall I learned a great deal of how to properly assess whether a website is useful, organized, and accurate!