Web Design and Reliability

Web Design Concepts

 Fundamental web design concepts

 Accessibility concerns in web design

 IBM web design process and concepts

 UIUC web design using Netscape Composer

 UIUC web design using Netscape Composer Web Design Considerations

Web Site Reliability Evaluation Resources:

Web Page Evaluation Worksheet – This is a worksheet designed by Dr. Nancy Everhart, which asks the users to allot points for various categories such as currency, content, authority, and access based on one’s own judgment. This site requires you to figure an overall score. Scores are then ranked into categories from excellent to unacceptable.

Evaluating Web Resources – This is a site that contains links to various evaluation checklists and materials that can be useful to educators attempting to evaluate sites for useful information. This site is sponsored by the Widener University Wolfgang Memorial Library.

Evaluation Rubrics for Websites – This is the Loogootee Elementary West School site. They have developed three rubrics for website evaluation to be used at the elementary, middle, and high schools respectively. The rubrics progress in depth as the student level increases, and they are in ready-to-use form. This site also has many teacher resource links regarding safe use of the internet.

Lessons Learned: Exemplary Practices in Teaching Web Evaluation – This website contains outlines easily transferred into a PowerPoint presentation for teaching web evaluation. It also contains links for lesson plans, rubrics, and has an extensive bibliography. The lesson plans range from 10 minutes to 1 hour, and the plans include class activities, small group activities, and individual activities.

The following are links to sites that are useful examples of numerous topics.

• Tobacco Control Archives – This is a good example of authority and accuracy issues.
• Feline Reactions to Bearded Men – This site would provide a good example for checking links and evaluating transfer of credibility.
• The True but Little Known Facts About Women with AIDS – This is a good site to demonstrate, and have students use the critical evaluation skills.
• USA Today – This page is an excellent example of currency. The page updates itself automatically.
• Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations – This information was first published in 1901. This site is a good example of outdated information that could be used to check currency of information.
• Roget’s Thesaurus – This is the 1913 edition. This site is a good example of an outdated site that could be used to check currency of information.

The following is a list of sites that can be helpful in presenting the various purposes of web pages.

• American Smoker’s Alliance – This is a web site designed for the purpose of advocacy.
• Tide’s Stain Removal Guide – This is an example of a web site designed for marketing purposes. The user is given good information, but they are really trying the sell Proctor and Gamble products.
• Wall Street Journal – This is an example of a web site designed for a news purpose.
• Children’s Literature Web Guide – This is an example of a web site designed as a personal home page.