Rubric Designed for Evaluating
Web-Based Resources for the Classroom
and
An Annotated List of Websites

Criteria Excellent Good Poor
Currency Updated very often and available, all links on pages are up to date and the content is updated frequently Updated occasionaly (past few months), some links work, and content is somewhat relevant. Site has not been updated in years, most links do not work, content is out of date.
Accuracy Webmaster/contact is clearly labeled and easily available, the sponsor of site is apparent, purpose is clearly states and sources are cited. Webmaster is available, but not easily found, sponsor is evident but not clear, purpose and sources are used and not clearly stated. No webmaster, no sponsor and the purpose and sources are not available.
Content Content is very detailed and backed with research. Information is factual not opinions, information is original and not supplied by links. Content is not organized well, some information is opinion based and partially supplied by links. Content is not detailed, very cluttered, mostly opinionated and most information is found through links.
Design Very easy to navigate, the appearance is appropriate for targeted age level, no registration needed, no pop-ups and pages are not inudated with advertisements. Somewhat easy to navigate. Appearance is somewhat appropriate for age level, some pop-ups and advertisements. You can choose to register for the site for newletters and other information. Site is not easy to navigate, appearance is cluttered and full of pop-ups and advertisements. Must register to use anything on the website.



            Evaluation of websites is getting more important with the increasing amount of technology becoming available to us and especially our students. There are several websites that invite you to learn about how to evaluate websites, basically to decipher between the good and bad ones. Above I have created the specific categories I feel that are needed to evaluate websites. I tried to keep them clear and simple, so websites can be quickly and easily evaluated.

            I choose the category currency because it deals with how current and relevant the website is. I believe that websites need to stay updated with current information and all links involved with the site need to work to be considered for an excellent rating. Although some websites fall behind or some links become disabled, therefore it would receive a good rating. Then if the site has not been updated in a few years and the links are all not working, then it would receive the poor rating. Currency is important for websites because if the website is not current or up to date then it would be unreliable and less and less people will use it.

            Accuracy is the second category I choose. Accuracy is important to a website, because if the site is not accurate then you cannot trust the information it provides. For an excellent rating, the site need to have an easily available webmaster or contact person. A sponsor backing the website needs to be clearly labeled, as well as a purpose clearly states and sources cited. The criteria for a good rating is as followed, the webmaster or contact person is available, but not easily found, a sponsor is evident but not clearly defined, as well as the purpose and only some sources are cited. For the poor rating the website would not have a webmaster or sponsor and the purpose and sources are not available. I believe accuracy is important for trusting a website, because if the information is not trustworthy then I would not want to use the information for my students.

            The third category is content. If the website passes the first two categories then we can move onto how concrete and reliable the content of the website is. The criteria for an excellent content would be that the information is very detailed and backed with research. Also the information is not opinionated, but more factual and the information is original and found on the site, not found on links. For a good rating, the content is somewhat detailed and not organized well, it contains some opinions, and some information is supplied by links. Finally, for a poor rating, the content is detailed, very cluttered and mostly opinionated. Content is vitally important for a website, if it contains false or opinionated information, it may not be appropriate to use for students.

            Finally, the last category is design. Design is what catches the eye of the WWW surfer and keeps them on the site and keeps them coming back to use it. For the the excellent criteria , the website needs to be easy to navigate, the appearance also should be age appropriate for the targeted audience, you should not have to register to use the site, and there are no pop-ups and the pages are not inudated with advertisements. For the good rating, the website should be somewhat easy to navigate, the appearance is close to the age of the targeted audience, there are few advertisements. Finally for the poor rating, the website would not be easy to navigate, the appearance would be cluttered and not organized, the pages would be inudated with advertisements, and you would have to register to use or sample any pages. Design is a major part of a website, it is what attracts the web surfer to the site first and also what keeps them coming back to utilize the site.

            I feel that these four categories are vitally important to evaluating websites. I think they pretty simple and easy to follow for guidelines. I believe that if I follow these guidelines I would be able to evaluate websites well for the use for and by my students.


Annotation of Websites

National Geographic- http://www.nationalgeographic.com/index.html

Currency- Excellent- This site is frequently updated with new articles and information on today’s news and yesterday’s news.

Accuracy- Excellent- The website has a extensive contact list, email addresses, mailing addresses, and telephone addresses, then it is also broken up into categories dealing with different areas of the website, such as education, maps, news, just to name a few. The sponsor is not clearly labeled, but National Geographic has been around for years, writing about some the more significant news that has ever happened.

Content- Excellent- National Geographic is well known for their production of great articles. The information is well written and well researched and not opinionated, it is factual information that is reliable.

Design- Excellent- I found it very easy to navigate around, also they have their own search engine for the website, so if you are unsure, you can always use that. I find the appearance to be very appealing, it was just recently re-designed and they are asking for comments about it. I did not find very many advertisements, plus they are labeled advertisements, if there is any confusion. Also you have the choice to register for newletters and/or the paid subscription, which is great.

Exploratorium- http://www.exploratorium.edu/

Currency- Excellent-The site seems like it is frequently updated to accommodate to always changing science news. The sites that I have tried via the site have all worked.

Accuracy- Excellent-The contact area is great, it gives you telephone numbers, email addresses, and mailing addresses. They also categoize them for specific needs. The purpose of the site is clearly stated on the “About Us” page, but the sponsor is not clearly labeled, but it is a Museum, so the information is obviously researched and distributed throughout the site. Also the .edu legitimizes the site, I do not think I would trust it if it was a .com.

Content- Excellent- I find the content to be very detailed also the website contains its own search engine to help find certain subjects and/or articles. The information presented is not opinionated, but factual, which makes it reliable.

Design- Excellent- I like the format of the website. I find it intriguing and makes my eyes wander all over the pages to read the information. It uses great colors and photos to accentuate the information. I think that the site is aimed at everyone and it makes it easy enough for students to use and navigate, plus it gives you the choice to become a member and/or make a donation.

Unitedstreaming- http://www.unitedstreaming.com/

Currency- Excellent- Unitedstreaming is always updated with new lessons and video clips, they contain older videos and new videos. All of the links on the website work and follow through.

Accuracy- Excellent- Unitedstreaming offers a page with telephone number, email and mailling addresses, but it also offers a place to submit a comment. The sponsor is clearly labeled throughout the site, Discovery Education, which is a great organization as itself, but it backs Unitedstreaming, with information and video clips. The purpose and sources are clearly defined and cited.

Content- Excellent- I love the content! It is so very well detailed and researched. All of the information is factual, no opinions are evident. Some videos on the website also contain lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, etc. I find it a great tool to use in the classroom.

Design- Good- The only reason I give this site a good rating is that you have to be a member to access the videos or sign up for a 30 day free trial. If this was not part of the criteria it would receive a rating of excellent. I find it very appealing, very easy to navigate, no advertisements, but the best of all is that you can search for videos according to your state standards or subject matter, which makes it easier to find the better videos to show your students. I do recommend viewing the video before hand, just in case, but I would do that for any video I would show my students.

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