Chapter 8 talks a lot about the idea of evaluating a website. This is essential for me as a future educator because we must assure sites are both appropriate and educationally sound for our students. There is no real way of knowing whether a site is appropriate until the teacher has analyzed the site himself/herself. While this may take extra time than a teacher would like to spend, it is a necessary preparation when dealing with students’ exposure to websites. So the question then is how do we know if a website is truly appropriate and effective?
The criterion the book lists is based on the structure/organization, text and graphic links, good visual design, and easy navigation. Of these criteria, I believe the most important of these aspects would have to be the effectiveness of the organization of the website. With dealing with younger students especially, it is essential that a website is organized in a format that is aesthetically pleasing. The organization of a website will thus naturally incorporate the other criterion required in an evaluation (good visual design, easy navigation). For example, a site that is organized effectively will likely have a quality visual design and will be easy to navigate through.
The chapter also discusses the creation of WebPages. The chapter presented pitfalls to avoid when creating a website such as “limiting personal information.” We must be especially careful if we are going to have our students participate in this Webpage building to not put too much pertinent, personal information. Such WebPages can often be found through search engines. One idea that could help to avoid this possibility could be to have students verify all their information with the teacher upon publishing the site to assure no dilemmas.
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