UNIT 1 > MODULE 1

Lesson 2: Developing a Web Site Evaluation Tool

Overview

The purpose of this assignment is to challenge, test and ultimately come to general agreement on evaluation criteria for web sites. This exercise is student driven, but don't be surprised if your teacher offers some guidance along the way.

Learner Outcomes

At the completion of this exercise:

Activities

Develop a website evaluation tool. Use the knowledge and perspective gained in Lesson 1 to develop a rubric for measuring the quality of websites. Follow these steps:

  1. Pair up and take five minutes to share and discuss the merits and problems of two sites each from lesson one's activity. One site should be a clear example of good design and one an example of poor design. Discuss specific traits that could be used to evaluate sites.
  2. On a piece of notebook paper write down the URL's for the four sites (two for each person) with positive and negative traits and turn it in to the instructor.
  3. Join another pair and now in a group of four review your lists of traits that was generated in step one. Synthesize the list to no fewer than four but no more than seven general traits that could be used to evaluate most any web site. As much as possible make each trait discrete and clear. Combine similar traits. Eliminate redundant, obtuse, or invalid traits.
  4. Once you reach consensus on the traits, decide on a numeric scale for judging how well a web site fares for each of the traits.
  5. Brainstorm a list of descriptors that define major point values on the numeric scale. What does a high score, a low score look like?
  6. Now that you have all the components for the evaluation rubric, sketch the complete evaluation rubric with a marker on butcher paper. Write boldly and large enough for others to read from a distance. Your poster (evaluation tool) will be displayed on a wall.
  7. Each person in your group will now individually use this evaluation rubric to evaluate the following site: www.cheese.com. It is important that you evaluate the site without collaboration or discussion.
  8. After all members have had enough time to evaluate, compare how your group members scored www.cheese.com with each major trait.
  9. If someone in the group rated a trait radically different from the rest, ask them to explain. Can the group persuade the radical or the radical persuade the group? Is a compromise necessary? Try to reach a consensus score for each trait. Does the tool need to be changed somehow to make it more useful?
  10. Decide on a reporter or spokesperson. Display your poster. Have the spokesperson share with the rest of the class how well your group's eveluation tool worked when applied to www.cheese.com.
  11. As a class, synthesize the various eveluation tools into one common one. Find what traits are most commonly used. Sometimes groups refer to the same trait using different terminology, so the class must agree on what term to use (a groups' shared understanding of a term is called nomenclature).

Resources/Online Documents

All done?

Great! Proceed to the next lesson.