Criteria for the Evaluation for Web-based Materials

Criteria for the evaluation for web-based materials are subjective at best. It depends on the needs of the person evaluating the site. There are several ways to evaluate websites for education, and several sites that have evaluation tools available to help educators make better decisions. http://www.libraryinstruction.com/evaluating.html has a useful checklist. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html is Kathy Schrock’s most complete listing of evaluation tools and how to go about it. However, the final analysis is up to the individual and the individual’s needs. Websites can be totally 1.0 – giving information only, and I can still have the students read and answer comprehension questions about the material, if that’s what I need.

It also depends on availability of content for what I want to teach. At first, the Internet was limited and focused mostly on core curriculum subject content. As time has gone on, more and more content is available to help teach Internet safety, security and information on computers in general. It’s been great watching the Internet become more interactive, especially with the changes to standard computer operating systems. I felt powerless and lost when I lost all my software the first time, switching from Apple IIes to Macintoshes. And this time, switching to OS X.4, we lost all the software again, but there’s no money in the budget to replace any of it, and there were very little options in software since the companies hadn’t caught up to the new operating systems. There was also a movement in software to prevent the copying that had gone on previously without buying licenses. Some of the companies figured out how to put security on each disk, like the I Spy series. So you have to purchase one per computer. Others, like Ultrakey, thought it would be better to go online, and charge a minimal rate per student for a year’s access. Several free sites, like RainforestMaths, also went this route. http://useducationcity.com has been pressing me lately to sign up as well.

It is not about finding content to teach the sixth, seventh and eighth grade. With Microsoft Office, I realized I have more than enough to teach them. It’s teaching the younger students that is the real problem. I need to teach them so many basics, and supplement the classroom curriculum, and I usually use a wide range of software for that. I realized that with the faster processor, the Internet could be my salvation for course content, and at least for the first year last year, I found enough free sites to make it worthwhile. Internet4classrooms.com is terrific, and I did quite a bit with that with the younger students. This year is a different story. I really haven’t reworked the curriculum in years, and the school will be evaluated next year. I need to standardize the curriculum, and it’s difficult to be fluid in that situation without enough software to manage, and enough money for subscriptions. We are already costing more in tuition than other schools. The administration feels that passing off the cost of the website subscriptions is not feasible, so either I pay the cost, or I have to keep finding new things to do. Some of the software has caught up, but that costs money, too. And I know my students. After 14 years, I have the capability of watching my students grow, and being able to test a website to see which parts would most appeal to them, teach them the most, and work within the time frame of the class period.