Website Evaluation Part 1

Website 1: History of Fisher-Price Airplane

Purpose
1. Webpage URL: www.weathergraphics.com/tim/fisher
According to the article by Dr. Tim Green, the website should be descriptive and be a preview for readers. This website instead gives readers a different idea about what information is on the page.


2. Title/Headings:
The website contained a title 'History of Fisher-Price Airplane' as well as headings. The headings 'Soviet Requirements' and 'Fisher Price Years' gave just enough information for readers to understand what it was about.


3. Images:
The images were appropriate and provided readers with more information. They included drawings of the plane before it was made as well as final pictures of the plane when it took off.

Content

• Accuracy: The website contains zero citations and has accurate information. According to a user from Moscow, the author was not correct in some of the facts he reported. This can be seen in a comment at the bottom of the page
• Authority: Tim Vasquez is the author of this website. The site contains no biography information about him other than his name
• Currency: The website is not up to date and shows no evidence of being updated.
• Functionality: There are no apparent bugs, all pictures load, and there is a quick load time.
• Navigation: The website is very simple and does not contain any external links. However, there is a link to send the author an email

ThE five w's

• Who? Tim Vasquez (Who's he???)
• What is the purpose? To educate readers about the Fisher-Price plane
• When? 2004 (That was more than a decade ago!!!!!)
• Where? unknown
• Why is it useful? To teach people about the past and how planes evolved

Website 2: Count Us in

Purpose
Webpage URL: http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/default.htm
The website url gives readers a little bit of an idea about what the site contains.
Title/Headings:
The title 'Count Us In' is displayed across the top of the page. The various 'headings' are links on the side of the page that take you to a different location within the website.


Images:
The website contains graphics within the games. They are appropriate and make the games more engaging for students.

Content

• Authority: The website was created by many different people with different titles. This is listed on the website under 'site credits'.
• Functionality: All graphics load and there is a quick load time. However, in some of the games where users are asked to click and drag, the user has to be very precise and make sure the the item is placed exactly where it should be or the game will not mark it correct. This could be very frustrating to younger students who are not as skilled with a computer.
• Navigation: The website is easy to navigate and contains a bar on the side where users can get from game to game. However, within a game I noticed that if you hit the 'backspace' button it completely kicks you out of a game. This might pose a problem for students.

The five w's

• Who? Many different people worked together to create the website
• What is the purpose? To help students work on basic math skills in a fun and engaging way
• When? 2014
• Where? unknown
• Why is it useful? Allows younger students to practice skills that the are learning in the classroom