Instrument for Evaluating Information and Resources on the World Wide Web (WWW)

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DATE INFORMATION WAS RETRIEVED FROM SITE: _______

TIME INFORMATION WAS RETRIEVED FROM SITE: _______

URL FOR THE WEB SITE: ____________________________________

ACCURACY OF CONTENT

(5= all of these things are true; 1= one of these things is true)

Accurate Content Yes _____ NO _____

Independent source of verification Yes _____ NO _____

It's consistent with your area of expertise Yes _____ NO _____

There is no political/cultural biases Yes _____ NO _____

It is not commercially oriented Yes _____ NO _____

AGE APPROPRIATENESS OF CONTENT

Is the vocabulary appropriate for intended users? Yes _____ NO _____

Do the activities correspond to the cognitive

ability of users? Yes _____ NO _____

CURRENCY OF CONTENT

(5= all of these things are true; 1= one of these things is true)

Information is current Yes _____ NO _____

Provides date the page was created Yes _____ NO _____

Host appears committed to ongoing maintenance Yes _____ NO _____

Updated in the last month

Updated in the last three months Yes _____ NO _____

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY

1. Very difficult to understand.
2. Difficult to understand.
3. Somewhat understandable.
4. Easy to understand.
5. Very easy to understand

REPUTATION OF THE SOURCE

(5= all of these things are true; 1= one of these things is true)

Reputable Source Yes _____ NO _____

Has high rating by other source Yes _____ NO _____

Bio information with verification links Yes _____ NO _____

Affiliated with a known source Yes _____ NO _____

Host can be contacted for clarification Yes _____ NO _____

STIMULATES INTEREST

1. Vague and unrelated to the main topic.
2. Easily understandable, links to further research, stimulates critical thinking, uniqueness of information.

AGE APPROPRIATE GRAPHICS

Elementary Students Yes _____ NO _____

Middle School Students Yes _____ NO _____

High School Students Yes _____ NO _____

Adult Students Yes _____ NO _____

APPEALING GRAPHICS

1 No graphics (Text only)

3 Related images, mediocre quality, possibly copied from other sites.

5 High quality, highly related multimedia content.

MULTIMEDIA CAPABILITY

1. No multimedia.
2. Uses few illustrations and graphics.
3. Uses a fair amount of graphics and animations.
4. Combines one type of multimedia, with graphics and/or animation.
5. Incorporates many different types of multimedia, including sound, video, animations and graphics.

APPROPRIATENESS OF SITE NAME

1. Completely unrelated.
2. Vaguely related.
3. Moderately related.
4. Considerably related.
5. Highly related.

ACCESSIBILITY OF SITE

1. Very difficult to access, lots of plug-ins needed.
2. Difficult to access.
3. Somewhat accessible.
4. Easy to access.
5. Very easy to access, no plug-ins needed.

ADVERTISING ON WEB PAGE

(If all five are present, the rating is 1. If only one is present, then rating is 5)

Example: If 2 are present the rating is 4, if four are present then the rating is 1

Too many ads/cluttered Yes _____ NO _____

Content vs advertisement priority Yes _____ NO _____

Appropriate/relevance for web page Yes _____ NO _____

Viewing adv. a prerequisite to your destination Yes _____ NO _____

Ads oversized Yes _____ NO _____

SITE IS ENTERTAINING

(If all five are present, the rating is 5. If only 1 is present then rating is 1)

Keeps you engaged Yes _____ NO _____

Stimulates visual senses Yes _____ NO _____

Stimulates audio senses Yes _____ NO _____

Animation Yes _____ NO _____

Interactive Yes _____ NO _____

SPEED

Does the site load fast? Yes _____ NO _____

REVIEWERS’ COMMENTS

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