Web Site Evaluation

I really liked the form developed by Kathy Schrock. It was simple to use, but helped to capitalize on the most important parts of a website and grasp a basic knowledge how valid and trustworthy the website may be. The other forms were a little more in depth, but still good. I would use the form I used if I were doing a quick evaluation, if I wanted to be absolutely positive then I would probably use a different form. I did not find any websites that had secrets spots. They were mostly reliable resources, usually enforced by a school district or school organization. The only one that was questionable at first glance was an interactive Math Facts web page, but in the end it seemed very reliable and useful. I value the evaluation process because of the safety factor. If you, as a teacher, are going to suggest and recommend websites to parents, students, and educators, you definitely want the website to represent and portray a message that you yourself are willing to support and endorse. You want your students, parents, and co-workers to be safe on the Internet. We hear so much about the "hidden" stuff on the Internet, and you definitely don't want to be recommending sites that put other individuals in harm's way. Thus, as an educator you should be constantly evaluating your resources. The evaluation forms provide a guide and support to help you better understand which those websites that you want to recommend and those that you don't. I probably would not use a formal evaluation if the website was a well-known trusted website, such as UEN.