CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A WEB SITE : MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL
©1996 Kathleen Schrock ([email protected])
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators --
http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/
 

1. What type of connection do you have to the Internet?
  T3

2. What Web browser are you using?  netscape

3. What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?
          http://www.public.iastate.edu/~history/lessons/hannibal/lessons.html

4. What is the name of the site?
 Hannibal's History/Social Studies Lesson Plans

Part One : Looking at and Using the Page

Does the page take a long time to load?  NO

Are the pictures on the page helpful? NOT APPLICABLE

Is each section of the page labeled with a heading? YES

Did the author sign his/her real name? NO probably not.

Did the author give you his/her e-mail address? YES

Is there a date on the page that tells you when it was last updated?  NO

Is there an image map (big picture with links) on the page?  NO

Is there a table (columns of text) on the page? (Check the source code.)  NO

If you go to another page on the site, can you get back to the main page? No, have to use back button

Are there photographs on the page? NO

Summary of part one

Using the data you have collected above, write a paragraph explaining why you would or wouldn't recommend this site to a friend for use with a project.

    This is a questionable site.  Some of the lesson plans come from another source (they have a copyright saying so) and they seem like they would be ok to use.  Some of the others that were written by the author are not really useful, as they are lacking objectives and clear plans.  I would recommend that anyone using this site so to choose what information they take carefully.
 

Part Two : What's on the page and who put it there?

Does the title of the page tell you what it is about? YES

Is there a paragraph on the page explaining what it is about? YES

Is the information on the page useful for your project? N/A

Would you have gotten more information from an encyclopedia? NO

Is the information on the page current? Can’t tell

Does the page lead you to some other good information (links)?  NO

Does the author of the page present some information you disagree with? no

Does the author of the page present some information that you think is wrong? NO

Does some information contradict information you found elsewhere? NO

Does the author use some absolute words (like "always" or "never")? NO

Does the author use superlative words (like the "best" or "worst")?  NO

Does the author tell you about him/herself? YES, a little

Do you feel that the author is knowledgeable about the topic? YES maybe

Are you positive the information is true? NO

What can you do to prove the information is true?
    Nothing, really.  Email the author and ask.

Summary of Part Two

Looking at the data you have collected in part two, compose a note to the author of the Web site explaining how you are going to use the Web site in your project and what your opinion is of the page's content.

    I would be hesitant to use this site because it does not show any sign that it has legitimacy beyond one person’s experience.