CHEM-465 CHEMISTRY SENIOR SEMINAR Web Site Evaluation Assignment  Due 8 PM on Monday, 24 October 2011

IMPORTANT: Your group's web-site needs to be activated and the URL sent to Dr. Theopold  on or before Saturday, 22 October 2011, so that he can link it to the seminar schedule. Otherwise, you and others in the class cannot complete the following assignment.

Earlier this semester you evaluated three web-sites from last year's class. You will repeat that assignment except for the two web-sites by other Groups in your time slot (See the Talk Schedule to determine which sites you need to evaluate). Evaluate all websites except those of the groups that will present at the same time as you on successive Wednesdays. In contrast to the earlier assignment, you are asked to evaluate the sites independently.

For each site, address all of the criteria below and send your evaluation to your course instructor by 8 PM Monday, October 24.

Please note: Avoid being overly influenced by appearance and pay particular attention to whether or not the web-site describes the issues and supports or refutes the proposition effectively. You might want to take a look at one or more of the many sites that deal in detail with evaluation and rating of web sites.

Things to look for and think about in the CHEM-465 web sites:

Is the title informative?

Are the authors identified and are their e-mail addresses provided?

Are any illustrations appropriate and informative rather than being distractions?

Is the layout attractive, consistent, and easy to navigate?

Is there a concise introduction with a summary of the site's purpose?

Are there multiple links from the introductory page to the main sub-topics?

Is the text large enough to read easily and does it contrast with any background colors?

Are the linked sub-topics developed well?

Are the sub-topics linked in turn to other sites that provide reliable and relevant information?

Do the links work?

Have you learned a little or a lot of useful information about the proposition from the site?

Does the site take a position on the proposition that is well developed and convincing?

Do you think the overall message of the site is biased or is based on opinion rather than evidence?

On a scale of 0 (terrible) to 10 (superb), what would you give this site overall?