Introduction
Create a website using web features such as links and navigation bars, specifically focusing on the design for user friendliness. The requirements are listed below as separate tasks. We will complete the tasks over the next 3 weeks. For each section of the webpage, please add any links to external resources that you feel might help a user of your site.
Task
|
Week |
Task(s) |
|
1 |
Task 1: Website analysis Task 2: Using Links |
|
2 |
Task 3: Create a webpage Task 4: Validate webpage |
|
3 |
Task 5: Evaluate peers' websites Task 6: Make changes accordingly |
Process
Task 1: Website analysis
Sometimes in life we can discover what we should do, by realising that there are some things we should not do. For example, we can see that a slow player in football is caught by the opposition, so we can figure out that players should run fast. We know that putting lots of salt onto chips will make them taste bad, and no salt may make it too bland, so we know we must use just a bit of salt.
Today, we are going to look at some poor website designs, and from that we will deduce what functionality and appearance a website ought to look like.
Go to Resources\Mr Clayton\Digi Tech\WebDesign and open the word document. Save it onto your laptop!
Visit each of the websites and complete the table.
Task 2: Using Links
As a class we are going to have a look at the intranet. Do you know how this was created?
We are going to link our Website Designs page to a homepage that we create. You are also going to create some links to external websites using picture and text links.
Task 3: Create a webpage
Pick a topic that you love (almost anything...) and create some information pages! Be sure to reference you data with the author, date, page name and URL.
Leed, S. (2016) Happy Principals. Retrieved from: www.happyprincipals.com.au
or
AFL Organisation (2015) Rules of the game. Retrieved from: www.afl.com.au/rulesofthegame
Task 4: Validate webpage
Copy the following questions into a new word document and respond to them. One or two sentences per answer is fine.
|
Sub-heading |
Question |
|
Authentic Data |
How do you know the data you collected is authentic? (not made up?) |
|
Accurate Data |
How do you know the information is accurate? (consider how the source collected their information) |
|
Timely Data |
How old is the article/website where you gathered your information? Describe how you think old data might skew results in relation to how people use their phones. |
|
Data Collection |
Write a paragraph about how you can ensure the data you’re using is authentic, accurate and timely. Describe why you think it is important to collect reliable data. |
|
Reliable websites |
What websites do you consider reliable and why? |
|
Referencing |
You have been asked to reference information and images in your website. Describe 2 reasons why this is so important. |
Task 4: Evaluate peers' websites
Use the page from "Resources" to access a rubric to evaluate your peers' website. Additionally, consider the following questions:
- Is the website easy to navigate and do all of my internal links work?
- Have I checked the content to ensure there are no spelling/grammar mistakes?
- Does my homepage describe the content of the website?
- Do my images contain tags with images titles, descriptions and links to the source?
- Have I included enough relevant links to external websites for people who need more information?
Provide feedback after the rubric about what you liked, and some suggested changes your friend might make.
Task 5: Make changes accordingly
After your page has been evaluated, make changes (or not) and justify why you have made these decisions on another linked Word document (this will form part of your web page). Be sure to address each suggested change.
Evaluation
Website evaluation rubric: Total mark /35
|
CATEGORY |
5-4 |
3 |
2 |
1-0 |
|
Content |
The site has a well-stated clear purpose and theme that is carried out throughout the site. |
The site has a clearly stated purpose and theme, but may have one or two elements that do not seem to be related to it. |
The purpose and theme of the site is somewhat muddy or vague. |
The site lacks a purpose and theme. |
|
Navigation |
Links for navigation are clearly labelled, consistently placed, allow the reader to easily move from a page to related pages (forward and back), and take the reader where they expect to go. A user does not become lost. |
Links for navigation are clearly labelled, allow the reader to easily move from a page to related pages (forward and back), and internal links take the reader where they expect to go. A user rarely becomes lost. |
Links for navigation take the reader where they expect to go, but some needed links seem to be missing. A user sometimes gets lost. |
Some links do not take the reader to the sites described. A user typically feels lost. |
|
External Sources |
All links point to high quality, up-to-date, credible sites. |
Most links point to high quality, up-to-date, credible sites. |
Some links point to high quality, up-to-date, credible sites. |
Links do not point to high quality, up-to-date, credible sites. |
|
Data Collection and Validation |
Student collects data from a wide range of sources and explains why the data is authentic, accurate and timely. They use this data to explain how people use their phones. |
Student collects data from a few different sources which are authentic, accurate and timely. They use this data to explain how people use their phones. |
Student collects data from a few different sources. They use this data to explain how people use their phones. |
Student uses anecdotal, or otherwise unreliable evidence to describe how people use their phones. |
|
Layout |
The Web site has an exceptionally attractive and usable layout. It is easy to locate all important elements. White space, graphic elements and/or alignment are used effectively to organize material. |
The Web pages have an attractive and usable layout. It is easy to locate all important elements. |
The Web pages have a usable layout, but may appear busy or boring. It is easy to locate most of the important elements. |
The Web pages are cluttered looking or confusing. It is often difficult to locate important elements. |
|
Graphics |
Graphics are related to the theme/purpose of the site, are thoughtfully cropped, are of high quality and enhance reader interest or understanding. |
Graphics are related to the theme/purpose of the site, are of good quality and enhance reader interest or understanding. |
Graphics are related to the theme/purpose of the site, and are of good quality. |
Graphics seem randomly chosen, are of low quality, OR distract the reader. |
|
Modification |
Student modifies their website based on the feedback from their peer evaluation, justifying why they made certain changes or not. |
Student modifies their website based on the feedback from their peer evaluation. |
Student makes some changes to their website based on the feedback from their peer evaluation. |
Student does not make any changes based on the peer evaluation results. |
Conclusion
NAVIGATING A WEB FULL OF "INFORMATION"
The internet is full of information, but quite a bit of it contains accidentally or deliberately misleading information.
Some simple things questions you can ask of a webpage to check the validity of information include:
- Who wrote it? (Are they a reliable source?)
- When was it written? (Is the information up to date?)
- Who published it? (Does this website have an agenda / bias?)
If you are still unsure, a simple way to check whether information is accurate is to check for corroborating evidence on other pages!
Most importantly, remember - DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET!