[PN] Reference Websites (18 Oct. 2003)

[Steve McCarty]

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* Reference Websites

English Language Teaching Web
http://www.eltweb.com/

ELT Directory [for English teachers in Japan]
http://www.eltnews.com/eltdirectory/

ELT Events Calendar: Teaching English in Japan
http://www.eltcalendar.com/

[Reference Websites you recommend for other countries and regions
are of course most welcome. E-mail details to: steve_mc@kagawa-jc.ac.jp]

Moodle: "a free, open-source course management system for online
learning (developed on the basis of social constuctionist pedagogical
principles)" - Mark W.
http://moodle.org
For a discussion of Moodle vs. the popular proprietary systems
BlackBoard and WebCT [I've used them since the late 1990s - Ed.], see:
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0310&L=deos-l&O=D&F=&S=&P=5511

*  TECHPOLICYBANK UPDATE [long forwarded message from UC Irvine, edited]

From: "The Children's Partnership" <frontdoor@childrenspartnership.org>
Subject: TECHPOLICYBANK UPDATE -- OCTOBER 2003

BREAKING NEWS: Yesterday (10/12/03), California Governor Gray Davis
signed into law AB 855, a first-of-its-kind legislation that creates a
Digital Divide Grant Program to help close the technology gap. Funded by
revenues generated from siting cell towers on state-owned property, this
statute takes effect January 1, 2004 and has a dedicated and sustainable
revenue source.

TECHPOLICYBANK UPDATE

This Techpolicybank Update focuses on the evaluation and creation of
quality online content relevant to the needs of 50 million underserved
Americans.  A new research report from The Children's Partnership, The
Search for High-Quality Online Content for Low-Income and Underserved
Communities: Evaluating and Producing What's Needed (October 2003),
includes new data and summaries of pioneering initiatives.  It also
recommends and encourages the creation of low-barrier, accessible
content, and the careful evaluation of existing content.

This report finds that there is growing consensus about what constitutes
quality Web content.  An analysis of 100 sets of existing guidelines
used to evaluate content shows that a handful of characteristics
consistently appear in more than 50% of guidelines reviewed.  However,
less than 10% of the guidelines reviewed included characteristics that
address the needs of low-income or other underserved communities, like
content in more than one language or the literacy level of the text.
This report also makes a first attempt at establishing a comprehensive,
integrated method for creating and evaluating Web sites to meet the
needs of the 50 million Americans now underserved by online content.
These guidelines are included in our report, or can be download at
http://www.contentbank.org/quality/cb_guidelines.pdf

NEW ONLINE CONTENT REPORT BY THE CHILDREN'S PARTNERSHIP

*  The Search for High-Quality Online Content for Low-Income and
Underserved Communities: Evaluating and Producing What's Needed
An Issue Brief and Action Plan by The Children's Partnership.  This
research will guide you, whether you are looking for the best online
resources for the individuals you serve (especially those with
limited-literacy skills, limited-English skills, or specific physical or
cognitive disabilities), creating content with your clients, or
producing online content for a broad audience.
http://www.contentbank.org/research/QualityContent.pdf

*  The Children's Partnership's Guidelines for Content Creation and
Evaluation, Version 1.0
TCP has made a first attempt at establishing a comprehensive, integrated
method for evaluating and creating Web sites to meet the wide-ranging
needs of the 50 million Americans now underserved by online content.
These "starter guidelines" build on the growing consensus from various
fields that certain features of content are essential to make
information useful and reliable for consumers. The guidelines are
included in our new report, The Search for High-Quality Online Content
for Low-Income and Underserved Communities, or you can download just the
guidelines in pdf format.
http://www.contentbank.org/quality/cb_guidelines.pdf

OTHER CONTENT EVALUATION GUIDELINES

A variety of organizations and experts have done pioneering work in
developing criteria to evaluate Internet content. Below we have
highlighted three exceptional examples of evaluation criteria:

*  firstfind.info
firstfind.info, a Web site developed by a group of New-York area
librarians, is an online library that provides information to adults
with limited-literacy or English skills. firstfind staff use these
guidelines to select resources for inclusion on the site. They also
informed the development of the firstfind.info site itself.
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Our_Association/Offices/Literacy_and_Outreach_Services/Outreach_Resources/firstfind_compilation.pdf


*  Multicultural Model for Evaluating Educational Web Sites
Dr. Paul Gorski, an educator and creator of the Multicultural Pavilion
Web site, developed this set of guidelines that applies a multicultural
lens to evaluating online content. These criteria are a set of questions
designed to help teachers assess Web sites for use in the classroom.
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/net/comps/model.html

*  Stanford University's Guidelines for Web Credibility
The Stanford Web Credibility Project is part of the Stanford Persuasive
Technology Lab, where researchers are trying to understand what leads
people to believe information they find online, with the eventual goal
of enhancing Web design. These guidelines are the result of three years
of research involving over 4,500 participants.
http://www.webcredibility.org/guidelines/index.html

*  Online Exchange
During Contentbank's Online Exchange, "The Hunt for Quality Content:
Evaluating, Selecting, and Creating Online Content for Low-Income and
Other Underserved Communities," participants shared and gathered
relevant guidelines, online tools, and research.

Read the Hunt for Quality Content Exchange summary
http://www.contentbank.org/onlineexchange/hunt_summary.asp?page_id=47

See the complete Hunt for Quality Content Exchange Resources
http://www.contentbank.org/onlineexchange/quality_content.asp?section_id=8

*  Articles
"Closing the Content Gap: A Content Evaluation and Creation Starter
Kit," an article by The Children's Partnership in the Summer 2003
Community Technology Review. The article features information about two
pioneering programs, a sampling of articles and research that offer a
range of perspectives on the issue of content evaluation, and links to
guidelines that have been created in some of the fields that are leading
the way in content evaluation.
http://www.comtechreview.org/article_body_s03.asp?article_ID=269

*  Research
Title: Credibility, Accuracy, and Readability: Consumer Expectations
Regarding Online Health Information Resources (May 2003)
Author: Manhattan Research
http://www.manhattanresearch.com/expectations.htm
Research from The Children's Partnership about online content for
underserved Americans:

*  [NEW]  The Search for High-Quality Online Content for Low-Income and
Underserved Americans (October 2003)
http:www.contentbank.org/research/QualityContent.pdf

*  Online Content for Low-Income and Underserved Americans: Issue Brief
2002 (June 2002)
http://www.contentbank.org/TCP-OnlineContent.pdf

*  Online Content for Low-Income and Underserved Americans: The Digital
Divide's New Frontier (March 2000)
http://www.childrenspartnership.org/pub/low_income/index.html


Collegially, Steve McCarty, Professor, Kagawa JC, Japan
News and Views: http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve/pdx.html
Online library: http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/epublist.html
E-mail (including items for Papyrus News): steve_mc@kagawa-jc.ac.jp