 |
Edited by
Dr. David J. Ayersman, Mary Washington College, and Dr. W.
Michael Reed,
New York University
Incoming editor: Dr. Lynne Schrum, University of Georgia
|
| formerly Journal of Research on Computing in
Education |
Volume 34 Number
3 2002
What’s in a Web Site? Student Perceptions
Christian Sebastian Loh
University of Georgia
Michael D. Williams
National Institute of Education, Singapore
Abstract
Although motivation is an important aspect in
instructional design, few studies have examined the effect of motivation
in Web site design. Most of the existing Web site evaluation checklists
evaluate for content accuracy but not the motivational quality of Web
sites. For this study, we developed the Motivation Analysis Rating Kit
(M@RK) to address motivational design elements and to assess
children’s perception of Web design elements and the Web features
they most prefer in “cool” Web sites. The research employed a
repeated measures design on a single sample ( N = 71) with two
within-subjects factors (Web sites and motivational elements).
Paired-sample t-tests were used to compare student ratings among the
various motivational elements. Findings show that children are able to
and do select Web sites critically. They seem to be most motivated by
Web sites that are rated high for both content and design elements.
(Keywords: checklist, classroom teaching, evaluation, motivation, Web
sites.)
Web
Resources
Note: All Web links in this issue were
active as of the post date (July 15, 2002). However, the Web is
volatile, and ISTE does not have any control over external sites.
Auer, N. J. (1999). Bibliography on evaluating
Internet resources [Online document]. Available: www.lib.vt.edu/research/libinst/evalbiblio.html.
Children’s Museum Web site: www.childrensmuseum.org
The Dinosauria: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/dinosaur.html
The Dinosauricon: http://dinosauricon.com
Disney: http://disney.go.com/
McLachlan, K. (1996). WWW CyberGuides [Online
document]. Available: www.cyberbee.com/guides.html.
Nickelodeon: www.nick.com
Payton, T. (1998). Evaluation rubrics for Web sites
[Online document]. Available: www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/online/eval.htm.
Sesame Street: www.sesameworkshop.com
Shrivastava, P. (1999, January). Online learning
trends and the online learning paradox. [Letter to the editor]. The
Technology Source [Online serial]. Available: http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=58.
Small, R. V. (1999). An exploration of motivational
strategies used by library media specialists during library and
information skills instruction. School Library Media Research [Online
serial]. Available: www.ala.org/aasl/SLMR/vol2/motive.html.
Wittman, S. M. (1998). Evaluating Web sites [Online
document]. Available: http://servercc.oakton.edu/~wittman/find/eval.htm.
Contributors
Christian Sebastian Loh began his PhD study at the
University of Georgia in August 2000. Before this, he received his MEd
from the School of Education of the National Institute of Education in
Singapore, where he taught for two years as a teaching fellow.
Michael D. Williams is an associate professor at
the School of Education of the National Institute of Education in
Singapore, where he has been teaching computer-based educational
technologies for the last eight years.
Download
the full article (PDF, 97 KB, PDF Instructions)
Contact
Christian S. Loh
Dept. of Instructional Technology
604 Aderhold Hall, University of Georgia, Athens,
GA 30602
csloh@coe.uga.edu
Copyright © 2002, ISTE (International Society for Technology
in Education).
All rights reserved.
| checklist, classroom teaching, evaluation, motivation, Web sites |
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