Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 34 Number 3

	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.

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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.