Paul Gorsk's E v a l u a t i o n C h e c k l i s t
for multi-cultural web sites
COMPATIBILITY
- Need: Do you
have specific needs for using the web site? Is it the best resource for your
educational goals?
- Audience: Does
the web site's designer or author specify an intended audience? Is your intended
audience included in that specification?
- Goal: Does the
web site's designer state the mission or goal of the site? Does the goal of
the web site reflect your educational goal?
- Organization:
Is the web site's organization easy to follow? Does the designer include features
which facilitate fast and simple browsing? Will students get "lost" in the
site?
- Stability: Do
the resources, information, and organization of the site constantly change
or do they remain static?
- Reliability:
Can you rely on the site to load quickly at various times during the day?
Does the site cause your computer to "freeze"?
CONTENT
- Accuracy: Is
information which is offered factually accurate? Are citations provided for
secondary information?
- Uniqueness: Does
the site offer a unique approach or perspective? Does it transcend traditional
educational approaches and perspectives?
- Accountability:
Who is the author or designer? Does he or she include an explanation of their
perspective and experience regarding the topic covered by his or her site?
Can you contact the author or designer from the site itself?
- Layout and Design:
Does the site's graphics enhance or detract from the educational experience
of the site?
EDUCATIONAL
VALUE
- Interactivity:
Does the web site include opportunities for interaction both between the designer
and user as well as among users?
- Critical Pedagogy:
Do interactive opportunities on the site encourage critical analysis of the
information presented? Does it encourage students to share their own reflections,
reactions and stories, to ask questions, and to challenge information presented?
- Multiple Perspectives:
Does the site include links to other sites? Does it include links to web sites
which reflect different perspectives from its own?
- Facilitation of Different
Learning Styles: Does the designer offer a variety of activities and information
to address a diversity of learning styles?
The checklist for evaluating
websites from a multicultural perspective was designed by Paul Gorsk - other writing
on this topic can be found at his web site at: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/net/comps/model.html