M. Bloomfield's Class Website Evaluation
Participants
Katey is a 6th grade middle school educator and is in her twenties. She has musical background and is knowledgable of expected classroom website content and format. When evaluating, Katey thought about both the student and parent use of the site and her review was detail-oriented. She is also knowledgable of visual elements and appeal. As one of my user testers, she used her MacBook Air 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 and the Safari browser on a connected home wireless router.
Grace is a parent of a middle school student and is in her fourties. Her knowledge of web site accessibility and formatting was a benefit to the development of my site. She considered the use cases and thought about navigation from the point of a parent and of a student. Grace used her Dell Inspirion 5000 with 4GB memory and the Internet Explorer 10.0 browser. She connected through a home DSL.
Kristen is one of my user testers, is in her twenties, has been involved in music, and is currently a 4th grade educator. She is currently pursuing her Educational Administration degree. Her expertise in web site format and student engagement gave input that will help develop my site for student use throughout the school year. Kristen used a Dell Latitude E5440 Laptop, Intel Core i5 with Google Chrome. She used a DSL internet connection.
Summary of Evaluators' Comments
| Category | Average Score |
|---|---|
| Design | 5 |
| Content | 5 |
| Credibility | 5 |
Katey found a few minor issues such as some of the links on the practice page, required the installation and use of Adobe. She had the program already on her computer but if a visitor did not, they would need to download in order to access the game. She also mentioned how this website would be useful but only if the students were informed of its importance or were required to utilize the provided resources. Katey stated how the title bar could benefit from a different design in order to separate it from the headings on the page.
Grace commented on the need for Adobe for some of the games to probably work. Most computers have this software installed but something to note. She mentioned how users taking the course will return due to the requirement and parents will find this information helpful especially for ease of access. As the school year progresses, more content can be easily added as the curriculum advances.
Kristen questioned if citations were needed for the games and recordings included on the "Pratice" page. She also commented on how more specific class photos could be integrated into the website after the start of the school year. Kristen commented on the option to download and if this was available.
Overall, the feedback from the evaluators alluded to the cohesive website design and understanding of its role for my class. Evaluators commented on its ease of use and well-labeled features. The site features a clear purpose and the colors chosen reflect the school district. When evaluating, three different browsers were utilized including Internet Explorer, Safari,and Google Chrome and the site worked well for all. The site was assessed using both a Macbook and Dell laptops and home DSL connections and there were no issues.
Evaluator Data
These links lead to my evaluators’ data files:
Use Cases
Use Case #1: I currently do not have a website outlining my courses so this would act as a digital version of the handbook along with other helpful information. Parents will use this website as a source of information and communication.They can find this information on the "Course Information" page.
Use Case #2: Students can visit this website for additional practice opportunities relating to course content, specifically vocabulary. Links to interactive vocabulary games will be included and organized within our WOW Words (Words of the Week) categories. Links to recordings of repertoire that we are currently learning will be included.
Use Case #3: The website will include a form used to collect data because it will have an opportunity for parents to ask any course questions to the teacher. A link to my email address will be provided and parents can contact the teacher with course, performance, or grading questions or concerns. This information will be located at the bottom on each page including the home page for ease of access.
The three use cases mentioned above describe the purpose of this website and goals for the overall design and content. The use cases are connected to site functionality because the site is designed based on the set use cases. I wanted the site to include course information for both parents and students so they can gain a better understanding of the course expectations but also have easy access to the information. I think it is also important to give students the opportunity to excel in their musicianship and this site extends the classroom. It may not be required activities but there are students that seek extra practice and so I wanted to provide them this opportunity. My contact information is located on the home page but also at the footer of each page. I think the site was successful in fulfilling the expected three use cases stated. After reviewing the evaluations, the site did not have any major issues or problems that prevented users from successfully using the site based on the use cases and the set purpose. A few minor issues such as more specific headings and more multimedia content, which will be tweaked before the website release, will aid in its design and included content. I will have to abandon adding a form such as a Google form for Use Case #3 to collect data such as questions and concerns from parents on various topics due to technical issues and the restriction of webpages that have instant updates. This may be something to add at a later date although the contact information is still included in the site just in a different way than originally planned.
Recommended/Planned Changes
Based on my collected feedback, I plan to make the following changes in the listed categories:
Improving Design and Navigation
- Headers: Katey suggested to create a different design for the title bar so there is distinction for the title bar versus the various page headings for the content. I will make the changes on each page's title bar. This change will improve the site keeping the design consistant.
Enriching Content
- Multimedia: Grace suggested adding more photos of my classroom as the school year progresses. I will add a few more classroom photos although just a few because school hasn't begun yet. This change will connect parents and students with the curriculum as we advance through concepts.
- Table: I plan to incorporate a table on the "Practice" page displaying WOW Word vocabulary for the week. I will make this change in order to fulfill site requirements but also create more visual organization of terminology for student use. The change will improve page organization and student engagement.
Enhancing Credibility
- Citations: Kristen suggested adding citations for the few games that are listed so users know where the website content is coming from and appropriate credits are given to content creators. The content will still open into a new tab to direct to the page where content is and for ease of use. I will add appropriate information to the bottom of the "Practice page."
Revising Code
- Validation: I need to make sure all pages validate in HTML and CSS. Any small change in content or format can change whether or not the pages validate. I will make this change to ensure site validation. This will improve the accuracy of my code.
Reflections on Evaluation Process
Throughout the development process of the site, a variety of evaluation methods have been used in order to recieve feedback to improve my design. First, we observed how sites were created and how site navigations can be different. We figured out what we preferred and the visual elements we wanted to include in our layout. I found the questionnaire information gained very helpful, especially at that time in the development process, because it led me to a direction for my site and helped define my goals and categorize page content. The surveys with user-testers were more detailed and allowed evaluators who have an education background and are possible users of the page to comment on design, credibility, navigation, and content. The experienced developer's testing was helpful when checking code accuracy. I think it would be more helpful to gain evaluation from more students in the course who understand HTML/CSS coding because I only recieved one evaluation on the discussion.
Overall, great feedback was recieved from the evaluators through the survey process. Evaluators in this phase of the evaluation did not have many changes to suggest but did suggest a few that would refine the site design and content even more. This was an appropriate step in our evaluation process and site development because I benefitted from feedback from individuals outside of the course. Two of my evaluators are in the education field, and one is also a parent of a middle school student, so they will be the end users and can provide appropriate suggestions. All three have experience with music. If pertinent information was missing, they would be able to offer ideas for what I needed to still include. As suggested, I will create distinction between the title bar and page heading, add more specific photos, create a WOW vocabulary table, and add appopriate citations for the practice links included. I look forward to implementing these changes and finish developing a usable site for my classroom.
