| |
|
|
Browsers
such as Netscape and Internet Explorer (IE) enable you
to access websites. Netscape and IE do not have any
responsibility for determining whether or not the information in a
Website is accurate or misleading. You must
evaluate websites. These are a set of terms for using websites:
Title Bar defines the title of the
web site itself taken from the first words of the first page
Menu bar follows both word commands
and buttons for short cuts;
Location specifies the website's
address;
Addresses/URL's
A sponsoring organization or individual is responsible for
the information contained in their website. Its address,
or Uniform Resource locator (URL),
is located in the browser's menu bar. For example, the University of
St. Thomas' ISS/Learning Center address is:
http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/lc/. You can often determine the
sponsoring organization of a website by deleting or altering part of
its address. For example, the Learning Center is part of
Instructional Support Services (ISS), or http://www.iss.stthomas.edu.
ISS is part of the University of St. Thomas: http://www.stthomas.edu.
Addresses also contain descriptors of the origin of the page:
education - .edu; commerce - .com; government - .gov; military -
.mil.
If you see a number instead of a name in the
address, for example, ISS: http://140.209.49.101
they do not wish to reveal their organization name, or the name is
not yet approved. This number is a signal that the registered
organization may not wish to be identified with their site, and that
the information can be questionable. Also keep in mind that the
server's URL number is unique, but that any server can have several options
for names as address.
Buttons are short cuts to locations
as defined by Netscape;
Navigation
There are two schools of thought in navigating
within websites:
1. Long, scrolled page(s)
2. Shorter, linked pages
Frames: often a page is divided into
independently operated frames.
One common design is a dual frame: a left, narrow navigational bar or
index, and a larger, right body of information
Site links index is often found at
the bottom of the page, and refer to links, both within and external
to the website. They can also be found in a framed index
Often a webpage "site map" is available as a
reference for users, serving the purpose of a table of contents with
links.
Content:
The content of a webpage often occupies little of the
displayed space within the website. Besides the browser
(Netscape, Internet Explorer, Tango) information, space is also
required for navigation, Titles, and website documentation, not to
mention "white space".
Title/graphic announce the subject of
the webpage/site
body copy contains the website's
information
Website documentation: refers to the
author/webmaster and programmer, sponsoring institution, date of last
update, and often a count of the number of times a site is accessed.
Authors and creators
of websites should be clearly stated
within websites, as well as the means to contact them or the webmaster
if they differ. The commercial or organizational affiliation should
also be clear if there is one.
Institutional affiliation
of the website, or of its authors
Dates
when the website was created and last updated
URL
of the website itself
Contacting information
either of the author or of the webmaster, usually through an e-mail
link
Feedback to improve
this page
(please specify which page)
The Study Guides and Strategies web site was created and is
maintained by Joe
Landsberger,
academic web site developer at the University
of St. Thomas (UST), St. Paul, Minnesota. It is collaboratively
maintained across institutional and national boundaries, and last revised
September 04, 2002 .
Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt, print,
transmit, and distribute
Study Guides in settings that benefit learners. On the WWW, however, please link
rather than put up your own page since pages are frequently modified and
improved in consideration of educational research. No request to link is
necessary. Additional contributions and translations are warmly
received.
|
