Effective Ways to

Appraise Web Content

ACE/NETC 2.011

ap·praise   

1. To evaluate, especially in an official capacity.2. To estimate the quality, amount, size, and

other features of; judge.

Why Appraise Your Site?EffectivenessAdherence to your organization’s goals.

Measure of EffectivenessContent developed becomes part of learning community.Content creators will be credited for their contributionsContent contributors should believe in collaborating on contentAvoid Duplication of existing content Contributors should strive to understand who their content is forCoP content will need to change and evolve

eXtensions GoalsEmpower people Provide credible, reliable, research-based toolsBestow knowledge

Step 1

Planning the Appraisal Process

What are You Going to Measure?

Create attributes you can use to measure your web pages.

eXtension’s AttributesKnowledge LevelUsabilityRelevanceActionabilityInterrelatedness Differentiation

Knowledge Level

What level of subject matter knowledge is needed to

understand or use this page?

Who is Your Intended Audience?

Are you putting content up that is hard to grasp?

Are the needs of your audience met?

Page Usability

On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more

likely. -http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html

Enhance the ScanClear, descriptive headings and subheadsAppropriate sentence and paragraph lengthUse of graphics, bullets, tables, charts, etc., where appropriateOverall readability

Relevance

Is the content up-to-date and of current interest to its intended

audience?

In With the New Out With the Old

Outdated content takes up valuable space and should be dropped

New content keeps the readers interested and coming back for

more

ACTIONABILITY

Does the page provide a clear next step for its current

audience, and does it facilitate that step?

Lead that Horse to Water

If there is a next step, lead the reader down the path

Not all content has a next step

INTERRELATEDNESS

Does this content fit well with, and link to, other CoP content?

Why Link?

Encourages users to dig deeper in the site

Rely on eXtension as an information source

DIFFERENTIATION

Does the page fill a unique need, providing information or perspective that is not readily

available elsewhere?

Re-Inventing the Wheel

To link to or not to link to that is the question

Other Attributes

Depending on an organization’s goals

Step 2

Create a System to

Collect Data

The Hard Way

Spend a lot of money and outsource

The Easy Way Use Google Docs1. Create a form to collect data2. All data will be collected in a spreadsheet3. Make changes from the data4. Ask me for my Template

eXtensions Sites

https://sites.google.com/a/extension.org/acenetc2011/Make sure you are not already logged into Google

High and LowRated Examples

ABOUT NEUROTOXIC SHELLFISH POISONING Let’s Rate a Page

Rate It

The Form

Nick Broadynbroady0001@extension.orgUniversity of Kentucky