Module 4 - Evaluating the Web

Choice 3: www.cln.org
This site is purely an educational portal linking to other websites with no author producing its own material. My annotations:
- No copyright diclaimer, no info about the author or cln.org on the bottom of the pages
- No dates of published or updated
- Almost 30% of all links came up with error 404, and some information on the links which worked is outdated
-Traffic rank: 17,5495
Will not choose this one for this exercise due to the missing information, not perceived as a current or trustworthy web site for information.

Choice 2: useit.com by Jakob Nielsen

This website discusses current issues on web usability, such as web site navigation, design (font size, lay out, color of links etc), how teenagers and seniors use the web and intranet usabilty to name a few. My annotations:
- Many other websites and blogs are linking or using this as a reference.
- Well-known author
- A high site rank: 8,945
Second favorite choice, but will not choose due to usability, Joe Barker's web site is simply laid out better and is easier on the eye (the overall look of the useit.com site is something a lot of people have commented negatively on too, although it is an excellent site!).

Choice 1: Site by Joe Barker, UC Berkeley Library Resources

This educational site, mainly set up for students enrolled at UC Berkeley, discusses the latest trends in search engines, directories and evaluating web pages. It has a great glossary of Internet terms and Web jargong. My annotations:
- Clear author, clear organisation
- "Page updated" information
- All links working to pages with information from the author, not to other sites (ie not just a portal)
- Other websites and universities are linking or using this as a reference
- Traffic rank: 1257
I choose this site for the task. I find it trustworthy and several other educational websites have used it as a reference or in their bibliography. All links are current and links to useful information. It is very relevant to Module 4 in our course, that and the fact that its primary users are students, like myself, is perhaps why I find it interesting. A well designed, relevant and functional website!