Analysis of Elementary School Web Sites

While researchers have studied the use and value of educational software for many years, study of school Web sites and/or their effectiveness is limited. In this investigation, we identified goals and functions of school Web sites and used the foundations of effective Web site design to develop an evaluation checklist. We then applied these criteria to a random sample of Web sites to identify the extent to which the key features were evident in them. The majority of the elementary school Web sites surveyed provided evidence of basic design principles; however, scores were not as good for structure, design, general components, and general ratings. Based on our findings, we derived and present a set of guidelines for developing and improving elementary school Web sites. We also suggest that future research efforts should examine contextual factors influencing the effectiveness of elementary school Web sites and how various stakeholders use elementary school Web sites.