Criterion E- Evaluation

Criterion A-
For criterion A, we were first supposed to visit various thinkquest websites that won the competition and identify which aspects of the website you liked and disliked. Then you had to read 3 major articles along with sub-articles that were tips about making a website, what to be careful on, etc. Then you had to summarize them and post it on the blog. You also had to find the connection between the project and the society.

I followed all directions as followed. I identified which websites i liked/disliked and stated why. I had a bit of a hard time reading the articles because I wasn't familiar with the HTML language, but I understood the key points of each article and tried to summarize them best to my ability. I also found and stated the link between the project and the society.

In this criterion, I still think there are various methods to improve. For example, I could have read further articles to broaden my knowledge, since I didn't have any to start with. I could have looked into more specifics in evaluating the thinkquest websites. I could've also asked people with experience of HTML to translate for me some of the languages I didn't understand in the 3 articles I read.

Criterion B-

In this criterion, you first had to think of 3 ideas for your website. Then we had to evaluate them using the design specifications from criterion A that you developed. Then you had to choose one website that you will work with and also evaluate that against the design specifications. Then you had to have a paper design on a rough idea of the layout of your website.

I think I did ok for this criteria. I gave explicit explanations to the three ideas i thought of, on what was good, what was bad, why i would choose it, what would be required, etc. Then I evaluated them against my design specifications and knocked off two of my ideas. The thing was, I had already chosen an idea to begin with, but I nonetheless made three feasible ideas. Then I also made a paper design. However, it was very quickly-done and it looks a bit messy.

I could have done better in this criterion through various methods. First of all, I could have spent more effort on my paper design. I could have actually colored in the thing, could have had some sample pictures that I would have inserted, etc. I could also have thought of more ideas, and explain them in a greater detail.

Criterion C-
For this criterion, you had to make a feasible timeline to make your webpage. You also had to state which materials you would need, how long it would take, the dates, and also list the steps you would take. Furthermore, if you didn't follow your plan as you have made, you had to alter your plan and edit it and post it again.

I actually did a good job in this criterion. I made a detailed schedule with timelines. I was first worried that I couldn't follow my plan, because of the getting-used to and the unfamiliarity towards HTML, but I actually followed my plan, so I didn't have to change anything.

The only thing I could have improved in this criterion is to have a more detailed timeline.

Criterion D-
Fir this criteria you had to create the actual website. For us, we had to use the Coffee cup software to make the product, and we also had to stick to our plan and design specifications as best as we could.

I used the coffecup software, since there were no other open choices. I chose one of the templates the software had from the start and used that as the base to create my website. i used the research that I have done for my project and put the content in the areas. I also made an additional navigation menu on the top (it originally had 3, I made it 5). I also changed some headings, made some links, and inserted some images. Since we had to site our images, rather than having a separate URL on the bottom of the image, I instead inserted the URL so that it shows the URL when you have the mouse over the image for 2 seconds, for the purpose of making it look neater. I also tried changing the color of the template to match my paper design of criterion B, but I failed miserably. However overall, it looked very neat and I thought it was a small success (especially considering my 0-knowledge on HTML and creating websites).

I could definitely have improved on this criterion. I could have read the coffeecup help to change the colors of the template to match my design specifications. I could also have made my own template after practicing and researching to a great extent. While I did like my final webpage, it wasn't "perfect." I could also have done greater research on this subject; instead of the list of universities I could have found all the pages and linked them directly. There are so many things that I could have improved upon, but that's for next time, since i now have more experience in website-designing.

Evaluating my product (self)-
Here was my design specifications:
1. My website will provide reliable information
2. The information on my website will be useful and easy-to-see
3. My navigations will facilitate the exploring of my website
4. The design (layout, color choice, etc) will not inhibit the eliciting of the information from the website (basically it won't be a distraction, but it doesn't need to be an appealing website either)
5. The website will not have an automatic video on the home page
6. The content of the website will have more importance than the design of the website itself.

I think I followed my specifications pretty well.
In my opinion (I may be biased since I made the website myself) the information I provided was reliable, especially with all the links I have attached. I organized the content so that it is easy-to-see and easy-to-find while it is useful (for me). i suppose the navigation within the template helped the exploration of my website. My website looks professional and it doesn't distract the eliciting o information. It doesn't have an automatic video on the home page. The content was more important than the appearance. So in my opinion, I followed my design specifications quite well.

The only thing, though, is that it felt the work had been already half-done because of the template. But without it, I would have failed in making a website miserably, so I am very happy with it.

Evaluation of my product (according to my test method)-

We judged each other's WebPages on the 25th of May. We judged on three aspects: Navigation, Content, and Visual Appeal.

For my website, I received an 8.5 for Navigation, 9.8 for Content, and 4.9 for Visual Appeal, giving an average score of 7.7.

Here were some of the comments received from peers:
" A lot of info explaining almost everything"
"Wow, this website could be a 'real' web. But sometimes it's too much info"
"I'm a visual learner and I think your website could have been much better if you put some more pictures or colors, or separate the content into separate pages"
"Not that many pics"

Basing my standards upon my design specification, my website is a complete success. The information on my webpage held the most importance and was useful. It was easy to see and was guided by the navigation that was easy and also that worked. My website looked very professional (according to the comments received). Even though I received a mediocre score for visual appeal, my design specification was that it will not be a distraction and that it will look professional, which it was. it also wasn't required to be colorful or fancy, so I thought that even though the score was low, it was actually a success, since that was what I was aiming for.

The impact of my product as of right now is somewhat unclear. because it has not been yet uploaded to the Web, not many people could see it. However, I believe that once I upload it and people start visiting, it will help them greatly, since it is very well organized. It also influenced me since I want to apply to some of these programs.