ERIC Number: ED408990
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1997-Jan
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Creating Web Pages: Is Anyone Considering Visual Literacy?
Clark, Barbara I.; And Others
The purpose of this study was: (1) to look at the design, aesthetics, and functionality of educational and noneducational Web pages from the perspective of visual literacy; and (2) to evaluate printed and online materials that are used as resources by professionals and nonprofessionals to create these Web pages. These "how to" manuals were evaluated for their discussion of good screen design, the use of graphics and icons as communication, backgrounds, hypertext, linking, and overall understanding of publishing on the World Wide Web. The Web pages were divided into major categories and subcategories. The educational categories included K-12 schools and colleges/universities, and the noneducation categories included commercial, publications and communications, informational and cultural, and personal Web pages. Two evaluation instruments were developed: one contained 21 questions for evaluating online and printed resource materials; a second evaluation instrument contained 57 questions that were embedded in the categories of design, graphics, text, and color. These categories were divided into aesthetics and functionality. Initial data analysis indicates a wide range of quality in all the sites. The commercial sites developed by professionals contained animations and sophisticated graphics which met the evaluation criteria, but tended to target a narrow group of people; some of the Web pages were well designed and met the needs of the general user. Evaluation of the printed and online materials indicates a strong agreement in the use of how to create in HTML language and the technical aspects of using specific image formats for World Wide Web publishing. (Contains 22 references.) (AEF)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A