Compared to classrooms in some countries, United States' classrooms tend to be informal.
There are, however, some very important basic rules:

Before class:

• Do your homework!
  Read critically; form your own opinions
• Review your notes
  from the previous lecture and reading for the day
• Communicate immediately with professors
  about any study problems
• Focus on the task at hand before class:
  take a moment of silence to gather your thoughts and mentally prepare yourself to the topic
• Write any objectives
  that come to mind at the head of your notepaper:
  • preparing for an up-coming test,
  • understanding a particular concept,
  • gaining a good foundation on a topic
  • understanding or reviewing the readings

In Class:

• Arrive on time for class.
  Professors do not take lateness lightly
• Position yourself in the classroom
  to focus on the subject matter;  consider the best location for:
  • listening
  • asking questions
  • seeing visual materials
  • discussing--not only with the teacher but also your classmates
• Avoid distractions
  that may interfere with your concentration
  (daydreaming, looking around the room, talking to a friend, passing notes, dozing)
• Evaluate as you listen:
  • Decide what is important and should be placed in your notes and what can be left out;
  • Listen long enough to be sure you understand what was said before writing.
  • Ask clarifying questions (but wait for "breaks" in the instructor's stream).
• Review your class objective(s) throughout the class period
  • Did your objective(s) mesh with the instructor's introductory remarks?
  • Has the class digressed from stated objectives, yours or the instructor's?
• Make a "to do" list including
  • assignments;
  • reviewing difficult concepts;
  • joining study groups;
  • making appointments with a study pal, tutor, or the instructor.
    One resource often overlooked is a classmate who seems to have a good grasp of the material. If it seem appropriate, seek the individual out for help.

 

A tutor provides expertise, experience, and encouragement.
They do not provide "answers," but rather assist in problem solving, in getting answers.
The challenge is to focus on assignments within the context they are assigned.

Tutors should not be expected to diagnose learning disabilities.
Diagnosis should take place outside of the tutoring process 
by a professional academic counselor. 
If a larger problem becomes apparent, referral is the best strategy.

Tutoring strategies:

Seek out training to be a more effective tutor:
This includes subject matter as well as the tutoring procedures

Clearly establish expectations for your learner
What are the expectations of the learner?
of the teacher? and of those close to the learner
(classmates, department, school, family, etc.)

Keep and follow a consistent set of rules
Write them down; post them; refer to them!
Rules are necessary, but must be mutually agreed upon with the learner.
They must be fair and enforced consistently. 
Rules cut down on unnecessary struggles.

Have a clear idea of your own strengths and limitations,
and what skills or knowledge you can offer as a tutor.
One reward of tutoring is the opportunity to use and apply what you have learned

Know the learner
Discover his or her strengths and challenges in learning.
Under what circumstances does he or she learn best? poorly? 
(Do not assume that everyone's learning styles or conditions are the same,
or similar to yours)

Build a relationship and trust.

• Be aware of the differences between you and the learner. 
  You are not trying to change the learner, but to accommodate and use their learning style(s) in order to complete the tasks.
  Since you are more experienced, 
  it is your challenge to adjust, adapt, or find a way
• Be open and honest
  Sarcasm and condescension are not productive.
  We do not tutor to impress, but rather to help.
• Do not be afraid to acknowledge
  that the chemistry between you and the learner isn't right,
  and that another tutor might be more effective. 
  The goal is to help, not endure

Make sure the learner knows it is safe to not succeed at first
Learning is a process that often involves unsuccessful attempts. 
This is not failure since options are eliminated toward the correct solution. 
Learning and problem solving require passing through a period of sorting through facts and options toward success.

The tutoring session:

Listen closely to work out the real problem
Check to see if the learner has prepared with some time and effort
and attempted the assignments

Assess the situation
Think in terms of realistic objectives; develop a "contract" of

• agreed upon learning outcomes
• expectations of communication
  (availability, one/several sessions; 
  means of communication (face-to-face, e-mail, telephone, etc.)

Use questions to enhance problem solving

Demonstrate or model similar processes

Don't be afraid to reveal that you don't know something
You can refer the learner to more sources, including the teacher
You can take the opportunity to learn/problem-solve, and bring back answers, 
and demonstrate that you are in a learning process as well

Give positive feedback, use encouraging vocabulary
Find success, and reinforce effort, in even minor accomplishment

Summarize and review
Enable follow up

Celebrate accomplishment!

Keep records for future reference

Course information can be delivered
through a variety of formats:

Lectures
by teacher or guests
Textbooks
Fictional story/novels

Interviews and biographies
eyewitness accounts or commentaries
Duplicates/hand-outs
of (text) chapters, magazine articles
Original source material
as diaries, government documents,
proceedings, minutes

Electronic media
such as videos, radio programs
Internet
web site pages, discussion groups

Stahl, et al (1998) found that using multiple-text sources can only be effective if we are taught to use them properly.  As beginners, we tend to be more consistent in what information we select from short, well-constructed texts.  Longer, less structured documents tend to be more confusing.

Text books

• provide a foundation of facts and viewpoints to provide an overview
• sequence information and facts to understand issues
• create a context for comparing and understanding other sources
• are written in a neutral, objective tone

Problems with a single text
for a subject or course include:

• information is often "academic"
  lacking the drama of real life experience, adventure, and experimentation
• bias is hidden or concealed
  ignoring competing facts, priorities, minority viewpoints
• a single interpretation limits how reported facts are prioritized/sequenced
  restricting viewpoint (Euro/Caucasian) or subject testing (white male)
• original/eyewitness sources of information are secondary to interpretative accounts

Additional readings and alternative sources
of information can assist you to

• create a richer understanding
  with additional information and perspective
• interact or engage with facts, actors, circumstances
  of the material
• practice and familiarize
  yourself with new subject vocabulary and concepts
• process opposing, even conflicting,
  points of view in order to assess, evaluate, defend

Conflicting information however can impede your learning,
unless you can

• analyze it for commonalties
• reorganize or synthesize
  your model for understanding it
• consider the impact of, and evaluate, conflicts
• filter it with athe context presented in the basic text

Some Recommendations:

• Read your text
  to provide the factual framework from which to begin
  (see also Taking notes from a text book)
• Proceed to shorter, more focused sources
  of information expecially if you are inexpereinced in the subject
• Practice with multiple texts to improve your evaluative skills:
  • compare and contrast your sources
  • analyze them for bias or viewpoint
  • note when and where they were written, and how that affects the viewpoint
• Understand the connections
  between events, actors, and circumstances rather than learn a series of "facts" which can be easily be forgotten
• Use in-class or on-line discussion time
  to test your understanding and ask questions!

 

Position & optimize your web site traffic with search engines & directories

Website development

Identify your audience
Is your audience
local?  regional?  national?  international?  professional?  content driven?

Keep perspective on developing your website:
you are not competing with Microsoft, the United Nations, or the Library of Congress

Review your content
What in your content is valuable to your audience?

Recommendation:

• create intuitive and obvious navigation; enable multiple topical "entry points"
• clearly present current content
• published research and items of interest
• establish credibility with the credentials of authors and list awards
• include a few items of personal interest (humanize)
• delete gimmicks or gratuitous technology or distracting graphics that have no purpose to that of the website
• facilitate contacts and feedback:
  make it simple!

Structure your content
for convenient and intuitive navigation and access
Your audience should easily find what they are looking for
A web site of links has little value compared to search engines and directories

Positioning your web site for search engines, directories, and portals
Do not promote a site that is not well-developed
First (bad) impressions will affect later positioning.

Content development:

• Competitive landscape: 
  Compare your site to similar sites; 
  Determine critical keywords/search terms

• Prioritize keyword density
  Constructively and proactively use keywords in your home page content;
  make sure it reflects the content

Metatags:
Metatags are located in the HTML source code of a web page that detail administrative information about a web site/page.  Some information is also scanned by portals, directories, and search engines and listed in the web site's description, 
such as < title > and < description >

• Title metatag
  Displayed in the top line of a browser, and often duplicated in listings of search engines, etc.

• Description metatag: 
  Employs keywords well-reflective of content; duplicated in Alta Vista's listings of your site
  Should be consistent for all submissions:  directories, search engines, portals
  Should be descriptive, not hyped:  The Open Directory Project (ODP) rejects sites with promotional descriptions.

• Keyword metatag: 
  Generally obsolete but still necessary:
  Google does not index the metatag for "keywords"

• Add metadata to images
  with the < alt > tag and include/reinforce keywords

Open Directory Project
"The Open Directory Project (ODP) is the most comprehensive human edited directory of the Web, compiled by a vast global community of volunteer editors.  The ODP powers core directory services for some the most popular portals and search engines on the Web, including AOL Search, Netscape Search, Google, Lycos, DirectHit, and HotBot, and hundreds of others."

• ODP criteria
  for submitting and listing web sites

• For an excellent illustration of the central role the ODP plays
  go to Bruce Clay, Inc. "Search Engine Relationship Chart"

Search engines:

• Google
  Spiders/crawls the Web and ODP monthly for web sites (submitting a site not necessary)
  Increases the rank of your website by the number and quality (keywords!) of links to it

• Yahoo
  Most sites in this directory are suggested to it

Promoting your site

• Is the Web site incorporated consistently into all marketing plans?
  Is the URL/address prominent in all print and media publications?

• Are there professional e-newsletters, listservs, blogs, etc. where the site can be promoted or referenced?

• Do professional organizations list member Web sites?

• Are you a part of any Webrings?
  (An Internet site that links web sites that have the same theme)

• Do you encourage your personnel to refer to the site in publications, speeches, etc.?

• Do you monitor traffic on the site, especially its most popular pages for opportune developments?

• Have you reviewed all search engines, portals, directories for positioning?

• Do you submit your site for awards?
  and post the kudos?

• Do you exchange links with appropriate entities?

• Develop associated resources:  an electronic newsletter, users group, events alert, blog, etc.

Tools to monitor website traffic and links to your site

• GOOGLE analytics
  A free service with executive, marketing, and webmaster analyses

• Search Engine Colossus:
  International Directory of Search Engines

• Link popularity:
  Alta Vista | Yahoo | MSN
  Enter:  link:www.studygs.net or
  link:http://www.studygs.net  for Google
  Use your own URL/address following this format!

• Alexa
  Monitors traffic of those using its tool bar

 

There are many tools which will enable you to create clear, effective websites. 
However, if you are new at the game, it is helpful to

• gain an understanding of effective websites
• fit your concept into a process of design
• have fun creating your website!

Summary of design:

• identify your audience
  • motivate your audience:  treat them with respect and provide proactive feedback opportunities
  • establish clear, measurable web site objectives or design purposes
  • acknowledge reactions, effort & success, and built in help for failure to meet expectations
    
• Content
  • focus and define your website content
  • language should be simple, understandable for a global audience
  • promote scanning content for important concepts
  • build in white space
  • prioritize your information, as with an outline or concept map

• Navigation:
  • simple
  • clear
  • layered (site maps)
  • organized (think "outline")

• Incorporating graphics
  Developing websites begins with its text and structure.  After the basic structure is developed, the content should be analyzed as to what would benefit from illustration whether line or photographic graphics

  Principles:

  • choose a background and text colors with high contrast
  • use a browser safe palette
    to be consistent across platform and browser
  • format text consistently
    • avoid color changes
    • avoid italics (hard to read), color changes, and underlining (mistaken for links)
    • avoid overly-large text
  • avoid textured backgrounds
    that make it difficult to read
  • illustrate content with simple, symbiotic, scaled (small), stagnant (non-moving) graphics
  • avoid "dancing dogs": 
    graphics that show off but do nothing for content
  • file formats:  compressed (.jpg) photographs, and drawings in (.gif)

 

Communicating clearly on the Internet
without creating misunderstandings is a challenge.
One problem is that you haven't any facial expressions, body language, or environment to help you express yourself; 
another that there is little "give and take" for developing what you mean to say or are discussing

These guidelines hopefully will help you:

• Be clear
  Make sure the subject line (e-mail) or title (web page) reflects your content
• Use appropriate language
  If you have a question on whether or not you are too emotional,
  don't send the message, save it, and review it "later"
  Remember:  no one can guess your mood, see your facial expressions, etc.
  All they have are your words, and your words can express the opposite of what you feel
  Don't use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS--it's equal to shouting or screaming
• Be brief
  If your message is short, people will be more likely to read it
  Refer to the Guide on "Writing for the Internet"
• Make a good impression
  Your words and content represent you; review/edit your words and images before sending
• Be selective on what information
  you put in an e-mail or on a web site:
  Information on the Internet is very public, and can seen by anyone in the world including criminals, future employers, and governments
• Forward e-mail messages you receive
  only with permission of the sender
• Remember you are not anonymous
  What you write in an e-mail and web site can be traced back to you
• Consider others
  If you are upset by what you read or see on the Internet, forgive bad spelling or stupidity;
  If you think it violates the law, forward it to the FBI or your state's Attorney General
• Obey copyright laws
  Don't use others' images, content, etc. without permission
  Don't forward e-mail, or use web site content without permission
  Visit the Library of Congress' Guide on "Copyright Basics"
• Cite others' work you use
  Refer to the Guide on "Citation"
• Use distribution lists appropriately
  and with permission
• Do not send SPAM
  SPAM is posting or e-mailing unsolicited e-mail, often advertising messages, to a wide audience
  (another way of thinking of it is electronic junk mail)
• Don't forward chain letters
  If you receive one, notify your web master
• Don't respond to "flames" or personal attacks
  Contact your web master for action and referral

 

I. The Problem

The Internet is a relatively new and untested information and communication medium.  As such, we need to evaluate, expand, and adapt existing criteria for evaluating content, as well as develop new techniques.

The Internet is a ubiquitous medium:  aside from questions of affordability, it is very pervasive in both authorship and audience.  A web address is now an international  information and persuasion medium

The Internet can very well be an unregulated and un-regulatable medium. As such, it is the visitor to a website who must have both tools and responsibility to discern quality websites.

II.. Examples of the problem

Have you been to New Hartford, Minnesota?  (Probably only virtually...)

What do you think of the distinguished academic study "Feline Reactions to Bearded Men" by Catherine Maloney, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, Sarah J. Lichtblau, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois Nadya Karpook,
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Carolyn Chou, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Anthony Arena-DeRosa, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts?

III. Eight basic types of website purposes:

1. Personal with biographic data, often called "vanity pages"
2. Promotional to sell a product
3. "Current" to provide extremely up-to-date information, as for newspapers' sites
4. Informational to share information on a particular topic or hobby
5. Advocacy/persuasive as propaganda to convert you to particular point of view
6. Instructional to teach a unit or course of study;
7. Registrational to register for courses, information, and/or products, accumulate a database of, and simplify communication with, registrants
8. Entertainment!

Characteristics of 5 types (outside links):

• personal
• business/marketing
• news
• informational
• advocacy

Jan Alexander and Marsha Tate,
Wolfgram Memorial Library,
Widener University

IV. Contexts of website evaluation:
header * body  *   footer * navigation

V. Five evaluative guidelines from the School of Journalism & Library Science:

Authority  Who is responsible for the page?
What are their qualifications and associations, and can you verify them?

Check the footer
for name of the web page author, his/her credentials and title, organizational affiliation. Is the information verifiable?

Currency Are dates clear when the website was first created and edited?

Check the footer
for when the website was created, and when last edited.

Check the content
for news items, indications that the site is actively maintained, acknowledgements/responses to visitors

Coverage What is the focus of the site? Are there clear headings to illustrate an outline of the content?  Is the navigation within the website clear?

Check the header
for a clear title and web site description

Check the content
for headings and keywords

Check the navigation
to reflect content outline within the web site

Objectivity  Are biases clearly stated?  Are affiliations clear?

Check the content
for statement of purpose,
to determine the type of web site and potential audience
for outside links for information external to the website
for graphics and cues for affiliations

Check the header/footer and URL/domain (.gov .com .edu)
to determine organizational source of website and how this reflects on content type

Accuracy Are sources of information and factual data listed, and available for cross-checking

Check the content
for accuracy of spelling, grammar, facts(!), and consistency within website

Check content for a bibliographic
variety of websites (external links), of electronic media (electronic databases of references, established (print & on-line) journals, of electronic indexes (ERIC), and of books for comparative/evaluative purposes

VI. Bibliography (Author, web site, date last visited) related to evaluation: