Web Evaluation Tool (WET): A Creative Web Tool for Online Educators

Abstract

The Nielsen/Net report Ratings 2000, reported that in 2002, online usage at work Jumped 17 Percent Year-Over-Year, driven by female office workers. Nearly 46 million American office workers logged onto the Web, the highest peak since January 2000. It was also predicted that the number of students using the Internet was expected to reach 13.5 million by 2002, an increase from 3.4 million who were using the Internet in 1995. United States colleges and universities, in the year 2000, offered in excess of 6,000 accredited courses on the Web. Furthermore, nearly 10 million people over the age of 16 gained Internet access in the United States between the end of 2001 and the end of 2002, significantly more than in the other 10 markets studied The Internet population of 71.1 percent in 2002 was up from 66.9 percent in 2000 [1, 2]. Many visually pleasing Web sites claim to be educational but have little, if any, pedagogical importance due to a poor application of a systematic design of instruction and the use of the technology as a cognitive tool to enhance the learning experience [3, 4]. Also, there is a need to measure and evaluate technology [5], but there is no standard review process for identifying a good educational Web site [6]. Therefore, the author of this article address the need to effectively and authentically evaluate “educational” Web sites, or those that claim to be educational based on a sound and systematic process that incorporates elements of instructional design and cognitive tools principles. Hence, the “Web Evaluation Tool” (WET) was developed at the Center for the Advancement of Distance Education Technologies (CADET) ( http://www.fau.edu/cadet ). WET, a user-friendly tool that supports its users (teachers, trainers, and researchers), was created to enhance the evaluation process of educational Web sites and Internet environments to foster effective and creative learning at all levels.