Arizona Technology in Education Alliance Exemplary Web Site Awards

A five member team was chosen to evaluate each entry to AZTEA's Exemplary Web Site Awards. The team consisted of the co-chairs of this program, two CCS representatives, and one K-12 representative. The evaluation team is listed below:

All sites were evaluated using Rubrics One and Two. Key elements of Rubric One included:

• organization and navigation
• information
• presentation and design
• technical aspects, and
• mechanics.

Key elements of Rubric Two included:

• philosophy and academic standards
• school or district information
• curriculum, special programs, or special services
• relevance to audience
• sensitivity to cultural, language or special needs, and
• links for students, parents and community members to relevant sites.

The following sites were chosen to receive awards for their exemplary characteristics in many of the categories listed above. Not all sites were exemplary in all areas, but were sufficiently well developed to merit the awards. The committee believes that a web site is always a work in progress and we hope that all schools will use the rubrics to improve and develop their sites over time.

Elementary School Award - Gale Elementary School

We chose Gale Elementary because:

• the site was student centered and featured students' written and art work
• the site was created and maintained by students
• the Web Site is overseen by the Home Page Committee, consisting of ten fifth graders
• the navigation is clear and consistent
• the content is rich and is appropriate for an elementary school site
• the school AUP is evident and is adhered to throughout the site
• the content includes much of what was delineated in Rubric Two

Secondary School Award - Mesa Distance Learning Program

We chose Mesa Distance Learning Program because:

• the design is clean and consistent
• the content is clear and appropriate
• the navigation is clear and consistent
• students can access registration, learning modules and grades at any time
• the site is interactive and therefore saved time for students, teachers and administrators
• the content includes much of what was delineated in Rubric Two

Small District Award - Liberty Elementary School District # 25

We chose Liberty Elementary School District # 25 because:

• the design is clean, consistent and pleasing
• the navigation is clear and consistent; a search engine enables easy access to information
• there is clear linkage between the school district and the community
• easy and appropriate use of Adobe Acrobat to provide in-depth information about the district
• the content is rich and is appropriate for an elementary school district site
• the content includes much of what was delineated in Rubric Two

Large District Award - Tucson Unified School District

We chose Tucson Unified School District because:

• the district values technology integration as evidenced by their decision to hire a Technical Communication team of three people to create and maintain their site
• the navigation is clear and consistent; a search engine and site map enable easy access to information
• the design is clean, consistent and pleasing
• the site is sensitive to its audience and provides documents in both English and Spanish
• the content is comprehensive and well organized
• the content includes much of what was delineated in Rubric Two

District Program Award - Peoria Unified School District Special Education Department

We chose Peoria Unified School District Special Education Department because

• the design is clean, consistent and pleasing
• the navigation is clear and consistent; a search engine enables easy access to information
• a glossary provides definitions of specialized terms used in the site
• the site provides numerous online forms in Adobe Acrobat and MSWord for school personnel and parents
• the content is comprehensive and well organized
• the content includes much of what was delineated in Rubric Two
• the site provides extensive Internet links for school personnel and parents

Higher Education Award - Rio Salado College

We chose Rio Salado College because:

• the design is clean, consistent and pleasing
• the navigation is clear and consistent; a search engine and site map enable easy access to information
• the organization is clear and addresses multiple audiences
• students can access course schedules, registration, grades, and transcripts at any time
• online tutorials on a variety of topics are available for students and faculty at any time
• the content is rich and is appropriate for a distance learning college

Award for Distinguished Web Resources for K-12 Education - The Arizona K-12 Center

We chose to recognize The Arizona K-12 Center for its contribution to K-12 Education because:

• the design is clean, consistent and pleasing
• the navigation is clear and consistent; a site map enables easy access to information
• the site provides numerous online forms in MSWord and Internet-based for K-12 personnel
• the site provides clear links to other education-related state agencies
• the site provides numerous links relevant to K-12 personnel, including a Best Practices Clearinghouse
• the site provides online applications for extensive funding opportunities for K-12 educators and schools

The evaluation committee was very pleased with the number of entries we received during the first year of our AZTEA Exemplary Web Sites Award Program. We look forward to even more entries next year. It is our hope that in the future we will see:

• more sites that feature students' written work, art work, or multimedia productions
• more sites designed and created by students
• greater sensitivity to the cultural, language and special needs of the intended audiences
• greater attention to easy and consistent navigation through the site
• greater attention to consistency in terms of presentation and design, and
• more Internet links for students, teachers, parents, and community members

Having used our evaluation rubrics for the first time, we recognized areas that could be improved, and we will be revising the rubrics so that they become a more clear model of what we consider to be exemplary web sites. Please email any comments you have about the rubrics or the evaluation process to Alice Christie; we will consider all comments or suggestions when we do our revisions. Thanks for participating, and feel free to apply again next year and to spread the word about our Exemplary Web Site Award Program to other educators.