This evaluation is an extension of the search engine assignment. Using three search engines that were new to me (Hotbot, Clusty, and Dogpile), I typed in the keywords 'wiki education.' From there, my job is to evaluate one of the sites that appeared in my Top 5 results from the search. So, I will be talking about the site Using Wiki in Education, which is a blog and wiki based book by Stewart Mader.
The first thing I want to talk about is the design. This is almost always the first thing I notice and discuss when I evaluate websites. I think the overall appearance is one of its strong points. It's very clean and simple, and is generally appealing to the eye. But, I don't think the author places enough emphasis on his posts. They don't really stand out, and therefore the information might not even be viewed by someone who comes across this site. And, as a blogger, I think this is what you want.
Next, the content. The posts made by the author are very interesting and informative for educators. I especially like the fact that podcasts of the material are available and easy to use. So, if you subscribe to the feed, new posts will be delivered to you and you can take it with you.
Overall, a nice site with some good information. I would keep the design basically the way it is, just somehow make the posts stand out more. For example, the most recents posts are given the same amount of focus as the blogs that he reads. This just shouldn't be, in my opinion.
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Actually, I'm not a big fan of the design. It seems a little busy to me.
The "buttons" looked like ads adn therefore I completely ignored them. If you are going to put in buttons like that, put descriptive titles on them.
However, beyond this he has a rather informative and well-focused blog that could provide a great deal of needed information to those thinking about (or already working on) a blog for both educational and corporate communication.
Dan
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