Quality of Retail Websites

While I am "windows shopping", if I find a product that I might want to purchase, it is very frustrating when the website does not publish the price. I do not want to have to send an email request for a quote from a business. We have become an impatient society. Our information comes to us instantly through our computers, cell phones and tvs. Often we do not want to wait.

If there was one recommendation I could make to any business that is marketing or selling a product on the web, whenever possible show the price. Update your site if you have to when the price changes or put a disclaimer on the page stating that the prices are subject to change, but at least give me some kind of idea of what your products cost.

If I was shopping at your "bricks and mortar" store, you would have a price tag on the items, why can't the same apply to a website. I find "retail" websites without pricing incomplete and not worth another visit. The product may be beautifully displayed, the catalouge may be colorful and extensive, but if price isn't there, I'm not coming back.

Education: What constitutes high quality literacy teaching?

Politicians, Educators and Parents have spent the better part of two decades arguing about literacy programs: what works and what doesn't. Phonics? Standardized programs? What is real? What can we believe?
The good news is a consistent stream of educational research results have shown, independent of any political bias, that successful literacy programs share some specific characteristics. I have seen enough solid information to convince me that a strong literacy program must:
USE PHONICS - While there is considerable debate about the true effectiveness of Phonics instruction, research doesn't lie. Every unbiased report ever written acknowledges that a literacy program using phonics is more effective than one without phonics. That said, there is also strong information that a program that ONLY uses phonics is not as effective as one that mixes phonics with some other techniques. The bottom line is good literacy programs utilize several different styles in its approach.
BE SYSTEMIC - A program that works through a coherent plan of instruction, which builds a foundation of knowledge before advancing to higher levels, is far superior to one that is haphazardly done without a thoughtful plan. This sometimes irks my fellow teachers, at the thought of "teaching a system" but organized instruction is conclusively the way to go.
BE FLEXIBLE - Despite the need for structure, the program also needs to have a high degree of adaptability for the teacher and the student. A program might be excellent for a class of 6-year-olds, but will be entirely inappropriate for under-performing teens, or functionally illiterate adults. The teacher needs to have the ability and the freedom to adapt the instruction to fit the needs, interests and abilities of her students.
USE A MULTI-SENSORY APPROACH- Over and again we find that different students learn in different ways. Some learn better when they listen, some by seeing, some by doing things with their hands. The best instruction involves all of the senses in an interesting and varied process that engages all of the students.
"http://www.helium.com/items/1376911-literacy-reading-instruction-how-to-teach-reading-quality-reading-programs"

The Importance Of Quality Website Content

With over 8 billion websites on the internet you have a lot of competition to get your website seen. Or do you? If you have spent any amount of time surfing around online you have quickly realised that there is a lot of terrible websites out there. That is good news for you if you are a quality conscious website owner.
When someone first arrives at your website they immediately form an opinion of it. You have a small window of opportunity to capture their attention. Although some of this is a design issue the content of your website makes a big difference as well. If you have a good body of web pages for them to read you stand a better chance of them staying around for awhile.
What you say and how you say it is an important aspect of quality content. This means no spelling errors, short sentences that make sense, and content that solves a problem or answers a question. If you are not a good writer consider taking a writing course. Most web pages provide content in the form of an article that is 400 to 500 words long.

"http://www.blueprintit.co.uk/view/187"

Who is responsible for website quality assurance?

There are many websites that provide information about the quality of websites and there are even books published about the topic, for readers out there who still prefer the printed page. Yes, there is a even a "Website Design for Dummies" book available. Most of the websites that provide information about quality in websites are published by companies that design websites (they are selling you a product), or they are search engines (organizations that sell advertising space on their webpages). There is so much information to sort through it is difficult to find anything impartial.

According to http://socialmediarockstar.com/ there are nine essential elements to a successful website, according to http://craig-edmonds.com/ there are only three. Who are these publishers? They are a couple of web designers, bloggers, possibly computer nerds that have nice websites. These websites are for profit organziations. Are they credible? According to their own autobiographies, they are. All I know for sure is that if you search the keywords "elements of a quality website" on google, their sites are the first to appear.

We can rate a textbook based on the content and currency of the information. Most textbooks are laid out in similar format. The front of the book has details about the publisher, the author and the publication date. This information is easy to find. There is usually a table of contents, followed by the content of the book, which is usually laid out in an organized fashion. At the end of the book, often we will find glossaries, indices and bibliographies. Items that we can use to find further information on the topics presented in the text or verify the sources of the information. Unlike a textbook, websites do not follow a standard format.

Doing research on the world-wide-web is like entering a library without the dewey decimal system. Text books are mingled with magazines which are shuffled in with the science fiction novels. Since there is no governing body, the end user is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the information they are viewing is valid, credible and current.

And just as you should "never judge a book by its cover"; never judge a website by its graphics. A website could be just like a hollywood backdrop, on the surface it appears detailed, but there is no substance.

How do you determine the value of the website you are looking at?

So as a viewer, how do you determine the value of the website you are looking at? Many groups are coming out with guidelines on how to distinguish a reliable source of information from and unreliable source. For example, the American Library Association has an entire page devoted to it.

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/greatwebsites/greatwebsitesforkids/greatwebsites.cfm

Another site advises that

"Even the best researchers can be fooled by websites. If there is any doubt in your mind as to the reliability of a website, assume that it is not reliable."

http://www.ehow.com/how_4905241_out-certain-website-reliable.html

Even Wikipedia is not always reliable, as anyone can post or edit previous posts. As with all things these days, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt.

The beauty of the web is that it allows for freedom of speech and thought. As a viewer we need to be able to distinguish the difference between opinions and facts. Quality Assurance Literacy means, in my opinion, that there needs to be an acceptable standard for information provided on the internet. Feel free to express your opinion, but it should not be misrepresented as facts.

How Is Your Literacy Performance?

According to The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey,which is a joint project of the Government of Canada, the US National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in Canada, almost 60% of adults aged between 16 to 65,had top three skills level:prose, document and numeracy. Meanwhile, the survey indicated that, generally, young people are better than olders in literacy performance. Among the countries that took part in the survey, Canada was in the middle position, a little bit better than America, but ranked after Norway and Bermuda.

As the survay showed,literacy performance had a large impact on people's earnings in all countries. Those who had higher scores could do better in their work and when experience unemployment, they could exit earlier than those who have lower scores.

As a result, we should pay more attention to our literacy performance, and try to improve the quality to survive in the competitions.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/050511/dq050511b-eng.htm

Quality, Content and Reliability of Websites

Just like the cartoon above: the provider of "information" may be drab and dull looking; the provider of "misinformation" may be bright, colorful and cheery looking.

There are no authorites monitoring the integrity of website content. If you search the term "website ratings", the first few hits are for companies that are monitoring website traffic and user satisfaction. These factors are not indicators of the reliability of the information contained on the sites. The site http://alexa.com/ monitors internet "hot topics". This is a visually stimulating site. It has colorful pictures and graphs. Its purpose is not to confirm accuracy of information, it rates the popularity of the information. At a glance, the graph below seems informative, however, closer review of the graph leads you to ask the question: is the traffic going up or down?

The lines indicate up; the values indicate down.

The internet can be an excellent source of information. It can also be misleading: spreading inaccurate information, rumor and opinion. Anyone can publish a website. The intention of the creator could be to inform, but it may also be just a method of broadcasting their ideas or selling their products.

Creating a website can be a costly venture. Sometimes the only way a trustworthy publisher can afford to maintain a site is by selling advertising space. Having advertising on a website is not necessarily an indication that the site can not be trusted. Afterall, even on http://dictionary.com/ a user can quickly access cheap flights and hotels. Usually advertiser supported websites are more enticing to the user since the pubisher can afford to invest more funds in the development of the site.

Every year the use of the internet in our schools increases. There are very few classrooms that do not have computers. Students need to be sure that the information they are accessing is timely and accurate. The best way to determine whether or not the information on a website can be relied upon is to research the reputation and intentions of the publisher.

According to a web-based article published by Manchester College "Anyone can put anything on the web for almost no cost in just a few minutes; as a student you need to be able to distinguish between the reliable and questionable information that is there." Though the website is not full of bold, enticing images, it is informative and a must read for anyone that uses the internet for study or research purposes.

http://www.citycol.com/lrc/resources/study_bibliog/study_reliable_web.htm

Quality assurance of the literacy element of ITE programmes

1.With a few exceptions, the quality assurance mechanisms did not focus specifically on the substance or success of the literacy contributions across programmes. This gap needed to be addressed to establish clearly whether student teachers were achieving the literacy competence.

2.HEIs should work with student teachers and partner schools to devise ways of getting useful feedback on student teachers' ability to make an effective contribution to developing pupils' reading and writing skills.

http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/pttl-07.htm

Quality Literacy in Quality Culture

The picture above is about Quality culture from European Universities Association, 2006.

Quality literacy is a concept that is much related to the philosophy of total quality management. Within this approach, quality is seen as a continuous improvement process, involving all stakeholders in the process of a permanent assessment and quality improvement (cf. Horine & Lindgren, 1995).

In this way, quality literacy is seen as one of basic elements to take part in quality culture. To be able to further develop to the professional level, it is important to use quality concepts and instruments.

Quality Literacy is Becoming Important In Schools

Because of the increased demand and supply of higher education today, there is vital need for students to know what consititutes higher quality institutions and programs.

Below are some approches for students to get involved in quality literacy:

1. students feedback

For example, " student satisfaction approach", it was originally developed by Harvey for the University of Central England and now it is generally used by many other institutions in Britain. It concludes data collection, reporting and action. In this way, schools can improve directly according to students' feedback.

2. student rights and responsibilities

Although no country has legislation about student rights and responsibilities, most instituions have their own policies for this subject, and it vary from different levels of education.

3. student as co-instructors

National Unions of Students in Europe(ESIB), began this program to improve quality insurance and have students involved. They had students to do collecting, analysing theroy, indentified and promoted European-wide strategies to have student take part in student organizations of quality insurance. (Naidoo,2005, South Africa Higher Education Quality Committee Counsil on High Education)

Apart from students, quality literacy is also becoming increasingly important for empolyers and general public.

A standard for Quality Assurance Literacy

The purpose of the obtaining the ISO Standard is to let viewers of a website know that the owners of a site agree to allowing an independent audit of their website content. It is a step toward ensuring that the information we obtain off the web is reliable

Basically in summation, Quality Assurance Literacy is providing accurate and reliable information. We can take a presentation, pretty it up with power point, attach links to websites and photo shop pictures but what is being presented? Is it reliable, factual or even relevant? Do people actually verify the information they obtain from the world wide web? Or do they accept it as fact because the website is pretty? So by what means do we use to check the quality of the information we are using?

Welcome

I'd like to welcome my fellow students and wish us success as we develope our blog!