Authorship

Is the author well known in the field of study?  Are credentials listed?  Is biographical information presented? Does the web page link to another document that you can trust? 

This website is designed by Education Development Center, Inc., however, this site is apart of the National Center to Improve Practice (NCIP).  This organization is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.  There are several links to other documents that talk about Special Education.  These links provide video profiles, technology resources, and a library of resources. 

Is the name of an organization given? Are there any distinctive features that identify the source as a scholarly web site?  Is the organization recognized in the field?  Is the web page stored on the author's personal account, at an educational institution, or part of an official web site?

The name of the organization is given: National Center to Improve Practice which is a subdivision of the Educational Development Center, Inc.  The distinctive features that identify the source as a scholarly web site are the wide variety of information given.  They not only give you information about special education but they tell you about technologies and how to integrate them into the classroom.  This account is recognized in the field of special education.  This web page is stored as a part of an official web site.

Are viewpoints and images bias-free?

Yes, viewpoints and images are bias-free.  They provide material well with use of categorizing different disabilities and age groups.

Content

Was the information presented error-free? Can the background information be verified?  Is the information current?  How do you know?

The information presented seem to be error-free.  This information on the web site was last updated in 1998.  So, there could be some new techniques of teaching that are not available, but they still seem to be quite accurate.

Is the information relevant to Maryland K-12 curriculum?

Yes

Is the interaction compatible with the physical and intellectual maturity of intended audience?  What leads you to your conclusion?

Yes, because the information provided is focused on special education and integrating technology and other techniques into the classroom.

Is there a logical progression of topics presented in the website?

Yes

Does the information adequately cover the topic for the intended audience?

Yes

Technical Aspects

Do images load quickly?  Is there an intuitive design that fosters independent use? Are standard multimedia formats used?

Yes.

Does the site follow good principles of web design? Are the pages uncluttered?  Are there captions, labels, or alternative text for all visuals?  Do graphics support the content, not merely decorative?  Does the presentation of information capture and hold the users' attention?

This web site follows good principles of web design.  The pages are uncluttered and there are captions, labels and all alternative text used for visual aides.  Graphics in this website support the content.  This presentation of information captures and holds the user's attention.

Personal Assessment

Yes, because I feel that it provides  a simple yet efficient information that can be used and processed easily.  It can give the user a full understanding of special education and how it could be at its best.  It provides a clean presentation that is not cluttered and holds the viewers attention.

Authorship

Is the author well known in the field of study?  Are credentials listed?  Is biographical information presented? Does the web page link to another document that you can trust? 

The author seems to know his stuff.  He has made his own lesson plans and links to other web sites of information about special education.  His main purpose was to organize a site with a bunch of links to special education information.  The links are trust worthy.

Is the name of an organization given? Are there any distinctive features that identify the source as a scholarly web site?  Is the organization recognized in the field?  Is the web page stored on the author's personal account, at an educational institution, or part of an official web site?

The name of the organization is not given due to this is a sub page of the author's home page.  This site may not be a scholarly web site but it does link you to several of them. 

Are viewpoints and images bias-free?

Yes.

Content

Was the information presented error-free? Can the background information be verified?  Is the information current?  How do you know?

The information seems to be error-free.  The background information of the author seems to me that he is a special education educator because he has several lesson plans in this field listed and for various age groups in elementary school on several subjects.

Is the information relevant to Maryland K-12 curriculum?

Yes.

Is the interaction compatible with the physical and intellectual maturity of intended audience?  What leads you to your conclusion?

Yes, because the lesson plans provides not only education for the mind but also for education for the physical needs which also makes learning fun.

Is there a logical progression of topics presented in the website?

Yes.

Does the information adequately cover the topic for the intended audience?

Yes.

Technical Aspects

Do images load quickly?  Is there an intuitive design that fosters independent use? Are standard multimedia formats used?

Images load quickly and the site is basically a bunch of links to other websites with the exception of lesson plans and resource pages.

Does the site follow good principles of web design? Are the pages uncluttered?  Are there captions, labels, or alternative text for all visuals?  Do graphics support the content, not merely decorative?  Does the presentation of information capture and hold the users' attention?

The site follows good principles of a web design and pages are uncluttered.  The graphics do not support the topics.  There is only one graphic that is an American Flag. The information may capture  the user's attention but since it is so plainly set up in a list, the user's attention may not be held.

Personal Assessment

I would recommend this site only because it gives you a variety of other websites and lesson plans that may aide a teacher or a parent in the special education field.