Categories of Educational Websites
Trey Martindale, Yufeng Qian, and Ward Mitchell Cates, 2003
1. Instructional
To be classified as Instructional, a site must include three key elements: intended learning goals, instructional strategies, and learning materials and activities. Instructional sites may also include learner assessment and/or feedback. These instructional elements may be explicitly stated and demonstrated or they may be embedded within site content. Instructional sites must go beyond simply providing information; they must incorporate instructional strategies. Instructional strategies are specifications for selecting and sequencing events and activities within a learning environment.
2. Learning Activities
Learning Activities sites feature individual learning activities and/or games to be completed online. These activities may be incorporated into the classroom, lab, or distance learning curricula, but such sites do not exhibit the essential three components of Instructional sites.
3. Content Collection
A site categorized as a Content Collection is a compilation of information about a specific content area (such as genetics, inventors, or Shakespeare).Such sites are informative, but do not qualify as Instructional. Content Collection sites differ from Instructional sites in that they do not provide users with learning activities, goals, strategies, or assessment.They may, however, include informative readings, illustrations and other rich content. While Content Collection sites may feature some external links, by our classification system they should consist primarily of within-site content.
4. List of Links
A site in this category features organized external links to resources about a topic or theme.The site should serve principally as an index for external content, and contains little or no original content of its own.
5. Reference/Archive/News/Database (RAND)
These sites offer visitors access to reference tools (such as encyclopedia, dictionaries, and atlases), archives of resources with potential educational value, news, and databases that might prove useful to teachers or learners. These sites may be indexed chronologically, alphabetically, or topically.Such sites are designed as information and reference tools. Online news agencies, encyclopedias, reference books, and question-answer services all are included in this category.RAND sites differ from Content Collections in that they may address multiple topics and are oriented toward searching for information, rather than examining collected information related a single specific topic.
6. Teacher Resource
These sites are designed to provide teachers with lesson plans, classroom activities, teacher guides, curricula, state and national standards, and professional-development resources. These materials may be displayed within the site or available as downloadable files. While such sites may also include subject matter links and learner activities, the main focus is assisting teachers.
7. Vicarious Participation
A Vicarious Participation site provides learners with the opportunity to participate online in an ongoing educational or research activity or expedition. Virtual field trips are included in this category. These types of sites attempt to give the learner a sense of participation in activities not typically available in the classroom. Furthermore, such sites may archive materials from past explorations for educational use after the activity is concluded.
8. Personal Expression and Interpersonal Interaction (PEII)
These sites are designed to facilitate discussion, interaction, and other types of information sharing. Users might play interactive games and share thoughts and ideas with each other via e-mail, chat, and/or message boards.Such sites usually do not include learning activities, although they may be classified as “educational” in the broader sense of encouraging discussion of current events and issues important to learners.
9. Informal Education
This category includes sites that feature actual places or exhibits, such as zoos, museums, historic sites, gardens, aquaria, and parks that have an informal education component. Informal Education sites often include such components as visitor information, schedules, exhibit information, maps and directions, membership and funding information, and special events.
10. Research or Not-for-Profit Organization (RNO)
A site in this category represents a particular research, academic, or non-profit organization. A RNO site typically addresses the nature and purpose of an organization, current and past projects, recent results, news and events, and related educational materials and activities.
11. Curriculum or Research Project (CRP)
These sites are designed to inform the visitor about a particular ongoing educational research or curriculum project. Content often includes news and upcoming events, research results and publications, individuals associated with the project, funding, and other related information.Such sites may also contain supplementary materials for teachers and learners, but are primarily intended to promote the sponsoring project.
12. Commercial
These sites are primarily intended to promote and sell products or services. Commercial sites often include additional components designed to inform, educate, or entertain.For example, a company selling diabetes medication may include information or instruction about the causes and treatments of diabetes.
