Ross Lindstrom - September 21, 2009 Website Evaluation #2 - Teaching Comparative Government and Politics This website is a blog-based collective of information and resources for the purpose of aiding instruction of comparative government and politics. The audience is primarily secondary and postsecondary teachers of government and politics who are seeking resources about and/or specific examples of comparative government they can use for their class. The impression I had was that it was an interesting and at times very applicable for teachers, but the blog-style format and lack of information accessible on command makes the potential application of this website in a teaching environment limited. The website took a little while to load, which I believe can be attributed to the length of the continued thread of blogs/discussion. (Excuse my lack of correct internet jargon). The first thing I noticed was a cramped column of text, outside links, and pictures organized in a sequential, most recent blog entry- at top format. The website lacks a visible title. Even the purpose description is vague: "Teaching Comparative Government and Politics is a complex and demanding task. We can all use all the help we can get. This cyber place is somewhere to facilitate helpful interactions." The blog entries usually include relevant pictures and multimedia links. Despite the lack of outside sources, the blog is archived from 2006, so there is a large amount of articles to sift through. Even though I questioned the main author's legitimacy and authority in the area, all the articles contained something that had practical classroom application. The content is also constantly updated, with multiple meaningful posts coming within the period of one day. It is a bit difficult to determine the exact purpose of the website, as well as the main author. The name Ken Wedding is given as the author, but doesn't offer more information in the way of his legitimacy as an ed

Ross Lindstrom - September 21, 2009 Website Evaluation #1: The American Political Science Association (APSA) The American Political Science Association's website is an aesthetically attractive website that also contains a wealth of information and additional resources. The Association brings together 15,000 members to form a community of political science study, fostering a healthy discourse and exchange of information. APSA organizes conferences, seminars, and produces publications for both students and teachers for the purpose of promoting the scholarly research of political science. My first impression of the website is a complete trust in the legitimacy of the information presented. Any student would find this website invaluable when looking for resources to do anything from simply understanding what political science is to writing a graduate dissertation or finding an internship in Washington. The website displayed efficient organization of the various areas of the site, a challenge when so much information is contained within. It had enough visual appeal to not become redundant while browsing and yet still retain the professionalism that should be inherent in such a field of study. However, a high school age student may find the website a bit dry and the content a little too advanced. Most of the publications of the website aren't available in a direct .html format, but download speeds are quick. There is significant information overlap among the publications, but in a field of study where slight opinion difference is a cornerstone of the conversation, this can only be a credit to its legitimacy. The first glance at the APSA website yields both an understanding of its purpose and a desire to explore the website's resource. The content is clearly organized based on subject matter as well as practical application. Proper credits to authors are prevalent, new content is regularly added, and old content is constantly maintained. One of the

Ross Lindstrom - September 21, 2009 Website Evaluation #3 - Politico.com This website is a flashy, attractive website that provides news stories on the American political arena in an easily digestible and easy to navigate format. The audience is pretty vast, including anyone interested in current events in politics. The purpose is to provide newsworthy political articles as well as a forum of discussion to debate content areas such as public policy, congress, lobbying, community, etc. My impression of Politico.com is that it is a well-designed, well-written conglomerate of differing opinion covering a wide array of political topics. However, at times it tends to emphasize the gossip aspect of Washington, running articles such as "Palin emerges as Facebook Phenom". Politico.com is incredibly well designed, with coherent organization of topics and content areas, relevant information regularly at the top, and an easy platform with which to navigate the many intricacies of American politics. There is a healthy balance of information and multimedia without the multimedia being too distracting and without the information being too monotonous. Loading and downloading times are quick. Gossipy stories about Washington tend to get more emphasis on the main pages, but browsing around the site and reading a few articles will tell you Politico is a heavyweight when it comes to intelligent political analysis and debate. The information is current, and links to other useful websites are prevalent. The first look at politico effectively tells you the purpose of the website, as well as the wealth of information it contains. The authors (and their legitimacy) of the various articles are all easily identifiable. The content of the website is all interesting, well-written and fresh. The website tends to lean on the liberal side of the spectrum, but still endeavors to include all dissenting viewpoints. The multimedia section contains a vast amount of information av