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The Websites For the purposes of this assignment and future research, this writer chose two websites which posted information and articles about autism, attention deficit disorder, and Speaker’s Syndrome. She chose those websites because they dovetailed with her research into the effects of the characteristics of those disorders on students who were not labeled with a disorder, but were assigned to a disciplinary alternative education program as a result of behaviors which fall into the autism and attention deficit disorder spectrum characteristics. Authority
Authority referred to the ‘authorship’ of the website (GUCCI-T, n. D. ). This writer checked each website for authority. On the Speaker’s Syndrome Institute site, http://www. Aspirer-institute. Com/, authority was found under the ‘Founder’ link. The ‘Founder link led to a professional statement by Dry. John Rotor, the founder of the Speaker’s Syndrome Institute, located in Dillinger, PA. The articles and information located on Dry. Rotor’s site were clearly labeled as to authority. The second site chosen by this writer, Your Little Professor: Resources and
Academic Programs for Children with Separates Syndrome, www. yourlittleprofessor. Com/add. HTML, listed a specific author or ‘staff writer’ for some of the information posted on their site, and each article was followed by a list of resources used when writing the article;whether written by a specific author or by a staff writer. Contact information was available for authors on both sites, and authority was proven on both sites. Accuracy Accuracy referred to the source of the website (GU-T, n. D. ). There were three sources of addresses for websites:1). Org, 2) . Com, and 3) . U. Those designations indicated the sources to be an organization, a commercial enterprise, or and educational institution. Both websites chosen by this author were sponsored and maintained by commercial enterprises;one a clinic responsible for working with children and adults with Speaker’s Syndrome and the other a site of resources for parents of children with Speaker’s Syndrome and/or attention deficit disorder. Objectivity Objectivity referred to the presence of bias or a ‘hidden agenda’ portrayed on the site and the accuracy of the content posted on the site (GU-T, n. ). The Speakers Syndrome Institute site was overseen by Dry. John Rotor and resources were cited for articles and information posted on the site. The second website, Your Little Professor, listed information and resources for parents with children with Speaker’s and resources were cited for articles posted on the site. Neither site appeared to show bias, though both sites did have links to items which could be purchased;including books, information in CD/DVD formats, and training sessions for students, parents, and teachers. Currency
Currency referred to the dates of information and links posted on the website (GU-T, n. D. ). Each of the pages within the website sponsored by The Speaker’s Syndrome Institute carried a copyright date of 2004-2011, indicating that the website was updated recently. On the second site, Your Little Professor, currency was not evidenced by dates on information or on a webbing. However, currency was implied by the fact that each of the links posted on the site actually linked to the information expected. The currency of both websites was verified by this writer.