Lab Four, Part Two.

Simplicity

• The website is very straightforward in it's layout and design.

User control

• User can navigate the index using the Content list, or using the icons at the bottom to navigate between pages. The imagemap is explained.

Recognition

• Icons are clearly marked, and the image map is explained.

Consistency

• Both pages use a similar style, although the layout changes due to the more specific nature of the hobbies page.

Lab Three, Part One

Part One

Search for a site that uses image links to provide navigation. List the URL of the page and record the following in your answers in your blog:

http://www.state.il.us/kids/

What colours are used on the image links?

• The image links use bright colours including blue, green and yellow.

If the image links contain text, is there good contrast between the background color and letters on the image links?

• There is a high degree of contrast between any text and their image backgrounds; images are grayed out a little to provide this.

Would the page be accessible to a visitor who is sight-challenged?

• There is a high degree of contrast, which would help mildly sight challenged users; however there is no inbuilt narrator function or text only alternative navigation.

How have accessibility issues been addressed?

• Although the website is well designed to appeal visually to younger users, it makes little provision for users with particular access needs. It is deliberately simple for young surfers, but this limits the features it makes available.

Is the alt attribute used to describe the image link?

• The alt attribute is used to provide the link name.

Is there a row of text links in the footer section of the page?

• There is, although these do not reflect every one of the image links.
  

Apply Nielsen’s heuristics to this site.

1. Visibility of System Status: The text links change colour when clicked.


2. Match to World: It is written and designed with young children in mind, and uses simple clear language.


3. User Control: It offers a "Back to homepage" button, however it's not clearly marked and user navigation is extremely basic.


4. Consistency: Image links have no consistent style even within the same page. Colour schemes vary between each page, and their is little standardisation.


5. Error Management:


6. Recognition rather than recall: Due to inconsistent aesthetic design,


7. Error Prevention: There are several broken links, from which the only solution is to use the browser's own "Back" button.


8. Flexibility: There are no advanced options, given the intended audience.


9. Aesthetic and Minimalism: The page is quite sparse


10. Help and Documentation: There is little instruction required, however most pages have a brief navigation instruction.

Lab Two, Parts One and Two.

Part One

i) Java and Python are updated most regularly.

ii) Articles considered substandard by users can be flagged. There is a peer review system, however this is not obvious in all entries.

iii) Java is most often vandalised.

iv) History, Uses, Features.

v) It would indicate that either the original article was well written enough to have covered most of the necessary ground to begin with, or that there have been few new developments with the language in question. It may just be a relatively young article.

Lab One, Question Four.

4.

1 http://www.arcadefire.com/
2 http://www.boards.ie/
3 http://www.youtube.com/
4 http://www.imdb.com/
5 http://www.wikipedia.com/

http://www.arcadefire.com/ incorporates the band's themed artwork into the site's navigation links. The layout is creative without being frustrating, and encourages exploraration. There is a considerable amount of interactive content, and the band themselves keep the blog section updated.

• Amazon is good, because it's easy to find a particular product, and related products will be recommended automatically. However, the front page is obnoxious and cheap looking.

• Smashing Magazine is good because it's extremely informative and has all it's related articles well tagged, although the homepage initially looks quite cluttered.

• http://www.teacherxpress.com/ is bad because it's densely presented and daunting to look at. Nothing usefully catches the eye and the colour scheme is extremely unattractive.

• Apple is good. It's nicely presented and minimalist without sacrificing too much functionality. Although it has clearly been designed with commercial design in mind, it's still easy enough to find what you're looking for.

Lab One, Question Three.

3.

• Why was the Internet Society created?

The Internet Society was created to support global expansion, standardization and change of the internet, and to do so internationally, and independant of governmental influence.

• Who can join the W3C? What does it cost to join?

Any entity can join, so long as they can supply all the required information for the application process. Membership fee from Ireland, as of Jan 1st, was 68,000 for a For Profit organisation, or 7,800 for a Non Profit or Government group.

• The W3C home page lists a number of technologies. Choose one that interests you, click its link, and read the associated pages. List three facts or issues that you discover.

Multimodal Interaction is a means of using a device that isn't limited to one kind of input. It offers users an alternative to traditional keyboard/mouse input, which has obvious benefits to users with distinct needs such as the sight impaired or deaf. It can include speech-based input, braille based I/O, or Narrator style programmes. It is also of interest to portable device owners and developers, due to it's potential for hands-free use.