H-ASIA; NEH seeking web sites of quality (fwd)

[Shemina Keshvani]

******REPLY TO THIS ADDRESS:  <education at neh.fed.us>

Dear Fellow Humanities Web site User:

     The National Endowment for the Humanities, MCI, the Council
for  Great City Schools, and the National Trust for the
Humanities are creating a new web site that will serve as a
gateway to the best humanities-related educational content on the
Internet.  It will provide parents, teachers, and students across
the country with easy access to excellent, content-rich sites
from among the bewildering array of the 66,000 educational sites
now available on the Internet. Sites will be selected using the
national merit review process developed by NEH so that educators
can feel confident that the sites included in EdSITEment will be
rich and accurate in content as well as effective tools for
teaching and learning history, literature, or language in the
classroom.

     We are now asking your help in identifying Web sites in the
humanities of particular excellence that would be especially
useful in classrooms.  We are not interested at this juncture in
comprehensive bibliographical Web sites that offer numerous
linkages to a variety of other related sites. Rather we are
seeking sites that are themselves content-rich and designed to
engage students in a significant body of knowledge and in
intellectually worthwhile activities.

     As you survey the particular sites that you find most useful
and interesting, we would ask you to consider the following
questions:


Intellectual Quality

     Does the site provide rich, deep, and multilayered
humanities content? Does it provide the student access to
authentic, worthwhile materials with precise references and clear
context?  Do the author or authors have appropriate scholarly
qualifications? Is the information accurate, balanced, and updated
frequently? Is this site unique, or is the material more easily
available elsewhere?


Web site Design

     Is the site user-friendly and attractive graphically?  Is it
easy to access information at different parts of the site? Does
the site provide for more than a one-dimensional exposition,
allowing students to experience a continuum of working with the
materials towards greater sophistication and creativity?  Does
the site allow for an active, constructive relationship to the
material?  If teacher guides or exercises are available, do they
tap the resources of the site deeply?  (Note: such resources are
not a requirement.) Does the site require additional hardware or
software?  Are links to other related sites easy and accessible?
Does the site have any special features to attract or engage
users?


Web site Impact

     Can this site serve multiple audiences or is it highly
specialized? Are you aware of any particular uses it would have
in the curriculum of a school or college?  Does the content
relate to education standards developed by your state? If you use
this site in your teaching, for which courses and what kinds of
assignments or student projects is it most useful?  Does the site
engage students and encourage them to develop active interest and
mastery of the subject area?  Is this the best or one of the best
sites that you know of in this subject area?

     We would be very grateful if you could send a e-mail to
education at neh.fed.us by April 18, 1997.  You would need only to
send the URL (up to 10 only please!) and any few comments that
would be helpful.  We would also ask you please NOT to
redistribute or post this letter in any forum. We are grateful
indeed for your expert help in this matter and will be sending
you the results of our survey within the next few months.

                                   Sincerely,

                                   Sheldon Hackney
                                   Chairman
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