INVESTIGATING WEB SITES OF FACULTIES OF EDUCATION: THE CASE OF TURKEY
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to explore the current status of the web sites of the Faculties of Education (FOEs) in Turkey. Bearing this in mind, a “Web Site Assessment Form” comprising thirty-seven items was developed and the web sites of the FOEs were evaluated with respect to “Content”, “Currency”, “Structure and Navigation” and “Visual Design” categories. The study was administered using a survey technique in sixty-seven FOEs affiliated to The Council of Higher Education of Turkish Republic.
The data obtained were analysed using frequencies and percentages for each item and the results were presented in tables. Our exploration has brought the following points to the ground: out of the web sites of the FOEs, most were judged to be user friendly; communicate information about the faculty, faculty members and administration; post recent news and announcements; have a good deal of color management; be free of redundant details and operate consistently. In contrast, most sites had no search engine; had outdated pages; did not contain any information regarding the dates of initial set-up and last update; didn't publish the English-versions for entire Turkish content. Finally, several recommendations were made in order to streamline the web sites of FOEs.