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As institutions prepare for accreditation visits, many opt to place some or all of their exhibits on-line. Electronic exhibits are webpages specially designed to display tables, charts, graphs, candidate work samples, faculty vitae, and other exhibits that serve as evidence that a unit is meeting NCATE standards. Many institutions are creating electronic exhibits to store and display some or all of their exhibits, thus modeling the increased use of technology in all aspects of their programs. We have drawn on the experience of these institutions to support others in the design and development of electronic exhibits. This guidance is provided to answer the following questions:
What are the benefits of creating electronic exhibits?
How do I organize electronic exhibits?
How fancy should I make the exhibit room?
Is it necessary to hire a webmaster?
What are the legal issues involved in developing electronic
exhibits?
Is it necessary to create a CD?
Is it necessary to have more than
one computer station on-site?
How should I inform the team about the web-address?
What type of technical assistance will the team
need?
When should the electronic exhibits be ready?
Is it necessary to have Internet access for the team
at the hotel?
Are any websites available for review?
What are the benefits of creating electronic
exhibits?
There are several benefits to creating electronic exhibit rooms. First, they allow BOE members to review documents and other exhibits before going on-site. This gives BOE members more time to learn about your institution and increases the BOE's familiarity with your organization. While BOE members are not required to read your entire website, they are expected to spend a few hours reviewing the site and any exhibits that you make available.
In addition to supporting BOE work prior to the visit, electronic exhibits also facilitate the work of the BOE once they arrive on campus. A well-organized website enables the BOE to access information expeditiously. BOE members have more time to spend reviewing the quality of the exhibits presented and less time in determining what exhibits exist.
Many institutions find electronic exhibits beneficial for internal communication and organization. In addition to taking the mystery out of the accreditation process, electronic exhibit rooms support and facilitate the continuous updating of information that is important to your unit. Electronic exhibits also serve as a common and accessible repository for that information. In many instances faculty or designated staff collect and report student assessment data, update resumes and course syllabi, and review and examine program offerings via the web. Further, because of the shared and public nature of the website, some institutions find that it increases accountability and allows faculty and others to see the results of their work. Some institutions plan to use edited versions of their exhibits as recruitment tools for candidates and faculty members.
How do I organize electronic exhibits?
First, you should develop a plan for the design and development of the electronic exhibits. Institutions often name a committee or subcommittee of the NCATE coordinating committee to develop this plan. The NCATE coordinator or committee members then develop a map of the site, outlining the design and creating a master document list. The plan also specifies a system for collecting and indexing the documents, including who is responsible for collection and due dates. In addition, the plan should identify a "labeling strategy" which includes categories and names of button labels and links related to each standard. Institutions find it is best to use NCATE terminology as much as possible. Your plan should begin to identify the format for documents. Most institutions find HTML useful because it can be viewed across computing platforms, requires no plug-ins to view the pages, and allows for all components of electronic publishing. Please note that NCATE suggests the development of a plan to facilitate the building of your electronic exhibits, but such plans are neither required nor evaluated.
Second, it is important that you have a webpage designated for the NCATE visit. This page should orient the BOE members to the online exhibits. A central location will assist BOE members in knowing which exhibits are available online and how you have organized those exhibits. It is completely acceptable to include links on this page to all of your online exhibits, regardless of where they are housed. Some institutions prefer an outline with hyperlinks; others choose to use icons Clarity and ability to move easily through documents are much more important than appearance.
Third, it is vital that you organize your exhibits around the standards and the elements of the standards. The conceptual framework is often presented as a separate document. The institutional report is often presented as an HTML document with a table of contents and links to relevant documents and other evidence. All exhibits should be organizationally connected to a standard and an element. This is important because it will help the BOE understand which exhibits are presented to address which standards and elements. It is the institution's responsibility to make connections between evidence and standards.
In some instances, one exhibit may address more than one element, or
be related to more than one standard. Creating links to the exhibit in
more than one place is the best way to address this situation.
It is also important to ensure that your links take the user to the intended
documents. It is a common mistake in creating web pages to mislabel links.
To ensure that your links are accurate, browse the web site periodically
with this in mind.
Fourth, BOE members must be able to navigate between exhibits.Consequently,
it is important that all of your exhibits have links back to the BOE
homepage. In addition, the BOE should be provided with a site
map (in hard copy or readily visible on the web page), which will
provide direction as they move between exhibits. Many BOE members have
reported that an index of the site in hard copy is also helpful,
in that it orients them to the site and helps them keep track of which
exhibits they have reviewed.
How fancy should I make the exhibits?
Design the site to facilitate finding and accessing information related
the NCATE standards. Although bells and whistles can be nice, they are
not necessary and sometimes interfere with easy navigation of information.
Try not to use backdrops that are too busy or that move, as this causes
eyestrain for people trying to read the exhibits. Further, be certain
that the backdrop and print contrast enough for the print to be easily
read. A backdrop that is too light or too dark makes reading difficult.
Is it necessary to hire a webmaster?
It is important to remember that electronic exhibit rooms are elective and not required as part of the accreditation process. NCATE encourages institutions to use the resources they have available to prepare for a visit. At the same time, it is necessary to have content knowledge and a certain degree of technical expertise to design and maintain electronic exhibits. Some institutions use graduate students in computer technology colleges and departments on campus, some tap into university or college technology offices, and others find faculty and staff with web skills, or hire full, or part-time help to to provide the needed technical expertise. Faculty, deans, and NCATE coordinators often work together to design the content of the site.
What are the legal issues involved in developing electronic exhibits?
Some institutions have run into legal questions when creating their electronic exhibits. Some faculty members may not want their resumes or course syllabi online for reasons of privacy and intellectual property rights. Further, displaying candidate and P–12 student work on the web, should you choose to do so, could also breach privacy rights if anonymity is not protected. Though accrediting agencies are generally not restricted by privacy issues, the web is public domain. In addition, site licenses and permission to use certain logos may also be required. NCATE encourages you to be cognizant of these issues as you develop your electronic exhibits. Public access to some documents could be controlled by making them available to team members through passwords.
Accredited institutions are encouraged to use the NCATE logo on their
websites. The NCATE logo can be downloaded
from the NCATE website.
Is it necessary to create a CD?
Yes. Once the site has been created, data entered, documents uploaded, and the links tested, it is important to burn the site to a CD-ROM. This is a backup measure in the event that connections to the Internet go down during the visit. Connections have indeed gone down during visits, and the CD have proven to be invaluable. Most institutions are sending a CD to each team member, which allows BOE members to access the exhibits before and during the visit.
Is it necessary to have more than one computer station with Internet access during the on-site visit ?
The extent to which your exhibits are online will dictate whether or not you should make more than one computer station with Internet access available to the team. On visits in which the majority of exhibits are online, several computer stations with Internet access are in order. BOE team members will want to work simultaneously, each needing access to the exhibits. A growing number of institutions are providing team members with laptops with wireless connections to use during the visit. It is important that the unit head and NCATE coordinator discuss such availability with the BOE chair during the previsit.
How should I inform the team about the web-address?
Send the BOE team chair and state and national team members the web address when you send them your institutional report. If your institutional report is available on your website, then you should send the team and NCATE information for accessing it. Most institutions create a link to the report in an email to the team members and NCATE. This information should be sent to team members and NCATE approximately 60 days before your visit.
In identifying the web address, check to ensure that the connections work both inside and outside of your intranet system. Further, specify if the address is case sensitive. If BOE members must enter the site through a general college or university webpage or through the webpage of the school or department of education, specify this in your communication with the team. Also, in your communication with the team, describe the path or how the team member can get to the NCATE page.
If your site requires the use of passwords or user ID's, please inform the team in your communication with them. Again, specify if the password or user ID is case sensitive. Explain the process by which BOE members can access your site and check to ensure that the directions will actually lead the BOE member to your site. Before sending initial communications to BOE members, some institutions find it helpful to test initial communication with someone outside of their institution to check for clarity of their instructions and the integrity of their links.
What type of technical assistance will the
team need?
BOE team members should have basic computer skills. They should have
basic keyboarding skills and be able to access the Internet. In addition,
they should be able to navigate your website, if the site is logically
organized. Some BOE members may not be familiar with all plug-ins, so
you may need to provide detailed instructions if plug-ins are necessary
to navigate your site. In addition, BOE members find it helpful to have
a brief orientation to structure of the unit's website at the start of
the visit.
Both before and during the on-site visit, and while the team is in the
hotel, designate a person with technical expertise to be available to
help the team should difficulties arise. Provide the name and contact
information for this person to the team during initial contact and once
the visit starts. The same person need not provide all of the technical
support. What is key is that each team members knows who to contact if
difficulties arise. This will ensure that BOE members are able to access
needed information and that they do not waste time attempting to address
technical difficulties.
When should the electronic exhibits be ready?
Ideally, your electronic exhibits should be up and running at least
60 days before the visit. This will give the BOE adequate time to review
the site before arriving on campus. Should your site not be ready 60
days before the visit, inform the team when the site is ready and the
team will read as much as possible before arriving on campus.
Many institutions continue building the website up until the week before
the visit. If this is the case, then inform the team of major changes
and recent additions during their orientation to your institution once
they arrive.
Is it necessary to have Internet access for the team at the hotel?
It is certainly beneficial if the team has access to documents that are online at the hotel site. The electronic exhibits can also be made available as a CD ROM, assuring access to the exhibits without requiring Internet access. The institution should discuss computer access in general and Internet access in particular with the team chair during the previsit.
Are any electronic exhibit rooms available for
review?
Yes, many institutions have developed websites that contain some or all of their exhibits for their NCATE visit. To see some of those that have been recommended by Board of Examiners teams, view a graphical listing of sample exhibit rooms, or browse individual sites from the following
References
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