Assignment 3.

1 – Evaluating Websites
1. Scope and Subject Matter

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website covers information

about the Holocaust and educating about hatred, genocide, and human
rights. This is all in reference to the horrific events that took place before
and during the Holocaust. This website is for everyone to be informed of the
injustices that happened so long ago and still happen in smaller scales
today. Much of the information on this site is unique such as donated items,
first person accounts, documents, writings, and more. Some of the basic
information about the Holocaust can be found in other places, but the
exhibits are special and one of a kind.

2. Authority - Hint: Read the "About Us" section of the webpage to

check for authority.

The museum, and thus the website, is supported by the Federal

government. It was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1980. The director of
the museum, Sarah J. Bloomfield, has been in this position for 22 years. She
is on the International Auschwitz Council and has received the Officer’s Cross
of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, an award for service in
improving relations between nations. The government is certainly a
trustworthy and reputable entity for such a museum, and Ms. Bloomfield’s
education, experience, and awards show her legitimacy. There is not contact
information for the Director or anyone specific, but there is a contact
museum page where you can fill in information to be contacted by someone
from the Museum. This website is not for promotional purposes or
advertisements at all. It is a memorial for education and prevention in a
myriad of ways: visiting the museum in person, exploring exhibits online,
lesson plans for teachers, opportunities to volunteer, and more. The website
address ends in .org which lets us know this is an organization, most like a
non-profit. There is appropriate attribution given where required and fair use
is respected.

3. Currency and Completeness

I was unable to find when the site as a whole was last updated, but it does
have a press release page that is updated regularly. The last press release
was made on May 2, 2022. All of the links I clicked on were working. The
site does a great job of completeness on the many topics associated with the
Holocaust.
4. Design

This website is designed and created well. It is very easy to navigate using
the menu bar. Each page is easy to navigate with thoughtful layouts, easy to
click materials, and differing visuals that are easy to follow. The colors,
fonts, and lighting are all easy to see and read. Multimedia is provided at
times with pictures, videos, and interactive visuals. These all help with
further education, engagement, and accessing more learning styles. It
brings many elements to life.

5. Ease of Use

The site is user friendly with an effective interface. The site is open to
everyone and has a lot of information to view. There are many language
options available for viewing the site through a dropdown menu. Accessibility
is important to the museum so they offer multiple ways to adapting the page
for others to experience the information. It offers descriptive text for all
visuals, can be used with screen readers, and can be used with text-only
browsers. One can change the size of text and font as well as colors on the
pages through their browsers. The site also boasts that captions for video
and audio will be available soon.