Effective navigation is becoming more and more critical to the success of electronic commerce (E-commerce). It remains a challenge for educational technologists and Web designers to develop Web systems that can help customers find products or services without experiencing disorientation problems and cognitive overload. Many E-commerce Web sites…

This paper presents a case study on how benchmarking was used to determine how one organization's Web site compared to Web sites of related schools and professional organizations. Highlights include application of metrics, the Web site evaluation form, functional/navigational issues, content and style, and top site generalizations. (Author/LRW)

Ursula Parrott was a popular and prolific writer during the first half of the 20th century, publishing 22 books and 50 short stories. She was one of a handful of periodicals serials writers of the time whose love and adventure stories entertained readers nationwide with their relevance and character development. This comprehensive bibliography of…

Character strings were planted in a World Wide Web site (Project Whistlestop) to test indexing and retrieval rates of five Web search tools (Lycos, infoseek, AltaVista, Yahoo, Excite). It was found that search tools indexed few of the planted character strings, none indexed the META descriptor tag, and only Excite indexed into the 3rd-4th site…

There are several approaches a World Wide Web site designer considers in developing a menu structure. One consideration is the content of the menus (what choices are available to the user). Another consideration is the physical layout of the menu structure. The physical layout of a menu may be described as being one of at least three different…

Analyzed and compared the success and information seeking behaviors of seventh grade science students and graduate students in using the Yahooligans! Web search engine. Discusses cognitive, affective, and physical behaviors during a fact-finding task, including searching, browsing, and time to complete the task; navigational styles; and focus on…

This study investigated performance differences between three different World Wide Web-based navigation models: linear, persistent, and semi-persistent menu structures. Subjects, 44 graduate and undergraduate students at Indiana University and public school teachers, were placed into one of the three navigation conditions and completed…

Empirical evaluations of learning with hypertext have shown contradictory results. Adaptive hypertext was introduced to solve some problems when learning with hypertext. This paper reports on two empirical studies comparing different forms of adaptive hypertext. In the first experiment, four treatments were realized by a combination of adaptive…

This study investigated the effects of instructionist (navigational, functional) versus constructionist (adaptive) World Wide Web (WWW) site environments on collaboration, achievement, attitudes, and perceived level of learner controls reported by students after working in cooperative dyads within the different types of Web-based learning…

This paper discusses the use of WebQuest, a World Wide Web-based multi-user game, in promoting learning motivation and navigation skills in K-9 students. WebQuest demonstrates ways to integrate games, Internet communication facilities, Web-based courseware, and database techniques together in order to assist learning. The following guidelines for…

This study examines the effects and interactions of World Wide Web page design on student navigation and decision making in Web-based learning environments. The following research questions are examined via quantitative, qualitative, and exploratory data analysis procedures: (1) Does instructional grouping or Web page format effect navigational…