Introduction 

Teaching students to evaluate the Web can be hard. Despite repeated lectures, students tend to use whatever information is easiest to find. As the Web is easy to use, and since bad site owners have a knack for optimizing for search engines, this usually means the students often use Web sources of questionable quality. 

There are several volunteer created Web directories online. These are excellent places to find some of the better resources on the Internet as all entries in the database will have been reviewed by humans. This kills much of the spam. 

Most students would benefit from volunteering to edit at one of these volunteer directories. Learning the criteria for the selection of sites and learning how to write an informative description for them would invariably help students learn to evaluate sites better. Unfortunately, most of the volunteer directories would be difficult to access for class purposes. For example, most students would be rejected on their first attempt to edit at the Open Directory Project (http://www.dmoz.org) and the time required to pass all the required tests at Zeal (http://www.zeal.com) would make it hard to give students a Zeal based assignment.

IllumiRate (http://www.illumirate.com) is an easy to use site that allows all new editors accepted into the program to add, rate, and critique sites in any area of its directory. In addition, the volunteers at IllumiRate give quick and friendly feedback to new editors allowing individuals to learn the basic elements of editing at the directory fairly quickly. As such, it is an ideal setting for giving students an assignment working on a volunteer directory. 

Preparing to Teach 

Before a teacher assigns an IllumiRate assignment, the teacher should spend some time editing at IllumiRate. The teacher should submit an IllumiRate editor application which will include filling out a test "site addition" per instructions provided on the application form. This application will be reviewed by IllumiRate staff and, if accepted, the teacher will receive an email with further instructions and links to resources.

Once accepted, the teacher should log into IllumiRate, read the guidelines, study the guides for tool use, and submit 10-20 sites to get a good feel for the system. It will also be necessary for the teacher to get a feel for the structure of IllumiRate and when it is appropriate/inappropriate to submit sites to "general" subcategories.

Spending some time reading forum posts would also be beneficial. The teacher will be subscribed to the IllumiRate Community Forums once his/her application has been processed and will receive a second letter of notification. It is important for the teacher to be aware that the editing area of IllumiRate is separate from the forums area. Each area requires a separate login, although there is a link from the main editor portal pages to the forums.

It is suggested that the teacher contact Team IllumiRate staff several weeks in advance of the assignment date to discuss application procedures for participating students.

IllumiRate editor "libraryguide" is a librarian in real life. If the teacher has questions, this would be a good editor to ask.  Aunt_Pittypat is the Lead Editor for Team IllumiRate and is also a good resource.

Teaching IllumiRate 

The teacher should spend at least one class period (50 minutes or more) explaining how IllumiRate works. This lecture should include: 

1. An Overview of IllumiRate: What is IllumiRate? What is a volunteer edited directory? 

2. How to register and the difference between "Editor Alias", "Username", and "password". 

3. The Guidelines: What they are and why they are important. Students should be encouraged to read them. Further, the important sections on selecting and describing sites as well as about adding opinions should be lecture topics.

4. Best Subcategory: Encourage the students to find the best fitting subcategory. Explain use of the search engine to assist in finding a suitable subcategory for the site. Additionally, the teacher will need to explain the purpose of "general" subcategories. Spending the time to find the best place for a site is worthwhile. 

5. The Editor Portal: The teacher should explain how to navigate and use the various sections of the Editor Portal. 

7. "Deepest" Subcategories and Individual Site Pages: The teacher should explain how to locate "deepest" subcategories (subcategories that have no other subcategories beneath them) and Individual Site Pages. "Deepest" subcategories are the only subcategories to which a site may be added. Separate opinions on a site may only be added from Individual Site Pages.

8. The teacher should demonstrate how to add a site with opinions to IllumiRate by doing a submission in class. The teacher can explain why the site has been selected and why the description and opinion are being written in a certain way.

9. The teacher should also demonstrate how a separate opinion about a site is added in the event that an editor's initial opinion is rejected on form. 

10. The Review Process: Describe what happens once the site and opinion are submitted. Why have I been asked to revise my submission? Why was a site and/or opinion declined? 

IllumiRate: The Assignment 

If possible, the teacher should set aside a second class period to allow the students hands on experience with IllumiRate with the teacher present. This should be done in a computer classroom. This will allow for feedback and advice as the students become engaged in the IllumiRate submission process.

Note that students will need to submit applications identifying themselves as participants in the class assignment and be accepted as editors prior to this second class. 

Here is a sample assignment- 

You are to visit the web site of IllumiRate Community Forums (http://www.illumirate.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi) and do the following: 

1. First, log in to the forums with the Editor Name and password that you chose or that were assigned to you.

2. Post a message in the forum identifying yourself as a new editor and explaining that you are completing a class assignment. (There will be a new thread started for students in this class for this purpose.)

Next, visit the main page of IllumiRate's directory (http://www.illumirate.com) and do the following:

1. Click on the "Editor Login" link on the upper righthand side of the page. This will take you to http://www.illumirate.com/editors/login.cfm where you should log in to your Editor Portal using the "Username" and password that you chose or that were assigned to you.

2. Complete your Profile (found under Personal) and familiarize yourself with the Guidelines and Tool Guides for adding sites and opinions (found under Resource Center).

3. The assignment is for you to submit 5 sites with opinions for inclusion in the directory. Be sure to look for the best subcategory when submitting. Use the search engine to assist with finding an appropriate subcategory for your sites.

You may wish to start by submitting 1 site with opinion first so that you will be able to utilize any editor feedback you may get when submitting the remainder of the sites. Editor feedback will be given in the form of emails to the email account you provided, so it is important to make sure your email inbox is accessible.

4. Visit the Action Grid on your Infopage at IllumiRate later and click on the links for "Add a New Site" and "Add a New Opinion"  to see if your submissions were accepted. Repeat the process as necessary until you have 5 accepted sites and 5 accepted opinions.

5. Once the necessary sites and opinions have been accepted, print out the detailed action grid information. Bring a copy to class. This assignment is worth 10 points. You will get one point for each accepted site and each accepted opinion submission. 

Conclusion 

Afterwards, the teacher should have a final discussion about the editing process at IllumiRate. This discussion should include connections with evaluating sites on the Web for quality. If any of the students liked IllumiRate, they should be encouraged to continue their efforts at IllumiRate.