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1. Calisphere’s UC pedigree is important
to teachers. Teachers reported that it
gives Calisphere credibility. They
will trust the information on the site because it’s UC. As one teacher stated, “It's not some
bizarre collection from some guy who spends too much time at his
computer." They teach their
students to be wary of information they get on the Internet. They look at the site’s URL. If it’s a .edu domain, they are more likely
to trust the site.
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Some
users did not realize that Calisphere was affiliated with the University of
California because of the size and location of the logo. The logo did not appear on one user’s
screen because she did not scroll all the way to the top of the page.
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Recommendation:
Increase the font size of “University of California” and place it in a
prominent position near the Calisphere logo.
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2. Some
users reported initially not being able to tell what the site is about. One stated that the tagline, “a world of
digital resources,” did not help much.
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Recommendation:
Homepage needs to convey the “aboutness” of the site more clearly and
readily.
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3. The “What’s Here” section gives users the
impression that Calisphere contains a variety of primary sources. It does not indicate that Calisphere offers
primarily images. "It says
primary sources, but I haven't seen any documents or diaries." Users are assuming that Calisphere is
choosing the best materials for teaching, and they appreciate not having to
go “fishing for information in the big, bad world.”
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Recommendation:
Improve description of what Calisphere is and what it contains. We need to make it clear that the entire
site may contain information that is useful to teachers, but that there is a
special section especially for teachers.
Along those lines, the relationship between the “Selections from
Calisphere” area and the “materials… for teachers” description needs to be
explicit.
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4. Users
appreciated the direct statement that Calisphere offers "excellent
materials especially selected for teachers."
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5. Some
users did not realize that the cluster headings are hyperlinks. One noted that too much color might impede
recognition of what’s a link.
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Recommendation:
Make link treatment identifiable and consistent.
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6. There
is a label mismatch in the “Selections from Calisphere” section. Furthermore, the current “see all topics”
link could be confused with the “see all topics” link in the “Topics A-Z”
section.
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Recommendation:
Change “see all topics” to “see all selections” or just “see all.”
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7. Users
had difficulty seeing the “more” link.
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Recommendation:
Make links consistent and ensure that they contrast sufficiently with
background color.
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