- National Association of the Deaf
It is an American-based organization that deals with only deaf people. Essentially, it works on the principle of the deaf for the deaf, and helps those with hearing difficulties in the United States. The website has a high rating in Search engine optimization; thus, making it easy to find it on the Internet. It serves as an umbrella organization for the deaf association in the country. The website communicates and presents all information regarding this association, which was established in 1880 to communicate important issues about the deaf community and use of the sign language.
NAD’s advocacy is quite broad and covers a lifetime with future impact to future generations in their areas of intervention, employment, education, technology, healthcare, youth leadership, telecommunication among others. All these services are included in the organization’s website, and are meant to enable the organization improve the livelihood of millions of deaf people in America. The organization also carries out its advocacy activities throughout the federal states in its efforts to enforce a coalition of cross-disability organization.
The first impression of the website is that it looks professional, and it functions efficiently. It is quite attractive, and the potential clients (deaf) may not be lost when navigating through it. The URL is quite short and simple i.e. http://www.nad.org. The pages are easily readable; thus, conveying a clear understanding to the reader. The design is elaborate, as the website does not have clustered texts and images on any of its pages.
The users who visit the site will appreciate its ease of navigation and the ability to see everything at a glance without being forced to scroll down in search of basic information. In case of need for more information, the contact button provide a link to quick access to various communication channels such as emails, phone numbers, social media links and also a map with direction of the exact physical location of the organization. Furthermore, the website reveals important news and upcoming events related to the deaf people such as the global protest that denounced the information presented by a deaf interpreter in Mandela’s Memorial service on December 10, 2013. However, the graphics used in this website should have been made to represent some important meaning to the users because sight is a very important sense.
- Gallaudet University
This is an institution of higher learning that provides an opportunity for the deaf and people with hearing impairments to pursue their academic and career aspirations. Deaf and students with hearing problems can choose from a variety of leading Bachelors of Arts and Science degrees. The students have the option of designing their personalized and self-directed majors. The university offers exemplary academic programs to the deaf students at all levels of learning. The Kendal Elementary School serves the infants and provides continued service through the eighth grade. The Model Secondary School for the Deaf offers grade 9 to 12 programs to students who later proceed to Gallaudet University for higher learning.
Gallaudet University’s website provide adequate information that the user may be interested in knowing about the university. The mission and vision statements are well indicated in the website. Furthermore, there is information about the courses offered to the students and the requirements to be administered in these courses. The website is easily accessible because it has legible texts and standard rules for hard prints. On the home page, the website provides attractive images of the past activities in the university, and an event calendar that outlines future activities in the institution. It is also quite easy to search for specific information on the website due to the presence of the search button on the right hand corner of all pages of the website.
The content of this website is of high quality in relation to what the user seek from it. Before information is published on the website, it is evaluated for authority, relevance, coverage, objectivity and accuracy. The website first introduces all the relevant information, data, programs accessibility and eligibility information regarding the institution, and then request prospective students to register with the university. Technically, the website has strong browser compatibility as it provides a useful experience when surfing from different browsers. For example, the website is easily accessible through different browsers such as Internet explorer, Firefox, and Opera.
- American Sign Language University (ASLU)
The America sign language university’s website relates to ASL. It provides information about some past students, tutors, donors and other stakeholders related to the ASLU university curriculum. The website is a trademark of ASLU, and serves as an external portal that teaches the people on the importance of learning and teaching American Sign Language. This communication-focused curriculum website was designed for college students’ in order to make it easy to access the program. The university opened up the learning materials to the rest of the world through this website. Vitally, many deaf people have the opportunity to study from anywhere, and most of the learners use this website as the easier option to support what they learn in their local ASL lessons.
The website consists of interactive program where former students and tutors discuss about the sign language program. In addition, the website has animations that show different ways of communicating through the use of the American Sign Language. It also provides useful links that can direct a user to other areas of interest relating to achievements of the program and accreditation of the sign language program. In addition, the frequently asked questions regarding the sign language are provided in an outline directing the user to the right website to visit in order to learn about the sign language they want to learn. The ease of navigability on the website is quite high as it is accessible from different browsers.
However, the website is very quick to encourage viewers to register and subscribe to the service at a fee. This action alone may discourage the potential users of the information provided on the site. This is because the message appears on the home page when users are not yet fully knowledgeable about the American Sign Language. Notably, the website’s approach leads to low rate of effectiveness in converting viewers into instant e-shoppers or e-buyers.
- World Federation Of The Deaf (WDF)
This website is run by the World Federation for the Deaf whose mandate is to ensure that the human rights for the deaf are respected in all regions in the world. Human rights are universal and are meant for everyone irrespective of sex, ethnicity, color, language, religion or any other status like disability or deafness. This website serves as a right medium to air the views of the deaf; therefore, the level of effectiveness of the information provided is achieved.
The general appearance of the website presents the formal display that any official site should have. The primary audience for this site is the deaf community and related stakeholders. There are few graffiti on all pages of the website. This provides an assurance to the viewer about the credibility of the site and the information presented therein. The extension on the url (.org) provides a clue to the user about the surface reliability of the site, and that the site has supportive documentation from sponsored organizations.
Furthermore, the website represents the general impression of the activities that occur in the organization. This portrays the professional image of having an effective website that reveals how serious the goals of the organization represented are in supporting the agitating for respect of human rights of deaf people. An effective website like this strives to give the internet user an impression of usefulness, ease-of-use, clarity, efficiency and openness.
The website takes relatively short downloading time; thus, it implies that the user will only be required to wait for just a short while before the website opens completely. In this website, it is quite easy to find the contents and facilities just at a glance. An important aspect in website navigation system is consistency. Notably, the menu bar has been provided conspicuously to serve the user throughout the site linking each button to other pages from the menu. In addition, there is other menu adjacent to the main image with the person expressing the meaning of each button interpreted in sign language. This provides quality assistance especially to the deaf because it helps depict the importance of respecting human rights of the deaf. Furthermore, the search button is also essential in assisting the user to search specific information on the website.
References
American Sign Language University. (2013). Retrieved on 14th December, 2013 from http://lifeprint.com/
Gallaudet University. (2013). Retrieved on December 14th, 2013 from http://www.gallaudet.edu/
National Association of the Deaf, (2013). Retrieved on December 14th, 2013 from http://www.nad.org
World Federation of the Deaf. (2013). Retrieved on December 14th, 2013 from http://wfdeaf.org/human-rights
