1. What is the author’s expertise on the topic?
Kenneth and Priscilla Faith Rhodes are the creator of this website. The only information this site provides on Kenneth Rhodes is that he states he is an experienced photographer/graphic designer. The site states “Ken was communications manager for an environmental company. He did all their photography and graphic design work.” His wife was a history teacher and writer. When I searched for Kenneth Rhodes on Goggle, Yahoo, Hot Bot, Dogpile and Altavista all the references I found led me to several different sites. I did not find any information about a Kenneth Rhodes that was a photographer/graphic designer. When I searched for Pricilla Faith Rhodes, all links led me back to the Postcards from America site. I sent an email to the address that is provided on the website. Obviously since it is to them personally, I have to be aware that it could be biased. The photographs provided are submitted and copyrighted by them.
However, I found an interesting fact as I was doing a search on the IMSA Wizard. I found a website that listed the creators with different names. They were listed as Ken Mahlenkamp and Priscilla Sarsfield. I did locate different websites that supported these names.
2. How reliable is the publisher (site) of the web page?
This site is a commercial site. Its focus is on travel throughout in the United
States. The publisher is WriteLine LLC. I did a search on this publisher. According
to the website, WriteLine LLC is a member of Publishers Marketing Association
(PMA). PMA is a trade association of independent publishers. It was founded
in 1983 and serves book, audio, and video publishers located in the United States
and around the world.
Its mission is to advance the professional interests of independent publishers.
PMA provides cooperative marketing programs, education and advocacy within the
publishing industry. As I searched throughout the PMA site, I came to the conclusion
that WriteLine LLC is a reputable publisher. Although at this time, WriteLine
LLc has published only the Welcome to the Postcard From America website.
The site does provide an address to mail inquiries to as well as an email address.
3. How reliable are the pages that the author’s page link to?
There were no actual links from the author’s page. Under the Governor’s page link some of the states’ Governors that did respond provided the state web address for the state’s division of tourism. Otherwise, there were no additional links.
The site provides testimonials from educators, home educators, parents, and armchair travelers. However, no names are given to verify the opinions. They are signed generically as parent, educator, etc.
4. Do other reliable (or unreliable) pages provide links to the author’s page?
I used the IMSA’s meta-search engine to find out if there were websites
that linked to this
Website. The search results totaled 32. I visited several of the sites and found
those links. AT&T Learning Network and 20ishparents.com had links to the
author’s page. Some of the sites were commercial sites. I found several
school sites. A school in Macedon, New York, and Alexandria, Kentucky had links
to the author’s page. One school provided an annotation with a note that
some information is outdated. I found no negative information.
This site received several awards and has links to these awards. On November
14, 2000, the site received the Best Email Newsletter Award from MessageMedia.
It also received the "TOP 100 EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES FOR 1999," and
one of the four best Geography sites, by EduSource.com and Looksmart on July
10, 1999.
On January 16, 1999, USA TODAY honored the site with the BEST BETS for Educators
Award. USATODAY.com and in the hard copy of USA TODAY Selected the website as
a HOT SITE on January 28, 1998.
There is also a link for the press release with a list of other awards from reputable organizations.
5. What information on the topic is available from traditional sources such as newspapers, magazines encyclopedias or library resources on the web?
All of the information can be found in books, magazines, travel brochures,
and through the web.
All students using this site would need to verify the statistical information.
6. How recently was the page published or updated?
The site gives the dates that the trip began. The first state was Maine. The date is October 1997. The statistics obviously are outdated. The student would need to update the statistics. As the creators travel around the country and the information is posted, they include the dates. S depending upon the date the state was visited, some of the information is accurate. This is a good example to use for teaching accuracy.
7. Assess the accuracy of the information in the document
Using several other websites, the information can be checked for accuracy. Since they provided the date of travel through the different states, the students can determine the need for updating the information. I found no typographical or grammatical errors on this site.
8. Does the page show signs of bias in its perspective or presentation?
The authors state that they shot anywhere from 30 – 90 pictures during the day. They sort through these pictures. They then decide which pictures they would like to use. Sometime they will choose only one picture which they feel best represents the site, or they select 2 to 5 different pictures to make a collage of their travels.
9. What evidence is provided to support opinions and conclusions expressed in the document?
Since the authors are limited by the number of days they are spending in each state, they have to pick and choose where they feel they can visit, photograph and provide information within their timeframe.
10. Can you contact someone with expertise in the area to validate the opinions or conclusions expressed in the document?
I can verify the information that is presented at this website. I can search
the individual state’s website as well as other geographical and statistical
websites.