Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Evaluating Web Content: A Training Lesson for the Workplace

By Cathy C. at Fordham University

Learners: Business Banking Client Managers who work with business clients from $2.5 to 25 million in annual sales revenue. (Client managers call on local businesses to solicit banking relationships: deposits, loans, treasury management, merchant services, credit card, etc.)

Content: Business Banking Client Managers are researching local businesses on the web in order to ascertain (less risky) industry, sales size, number of employees, financial strength, ownership, etc.

Goals: Resources are limited, so efficiency and effectiveness are very important. Use web research to determine if a local business is in the bank’s target market. And, use that information to secure a face-to-face call.

Format and instructional strategies:

• Icebreaker

• Share backgrounds, experience, and goals for the training session.

• How do you evaluate web sources? Small group discussion followed by large group debrief.

• What you see is what you get? Exercise using samples of misleading websites with group discussion. For example, www.whitehouse.net versus www.whitehouse.org.

• Authority, Accuracy, Currency, & Objectivity (http://muse.widener.edu/~tltr/How_to_Evaluate_9.htm). Tips and tools for evaluating websites.

• Your sample websites. Individual exercise researching local business names brought by participants. Share interesting findings with large group.

• Call to action. Based on this learning, what will you do differently back at the office? (Transfer-of-learning).

• Adjourn

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