Massachusetts
Department of Education
Designed by: Cam Luu, Stephanie Martinez, Gordon Matassa
Introduction
• Massachusetts Department of Education (MA DOE) website is outdated
and lacks intuitiveness
• Suggestion is to move to Web 2.0 capabilities
•
Web 2.0 stage of internet described by Thorsby et al (2015) as a more social/interactive
stage
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website
MA DOE Mission:
"To strengthen the Commonwealth's public education system so that
every student is prepared to succeed in postsecondary education,
compete in the global economy, and understand the rights and
responsibilities of American citizens, and in so doing, to close all
proficiency gaps.
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website Cont’d
MA DOE Goals:
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Strengthen curriculum, instruction, and assessment
Improve educator effectiveness
Turn around the lowest performing districts and schools
Use data and technology to support student performance
Support the social, emotional, and health needs of students and
families
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website Cont’d
Website Services and Information Separated into Six Categories on the Main
Web Page:
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News/Press Releases
Massachusetts School and District Profiles/Directory,
District/School Administration,
Educator Services,
Assessment/Accountability & Assistance
Family & Community
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website Cont’d
Category, links lead to
subsequent pages for
additional information example:
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website Cont’d
Descriptions of what is
found on subsequent pages
are found below each link example:
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website Cont’d
There are various types of
features on the main web
page, including reporting tools
like this drop-down menu:
Organizational Overview and Content of Current MA DOE
Website Cont’d
Overall, the MA DOE offers various types of information and services on their
website, however, the main page is text-heavy, not visually appealing and the
categories are features are not intuitive to navigate. Most important to
mention is that there are no social media links offered on the website.
Suggested Additions/Updates
• Sevices
• Accessibility
• Interaction
• Social Media/Engagement
• M-government
• Website Management and Security/Privacy Features
• Usability
• Tools and Timeline Suggestions for Implementing Changes
Services
Issue: Current direct service offerings are minimal. They include a calendar and
a school search tool.
Recommendation 1: Implement a user-friendly calendar like Google Calendar.
It is accessible online and can be linked to Outlook and iCal.
Recommendation 2: Use Web 2.0 technology to improve the usability and
effectiveness of the current school search system.
Current Calendar: clicking on any day link on
the calendar will take you to all events for the
month.
Example of recommended calendar
(note the ability to manipulate the calendar
to customize for user needs)
Current school search function is
limited and not user friendly.
Recommended search function from NYC is
very user friendly and provides options. The
“Find a Pre-K Near You” takes users to an
actual map of all pre-K schools in NYC.
Accessibility
Issue: MA DOE website is not accessible for a diverse audience.
Recommendation 1 - improve searchability: Avoid scanned documents as
PDFs because they cannot be found in a search (unless scanned with OCR
technology).
Recommendation 2 - improve searchability: Use consistent naming
conventions to improve search functionality
Accessibility (con’t.)
Recommendation 3 - for people with disabilities: Provide alt text so assistive
technology can read descriptions of pictures on the website to those with visual
impairments.
Recommendation 4 - language: Information should be conveyed using direct
and concise language at a 5-8th grade level to reach a broader audience.
Recommendation 5 - language: Provide the ability to translate the website into
other languages for users who do not speak English.
Interactions
Issue: There are no ways of users to interact with the
website or the materials posted on it. The closest
option is an RSS feed for news posted on the site.
Recommendation 1: Allow users to post comments
to news or blog postings. Have a staff member
monitor such comments and provide responses.
Recommendation 2: Discontinue the RSS feed and
provide an email subscription option for newsletters
and important communications.
Example of subscription portal
from the GovDelivery.com
homepage. MA DOE should have
a similar portal.
Engagement/Social Media
Issue: MA DOE’s website lacks a social media presence. Users are not
able to connect with the staff.
Recommendations for social media platforms for MA DOE to use are:
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And displayed them on the
front page.
MA DOE should
also reduce the
look of clutter by
making the print
more spaced out
and larger.
Recommendation: MA
DOE should display their
social media icons on the
front page where it is
visible to the audience.
Mobile Government
MA DOE can design a mobile application that will allow users to have access to:
students’ grades, report cards, learning management system (such as iLearn at
SFSU), and an interface to interact with teachers other than email, and
emergency notification system. For instance, similar to the San Francisco’s
SF311 mobile application. In the next slide, you will see mock-ups of how the MA
DOE’s mobile application should be designed.
SF311 Mobile Application
MA DOE Mobile Application
Dept. of Education
Dept. of Education
Services
Grades
Report Cards
“iLearn”
Connect
Emergency Hotline
Contact Us
MA DOE
Usability
Issue: The site’s lack of usability
features lessens its effectiveness.
Recommendation: Redesign with
the goal of making the information
users want accessible in 2-3
minutes of visiting the site. Follow
this flowchart to achieve this goal.
This is an iterative process so it
takes investment and follow
through.
Website Management, Security and Privacy
“Web administration is one of the most important, but overlooked aspects of Web
development [and]...if you don’t have a good web administrator...you won’t have
a website” (What is Administration, n.d.).
Suggestions
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MA DOE hire administrator or train staff to manage website, which includes managing
security of website
Privacy policy be posted prominently on main web page for the benefit of parents, students,
teachers and administrators
Tools and Timeline Suggestions for
Implementing Changes
Recommendation:
A project Plan, utilizing a
“user-centered design
map” takes into
consideration user
experience, continuity,
schedule/timeline and
management
Conclusion
..."it is the future" and "nobody knows where it will go”...
- Bill Gates, speaking of the internet in the movie, “Triumph of the Nerds”
It is now evident that internet use and e-government will continue in its current
fashion, to become more popular, and the choice of interaction with many
public agencies. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that MA DOE consider
the changes and updates suggested here, to get current with regards to Web
2.0 capabilities and best meet the needs of its public and staff.