I decided to look at an adult literacy program for this website review for several reasons, the main one being that I have looked at several websites for youth literacy organizations and just wanted to see something different. I found several websites and settled on the site for Community Literacy Centers, Inc. in Oklahoma City because I’m from Oklahoma and am interested in the community literacy work being done there. Unlike our CLC, this center lists its mission as “teaching people to read”. This is actually the tag line, featured in large blue letters on the homepage of the website. It’s simple and direct. Anyone looking at the website would gain an immediate idea of what the organization does.
On the other hand, I personally felt the homepage of the website to be a bit cluttered. In addition to the title and tagline of the organization, there’s a brief description outlining its history and nonprofit status. There is a “news and events” column, which at the time of my visit to the website featured stories about the organizations upcoming event entitled Literacy Live and upcoming training sessions for tutors. There are also large red buttons prompting visitors to buy tickets or donate money to the event. The right-hand column of the homepage contains an information video, beneath which is a link to sign up for more information and then a place to input email addresses if visitors want to join the email list. The homepage also contains links to and information about the organizations Facebook and YouTube pages and links to resources for students, tutors, and donors.
The website seems to be primarily targeted at potential students, or rather, friends or family members of potential students who might seek out the CLCs services. The level of vocabulary in many of the sections seems to be a bit advanced considering the organization works primarily with adults who read at elementary grade levels or below.
The website is currently promoting the Literacy Live event pretty heavily. There is a post about the event in the “news and events” section, as well as a page detailing the event sponsors and a page containing the invitation to the event. There is also an info page about and link to the website of the guest speaker for this year’s event. What seems to be missing, however, is information about the actual event. From reading all of the information about Literacy Live available on the website, I know that it is the organization’s largest event, currently in its fourth year. I know who is speaking at the event, where and when it is being held, and how it is being sponsored. What I do not know is what the event entails, other than a luncheon and recognition of student, teacher and volunteer of the year. The website does not provide much context for the event its promoting or explain the event’s purpose, even to its sponsors, who are also part of the website’s intended audience, although they and potential tutors have particular pages targeted at them.
I will say that contact information for the organization is easy to find and the site overall is simple to navigate, which I think is important. The site also does a pretty good job of establishing context for the organization through testimonials, FAQs (although this section is very brief and could (should?) be more comprehensive) and a few facts on adult illiteracy.
literate realities 