[NIFL-HEALTH:4649] Re: Firstfind.info resources on the web?

From: Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi (sabrina_kurtz-rossi@worlded.org)
Date: Tue Feb 08 2005 - 12:24:55 EST


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From: "Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi" <sabrina_kurtz-rossi@worlded.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4649] Re: Firstfind.info resources on the web?
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Last fall I presented the MEDLINEplus interactive tutorials
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorial.html to a group of new
readers and they really liked it.  While certainly the readability and
graphics of the tutorials could be improved, the multi-media aspect of
the site (sound, graphics, and text) appeared to be a great support and
was very much appreciated.  I'm interested in using the Flash technology
more in our web publishing.  Have others web-published using Flash? 
What have been your experiences?  
 
- Sabrina

-------------------------------------------------
Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA  02210
617-482-9485
skurtz@worlded.org

>>> bcarmel@rocketmail.com 2/8/2005 10:47:14 AM >>>
Dear Eugenio and others,
Have you shown firstfind.info to people with limited
literacy? It is not for non-readers. In my
experience, people with limited literacy like it a
lot. 

--- Eugenio Longoria < ezl109@psu.edu > wrote:

> Although this seems to be a good website, it is
> still not very good for
> people with low levels of literacy. It is not as
> plain and simple as they
> advertise it is. 
> 
> Eu-
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nifl-health@nifl.gov 
> [mailto:nifl-health@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Audrey
> Riffenburgh
> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 9:10 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4642] Re: Firstfind.info
> resources on the web?
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I've heard from three people now who have had no
> problem with firstfind.info
> 
> so it must be on my end. Thank you for letting me
> know. I do hope to see the
> 
> site. It sounds like it would be very useful.
> 
> Audrey Riffenburgh, M.A.
> President, Riffenburgh & Associates
> P.O. Box 6670, Albuquerque, NM 87197
> Phone: (505) 345-1107 Fax: (505) 345-1104
> E-mail: ar@plainlanguageworks.com 
> Specialists in Plain Language and Health Literacy
> since 1994
> and
> Principal & Founding Member, The Clear Language
> Group
> www.clearlanguagegroup.com 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "David Rosen" < DJRosen@TheWorld.com >
> To: "Multiple recipients of list"
> < nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov >
> Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 7:59 PM
> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4641] Re: Firstfind.info
> resources on the web?
> 
> 
> > Hello Audrey, Andrew and others,
> >
> > I have just tried accessing firstfind.info using a
> PC and Mac and several 
> > different browsers. It works on all -- except for
> some reason Internet 
> > explorer 5.2 for a Mac running OS X. I'll bring
> this to the attention of 
> > Robin Osborne at the Westchester Library System to
> see if there is 
> > something which can be done.
> >
> > It might be helpful to Robin, Audrey, to know what
> system (PC or MAC, what
> 
> > operating system) and browser (type and version)
> you are using.
> >
> > firstfind.info is a great resource, which I
> certainly hope you will be 
> > able to see.
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> > David
> >
> > David J. Rosen
> > djrosen@comcast.net 
> > On Feb 7, 2005, at 8:52 PM, Andrew Pleasant wrote:
> >
> >> Seems to be working well on my system.
> >>
> >> Andrew Pleasant
> >> Assistant Professor
> >> Rutgers University
> >>
> >>
> >>> Greetings, again,
> >>>
> >>> Bruce Carmel told us about a resource called
> firstfind.info which I am 
> >>> eager
> >>> to see but we can't get the site to work. Has
> anyone else tried? The 
> >>> only
> >>> item in the menu that worked today or on
> Saturday is the Local 
> >>> Resources.
> >>> Can anyone fill us in on what's up?
> >>>
> >>> Audrey Riffenburgh, M.A.
> >>> President, Riffenburgh & Associates
> >>> P.O. Box 6670, Albuquerque, NM 87197
> >>> Phone: (505) 345-1107 Fax: (505) 345-1104
> >>> E-mail: ar@plainlanguageworks.com 
> >>> Specialists in Plain Language and Health
> Literacy since 1994
> >>> and
> >>> Principal & Founding Member, The Clear Language
> Group
> >>> www.clearlanguagegroup.com 
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: "Bruce Carmel" < bcarmel@rocketmail.com >
> >>> To: "Multiple recipients of list"
> < nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov >
> >>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 7:18 PM
> >>> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4633] Re: "Easy-to-read"
> resources on the web
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> firstfind.info is probably worth a look for
> anyone
> >>>> looking for
> >>>> "easy-to-read" web info. It's a library of
> >>>> non-commercial web sites selected by
> librarians. David
> >>>> Rosen, Susan Cowles, Maura Donnelly, Robin
> Osborne,
> >>>> and I helped train them to use more than grade
> level
> >>>> as a selection criterion. In fact we did not
> use grade
> >>>> level, but were more holistic.
> >>>> Bruce Carmel
> >>>> http://firstfind.info 
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --- Audrey Riffenburgh
> < ar@plainlanguageworks.com >
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Greetings, all,
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> In my ten years working in health literacy, I
> have
> >>>>> seen a huge increase in
> >>>>> materials on the web which are labeled as
> easy.
> >>>>> There are SOME easy-to-read
> >>>>> health resources on the web but many of the
> >>>>> materials labeled as
> >>>>> easy-to-read are still far too difficult for
> most of
> >>>>> the general public. As
> >>>>> you probably know, the average U.S. adult
> reads at
> >>>>> about 8th "grade" level.
> >>>>> Much of the material on the web that is
> labeled
> >>>>> "easy" or "plain language"
> >>>>> is written at much higher levels. (There are
> >>>>> inherent problems in using
> >>>>> grade levels to label adult readers but this
> gives
> >>>>> you a general idea of the
> >>>>> level of functioning vs. the literacy demands
> of
> >>>>> printed materials.)
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I recently analyzed the reading level of
> seven
> >>>>> materials on, or linked to,
> >>>>> MedlinePlus' "Easy-to-Read" area. The average
> >>>>> reading level was 11 and the
> >>>>> range was from 8 to 16. The results were
> similar for
> >>>>> the FDA's website where
> >>>>> they offer "easy" resources.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The problem is in defining "easy." What is
> easy to
> >>>>> an average or lower
> >>>>> skilled reader is entirely different from
> what is
> >>>>> easy for those doing the
> >>>>> labeling. So I suggest great caution in using
> >>>>> materials labeled this way.
> >>>>> They may not achieve what you are hoping for
> or
> >>>>> assuming they will achieve.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Plus, keep in mind that there are dozens of
> factors
> >>>>> beyond reading level
> >>>>> that affect a document's appropriateness.
> These
> 
=== message truncated ===




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