Do you know how Valentine’s Day started? How about why we exchange cards on the holiday? Using the Internet, find the answers to the questions below: 1. How many Saint Valentines were there? 2. Why did Claudius II have Valentine arrested? 3. Whom did Henry V hire to write his Valentine’s Day card to Catherine of Valois? 4. How many Valentine’s Day cards are mailed each year? 5. In addition to the U.S., what other countries celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Do you know how Valentine’s Day started? How about why we exchange cards on the holiday? Using the Internet, find the answers to the questions below: 1. How many Saint Valentines were there? Varies, Why did Claudius II have Valentine arrested? Performed illegal marriages for young men 3. Whom did Henry V hire to write his Valentine’s Day card to Catherine of Valois? John Lydgate 4. How many Valentine’s Day cards are mailed each year? 150 million 5. In addition to the U.S., what other countries celebrate Valentine’s Day? Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Australia, Japan

¿Por qué es importante evaluar el origen y la validez de la información que se encuentra en un sitio web ?

Brainstorm-think of some things that make a web page useful for research What makes a Web page useful for research?

Brainstorm What makes a Web page useful for research? AuthorTitle Links to other/deeper information Content-Enough to be useful SourcesCommercial/SponsorsDate of Creation Appearance-Easy to use, easy to find, easy to navigate

 Who wrote the pages and are they an expert?  Is a biography of the author included?  How can I find out more about the author?

 What does the author say is the purpose of the site?  What else might the author have in mind for the side?  What makes the site easy to use?  What information is included and does this information differ from other sites?

 When was the site created?  When was the site last updated?

 Where does the information come from?  Where can I look to find out more about the sponsor of the site?

 Why is this information useful for my purpose?  Why should I use this information?  Why is this page better than another?

 Good information comes from a recognized authority. Who is the author, what authority do they speak from, who is the publisher of the information, and what is the relationship between the publisher and author?

 How accurate is the information? Can the factual information be verified? Are sources listed? Is the way data is gathered explained?

 All information will have some bias, but it is important to recognize it and understand how much. Is the information trying to sell you on a product or idea? Does it have documented references? Is it balanced? (an unfair preference for or dislike of something; to influence somebody or something unfairly)

 Timeliness, this covers how current the information is and when it was last updated.

 Does the material adequately cover the subject for your needs? Does the author display a depth and breadth of knowledge on the subject?

Practice Evaluating Websites Website Evaluation Rubric Authority Is the author identified?YesNoUnsure Does the author have appropriate qualifications with respect to the information being presented? YesNoUnsure Purpose Is the purpose to inform or give factual informationYesNoUnsure Coverage Is the information primary or secondary in nature?YesNoUnsure Is the information presented comparable to information on the same topic presented by other sites? YesNoUnsure Accuracy Is the information free of factual errors?YesNoUnsure Do the conclusions appear to be well-reasoned and supported by the facts presented? YesNoUnsure Objectivity Is the information free from obvious bias?YesNoUnsure Does the author avoid the use of emotional or inflammatory language?YesNoUnsure Does the author avoid trying to sell something or persuade the read of a particular viewpoint? YesNoUnsure Currency Is the information up-to-date?YesNoUnsure Are there creation and revision dates?YesNoUnsure Accessibility Does the site have a professional appearance?YesNoUnsure Does it use proper grammar, spelling, and composition?YesNoUnsure

Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide  You have 7 minutes to read through and evaluate this website.

Authority Is the author identified? Yes- The Coalition to Ban DHMO NoUnsure Does the author have appropriate qualifications with respect to the information being presented? YesNo Unsure - Who is on the coalition?

Purpose Is the purpose to inform or give factual information Yes NoUnsure They’re giving us the reasons DHMO should be banned

Coverage Is the information primary or secondary in nature? Yes NoUnsure Is the information presented comparable to information on the same topic presented by other sites? YesNoUnsure This depends-did you look at other Sites?

Accuracy Is the information free of factual errors? YesNo Unsure Do the conclusions appear to be well- reasoned and supported by the facts presented? Yes NoUnsure How much do you know about DHMO? They do present all the negative side effects of DHMO So banning it seems like a good idea.

Objectivity Is the information free from obvious bias? Yes No- clearly they are trying to convince us DHMO is bad Unsure Does the author avoid the use of emotional or inflammatory language? Yes No- see above Unsure Does the author avoid trying to sell something or persuade the read of a particular viewpoint? Yes No- see above Unsure

Currency Is the information up-to-date? Yes NoUnsure Are there creation and revision dates? Yes NoUnsure

Accessibility Does the site have a professional appearance? Yes No Unsure Does it use proper grammar, spelling, and composition? Yes No Unsure

Is this web site good (valid, containing good information)? NO Did you figure it out? Dihydrogen Monoxide=H 2 0(water)

This site illustrates that there are definitely sites with bad information out there. Be cautious in where you go for research!

Pick 2 more websites from the list (on the class website) and evaluate each.  Be sure to write the website name down on the top of your rubric  Answer at the bottom, is the website good (valid, containing good information)?

Summarize  The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown was written in 1949, and is still in print today! It contains eleven short essays all written in the same style, with an introductory fact, other supporting facts, and a repeat of the most important first fact. An example from the book reads like this: The important thing about rain is that it is wet. It falls out of the sky, and it sounds like rain, and makes things shiny, and it does not taste like anything, and is the color of air. But the most important thing about rain is that it is wet. Brown, Margaret Wise. The important book. Harper Trophy, 1977.

Using this same format, summarize the reasons for taking the time to critically evaluate information found on a Web page. The important thing about the critical evaluation of Web page information is:____________________________________________________________________________ It __________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ And ________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ And ________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ And ________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ But the most important thing about the critical evaluation of Web information is:____________________________________________________________________________