EVALUATING WEBSITES Mrs. Hirtreiter ELA 9 &11 National Geographic Zombie Apocalypse Survival ZOMBIES THE RETURN Is a Zombie Apocalypse Possible Mrs. Hirtreiter ELA 9 &11

COMMENTS ON YOU TUBE ABOUT ZOMBIES “I'm gonna sleep with a weapon for the rest of my life now!” “Its not Fake !!!” “perfect zombie symptoms makes you posseseesed into a monster an no ablilty to feel pain” “humans are afraid of the unknown, and the govt. is using the media to indirectly turn humanity against itself. They know how humans tick, and they can take advantage of that. You can only trust your senses to decide for oneself what is and what isn't”

COMMENTS ON YOU TUBE ABOUT ZOMBIES “Last month, the Department of Homeland Security released its own webinar about zombie preparation as one FEMA official noted” “In May of 2011 a blog post by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned a ''zombie apocalypse'' and being prepared for it” “Gun shops report a huge increase in their sales as the zombie apocalypse breaks out”

Evaluate sources and information DEFINITION Evaluate sources and information Recognize bias. Differentiate between fact and opinion. Determine the accuracy, authority, coverage, currency, and relevancy of information and/or information sources. TRAILS QUESTIONS TRAILS DATA – US

WHY EVALUATE WEBSITES? Anyone can post anything at anytime on the Internet. The Web is populated with an abundance of unreliable and inaccurate information. People who publish on the Web have an agenda. Be particularly suspicious of .com sites, which are trying to sell you something.

WHY EVALUATE WEBSITES? Only a small number of scholarly journals and books are available in full text on the Internet. Most are available from subscription databases. Navigating the vast amount of information available on the Internet can be overwhelming. Small % of search results are relevant.

WHY EVALUATE WEBSITES? Websites are created for different purposes: To inform or misinform To entertain or ridicule To promote or obstruct To sell or defraud

How can you tell if a website is good? Check the five criteria below to determine if a website will be valuable for the assignment: Purpose author’s intent bias Content design

Informative/Educational Entertainment Personal Hoax PURPOSE What is the purpose of the site or page? Look at the URL extension Commercial Informative/Educational Entertainment Personal Hoax

AUTHOR’S INTENT OR AUTHORITY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INFORMATION? What is the top-level or home page of the site? Who created the site and what authority do they have on the subject? What makes this person an expert? Look for an “about me” or “about us” link. Google the author’s name. Put quotation marks around the authors name to search for it as a phrase. What contact information is given for the author or sponsors?

bias Is only one side of an issue presented? Does the site try to this bias? What goals/objectives does page meet What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author? Is there limited advertising on the page?

CONTENT Is the site accurate, complete, well-written, and relevant to your assignment? Are there mistakes in spelling or word usage? Is the site up-to-date? Is a date posted and/or updated provided? Does currency of information matter with your particular topic? Are most of the links on the page active and lead to relevant information for your topic?

Design Is the information written in a form that you understand and is useable (i.e. reading level or technical level)? Is the information presented in a variety of formats such as text, pictures, charts, sounds, or video? Is there a balance of text and media? Does it add to the content or distract. Will this information be useful to your project? Is the information presented cited correctly? Do the links complement the document’s theme? Does the advertising interfere with the content?

So now that you know what to look for, how do you find it?

SITE TO EVALUATE A WEBSITE http://21cif.com/tools/evaluate/ http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm