Thinking Critically about Web Sites Cynthia W. Sparks Chesapeake Public Schools

WWW: Access to Everyone Not all sites are good sources of information In past, expensive to publish Materials usually juried by authorities Carefully selected Today, anyone can publish to web Easy to broadcast inaccurate or biased material Users must be critical consumers of information

What to consider? Source Who is the author? Does the creator have knowledge of the field? Date When was the site created? Is the information updated periodically? Are links to other sites kept current?

What to Consider? Content Is the content accurate and current? Is the content relevant? Is the coverage comprehensive? Is the site obviously biased? Design Is the site easy to navigate? Does the design enhance the site?

Places for more info Evaluation criteria for Information Sources aln.htm Thinking critically about WWW Resources lege/help/critical/index.htm

Evaluating Web sites: Practice A WebQuest about Evaluating Web Sites This quest asks you to compare specific sites in groups of 4 Each member of the group will have a specific job to accomplish Finally the group will evaluate and discriminate between the various web sites visited.

Resources Beginners Central Online tutorials of basic information for the novice

What about the Page Content Web page content Icyousee Critical to the web ml Evaluation Surveys from Kathy Schrock html Disinformation on the Web

Teacher/Adult Concerns Evaluating Web Resources Faculty guidelines from Maryville College ry/researchguides/Evaluating%20Web% 20Sites.htm

Thinking and Paying Attention Web is a wonderful gift and a dangerous place Brings a wealth of information into the classroom With every benefit there are concerns Teaching student to think, pay attention, and evaluate is imperative