1. Get REAL: How to validate information on the Web Aim: How to Validate Information on the Web

2. Instructional Objectives  Dissect a URL  Examine a page’s content  Investigate a website’s author and owner

3. Get REAL  Step 1: Read the URL  Step 2: Examine the content  Step 3: Ask about the author and owner  Step 4: Look at the links

4. Step 1: Read the URL  Website ownership is not always clear  The URL can help  Question 1: Do you recognize the domain name? windows.microsoft.com

5. Step 1: Read the URL  Question 2: What is the extension in the domain name? (.k12,.edu,.ac,.com,.org,.gov,.net,.mil) Red means danger.  In the 1980s, seven TLDs (.com,.edu,.gov,.int,.mil,.net, and.org) were created.  Domain names may be registered in three of these (.com,.net, and.org) without restriction.

6. Using Advanced Search  Filtering your search results  Task Number 1: Find 6 colleges in or around Dallas that teach Engineering in 2 minutes  Task Number 2: Name 10 governmental agencies that have an interest in “Alaskan salmon spawning” in 3 minutes

7. Step 1: Read the URL  Question 3: Are you on a personal page?  Personal pages are more likely to be opinion based  Look for clues  A person’s name  Tilde (~)  Percent sign (%)  The words users, people or members

9. AKA “index”

10. Step 1: Read the URL  Go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tressie- mcmillan-cottom/for-profit-colleges-kaplan- university_b_1205464.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/tressie- mcmillan-cottom/for-profit-colleges-kaplan- university_b_1205464.html  What value does this web page have for a report on “For-Profit Colleges?”

11. Step 1: Read the URL  What should you expect from the following URLs?  www.nike.com  www.si.edu  www.sandiegozoo.org  news.bbc.co.uk  www.seaworld.com  www.upeg.edu/~user

12. Step 2: Examine the Content  Does the website agree with sources you trust?  Do other website agree?  Look beyond the pictures and graphics to the information below

13. Step 3: Ask about the author and owner  Why was this website created?  Is it controlled by a single person or a governing body?  What is the file extension?.edu vs..com  Search for “Anatomy of a Frog”  Evaluate the websites before going to them  Look for familiar domains  Look for.edu and.gov

14. Step 4: Links  Good: Links to other sites you trust  Bad: Links to pages by the same author  Open browser and search for tree octopus  Where do the links at www.zapatopi.net/treeoctopus lead you? www.zapatopi.net/treeoctopus  Are there trustworthy links? Do they have quality information?  Do the links have the same domain name?