Friday, October 23, 2009

Evaluation of a Website

Teaching students that what they read is not always true, is a new concept to the classroom. When students used printed resources, such as textbooks and encyclopedias, these sources were reliable and students did not have to worry about incorrect information. But now that students are researching on the Internet they need to learn how to critically evaluate the source of their information. Anyone can create a website and put incorrect information on their site. Wikipedia is a very popular website that students use as a creditable site, and believe what they read. Students are unaware that Wikipedia is a wiki, which means that anyone can log in and change information on a page. Students should not be using Wikipedia as a primary source for research projects.

So how can we evaluate a website site to check its creditability?

Students need to look at who produced the websites and determine if it is an authentic website. “For students, the new tool means developing critical-thinking skills to evaluate endless reams of data, while resisting the distraction of Web ads and the temptation to plagiarize content from the Web” said Colhoun in an article But I Found It On The Web (http://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0425/p16s1.html). To determine the creditability of a website many items need to reviewed, such as the authority, accuracy, objectivity, how recent it is and coverage. In today’s age of information evaluation skills need to be second nature when reading anything. "Training a kid to have a critical eye is very, very important," says Catherine Davis, a veteran teacher and managing editor for Yahooligans.com, an Internet directory for young adults” (http://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0425/p16s1.html).

Kathy Schrock Guide for Educators has many value resources to help teachers teach students the importance of critically evaluating a website.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html



2 comments:

  1. Primary and secondary resources! Although we can check and double check sources. Nothing beats a good old fashioned um what's it called............? Oh a BOOK! Students are often lost upon entering high school when it comes to writing papers and citing sources because they are members of the cut and paste colony.

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  2. Elizabeth,
    I really appreciate this blog about appropriate evaluation of a website! I think that this is one of the biggest struggles for students, as they have grown-up with technology, literally at their fingertips, but many of them lack the skills necessary to appropriately utilize it!
    I think it is of imperative importance that students learn, as a student, appropriate and acceptable use proceedures, both as a student and as an individual. Thanks for sharing a resource to assist with this monumental task!

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