evaluating websites november 2008. don’t view the internet as: a one stop information and research...
TRANSCRIPT
Don’t view the Internet as:• a one stop information and research center
• the only place to look for information
• a place to copy and paste information for reports and projects
Before You Begin
• Use a variety of resources for your assignments
• Always ask your teacher which Internet sources you can use
Always try researching your topic on:
Britannica on-line www.school.eb.com
From home--user name – lawrence password – student
Tennessee Electronic LibraryMay be accessed from
our school website http://lcss.us/schools/SHS/
Choose the “icon” that best fits your purpose
or
www.tntel.info
Enter your first and last name. Capitalize the first letter in each name and space between your names
Why Evaluate?
• More information daily• Can’t believe everything you find
on the Internet• Anyone can be an “author”, if
he/she has the knowledge of how to build a site
Why Evaluate?
Wide Variety of Content • May be factual: encyclopedia, reference materials newspapers, magazines
• May be recreational:games, music, pictures, jokes
• May be opinion: letters, editorial comments
Accuracy
• Does the author cite the sources of information he/she used to develop the site?
• Is it possible to verify the legitimacy of these sources?
• Is the site free of grammatical errors?
Authority
• Is the author identified by name?
• Is the place the author works or the organization he/she belongs to given?
• Is the site’s domain .edu, .net, .org, or .gov?
Site Domains• .edu – education, college or
university• .org – organization, often non-
profit• .gov - federal government • .com - commercial businesses
Objectivity
– Is the site fact or opinion?•http://www.nea.org/index.html
– Is it clear for whom the site was created?
– Is the site free of advertising?
– If there are ads is it easy to distinguish between ads and content?
TIMELINESS
• Is the date the article, page or site was created given?
• Is the last date the site was revised posted?
• Do all links lead to active pages?
Coverage
• Does the site provide enough material to help with your research?
• Do the titles and headings give a clear idea of content?
• Is there a site map?• Is there a tool for searching
the site?
“No Guarantee of Validity”
• Written collaboratively by volunteers• People of all ages and backgrounds can
write Wikipedia articles.• Every day hundreds of thousands of
visitors make tens of thousands of edits.• Content may have been changed or
vandalized by someone with a conflicting opinion.
Award Winning Site
• Content – aligned with curriculum standards
• Recommended by teachers and industry leaders
• Fast and easy access to high quality information
Provides access to:• 3 encyclopedias-
• Merriam Webster Collegiate
Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Magazine Articles
• Atlases
Five W’s of Web Site Evaluation
1. Who is the source of the information? 2. 3. Where did the information originate? Is
the information complete and consistent?
4. What are you getting? Why was the site created?
5. When was the site created?
6. How are the topics covered on the site?
Authority
Accuracy
Objectivity
Timeliness
Coverage