website evaluation in 4 easy steps by bonnie mccormick
TRANSCRIPT
GET “R.E.A.L.”Website Evaluation
in 4 easy steps
By Bonnie McCormick
So, before you use a website,
R.E.A.L.You need to get
Read the URL…•Look for the owning entity (person, company, or organization) in the website address (URL).•Are they an authority on the subject?•Are they trying to sell you something?•Might they be biased?•Identify the URL extension:
.gov, .com, .mil, .edu, .org, .net
Examine the content…•Based on what you already know about your topic, is the information on the website useful & accurate?•Are additional links and resources provided?•Is the site current and updated?
(look for a date, often at the bottom of the webpage)
Ask about the author or owner…•Sometimes the author is hard to find.•Look for clues in the URL or the “about us”
pages•Note: an ~ before a name means that you
are on a personal webpage
Look at the links…•Look at links to other websites. •Are the links credible?•Use altavista.com to look for “back” links by
typing link:http://theurlyouwanttocheck.com
Be a smart and responsible researcher…
R.E.A.L.
WORKS CITED
November, Alan. Web Literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. 2008.
Ohlone College Library. “Evaluating Websites or How “Emma” and “Len” Quickly Selected the Best Web Sites and Had Enough Time Left Over to Go For Coffee Before Class.” 23 Nov. 2009. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 6 Sept. 2011.
Students, Microsoft® Clip Organizer 2002. Microsoft Corporation 1983-2001. Redmond, Washington.
Brandt, Sherry. Get R.E.A.L. adaptation. Argyle: Harpool Middle School Library. 2010.