Why do we want you to learn how to find things on the Internet? Doesn't everyone know how to do that already? Yeah, but like I mentioned in class today, there is too much information out there in the world. The problem is many don't know how to use it. The people who really know how to find good, useful, and credible websites fast are usually much more productive than the rest of us. In an article called "The ABCs of Website Evaluation," Kathleen Schrock gives 26 (one for every letter of the alphabet) criteria for evaluating websites. She talks about criteria such as authority (is it a credible author?), dates (is it current?), bias (why was this site created?), and citations (does it have them?). She also gives the 5 Ws for evaluating websites:
- Who wrote this material and put this website together? Are they credible sources?
- What is the purpose of this site?
- When was this site put together and last updated?
- Where does this information come from?
- Why is it useful to me?
Here's the discussion questions I'd like to ask you, and I hope you'll answer!
- How do you know a good website from a not so good one? What do you look for?
- What types of websites are the BEST ones for helping you as a teacher?
- What search techniques do you have for helping you find good material in a web search?
- How could we teach our students how to find information quickly and recognize good information when they see it?
