Evaluating and Locating Web Resources

This lesson would work for your students too.

Evaluating Web Pages

Rationale for Evaluating What You Find on the Web "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a

dog." The burden is on you - the reader - to

establish the validity, authorship, timeliness, and integrity of what you find.

Sources: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Gu

ides/Internet/Evaluate.html

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html

CARS

The CAFÉ Advice

Challenge information and demand accountability. Stand right up to the information and ask questions. Who says so? Why do they say so? Why was this information created? Why should I believe it? Why should I trust this source? How is it known to be true? Is it the whole truth? Is the argument reasonable? Who supports it?

Adapt your skepticism and requirements for quality to fit the importance of the information and what is being claimed. Require more credibility and evidence for stronger claims. You are right to be a little skeptical of dramatic information or information that conflicts with commonly accepted ideas. The new information may be true, but you should require a robust amount of evidence from highly credible sources.

File new information in your mind rather than immediately believing or disbelieving it. Avoid premature closure. Do not jump to a conclusion or come to a decision too quickly. It is fine simply to remember that someone claims XYZ to be the case. You need not worry about believing or disbelieving the claim right away. Wait until more information comes in, you have time to think about the issue, and you gain more general knowledge.

Evaluate and re-evaluate regularly. New information or changing circumstances will affect the accuracy and hence your evaluation of previous information. Recognize the dynamic, fluid nature of information. The saying, "Change is the only constant," applies to much information, especially in technology, science, medicine, and business.

Finding Online Resources http://www.willard.k12.mo.us/co/tech/

feo.htm Teachers First

http://www.teachersfirst.com For Teachers

http://www.4teachers.org/ Track Star

http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/index.jsp

Locating Web-based Lessonshttp://math.rice.edu/~lanius/schoo/resou.htmlDiscovery Schoolhttp://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/BlueWebhttp://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/ The Gateway to Educational Materialshttp://www.thegateway.orgEduhound http://www.eduhound.comAwesome Library - K-12 Resourceshttp://www.awesomelibrary.org

More…CIESEhttp://www.k12science.org/currichome.html Filamentalityhttp://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/Teaching and Learning on the Webhttp://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/tl/ Art Resourceshttp://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/arteducation.htm Primary Sourcehttp://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA/ Finding Answershttp://www.uni.edu/currtech/teach.html

Locating WebQuests http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic4.htm http://www.swlauriersb.qc.ca/Schools/recit/wq022200.

htm http://asterix.ednet.lsu.edu/~edtech/webquest/ http://www.rayslearning.com/webquest.htm http://www.teachersfirst.com/webquest.htm http://eduscapes.com/ladders/themes/webquests.htm http://education.nmsu.edu/webquest/examples.html http://www.campbell.k12.ky.us/links/webquest/second

ary.html

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix/9-12-Eng.htm http://www.swlauriersb.qc.ca/english/edservices/

pedresources/webquest/cia.htm