Download ppt - Evaluating Websites For Learners

4 June 2009 Sandy Zinn UWC, Dept. of LIS

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Evaluating websites for Evaluating websites for learnerslearners

Evaluating websites for Evaluating websites for learnerslearners

‘‘A wise teacher does not lead A wise teacher does not lead you into the house of wisdom you into the house of wisdom but the threshold of your own but the threshold of your own mindmind” Kahlil Gibran ” Kahlil Gibran


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Outcomes• Why the need to evaluate?• Criteria educators could use• Criteria for learners to start using• Alternatives: kid safe search

engines/directories• Google Custom Search• Teaching website referencing.


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A sign of the times


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www.adcet.edu.au/.../web_Design.chpx

Why do teachers need to evaluate Websites?


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• Web is like a jumble sale – anybody with internet access can contribute a website, but finding that prize item or website gem is relatively hard work.

• Prevent the ‘million hits syndrome’• Steer learners towards educator-

evaluated web sources


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More reasons to evaluate

• Ready list of annotated web sources – focus Information Literacy Skills on synthesis and engagement with the sources

• Share resources – bookmark, collect under learning areas e.g. use social bookmarking tools like Delicious, DiggIt

• With older learners especially, model web evaluation for learners to mimic


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Last but not least …• Teachers - evaluate so that YOU

are not hoodwinked!• For example, do you know the

difference between the following two websites?


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www.whitehouse.gov


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www.whitehouse.org


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www.whitehouse.org


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http://whitehouse.georgewbush.org/index.asp


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Create a checklist


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Criteria for educators• Dozens of Web evaluation tools online. • Many different types of Web sites and no one

way to judge them all. • Purpose of a checklist/criteria/form is to guide

you through the evaluation process into asking appropriate questions.

• After using the forms several times, you will develop an intuitive feeling about which Web sites will be successful with learners.


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Where to find Web evaluation examples

• On Weblogs - http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2006/12/fake_websites_a.html

• On Video sites like YouTube; TeacherTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_qR5lpnXBE

• On SlideShare- http://www.slideshare.net/betchaboy/5-factors-for-evaluating-website s

• Via Images - www.favors.fit.qut.edu.au


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Evaluation CriteriaAuthority

ContentDesign


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Evaluation criterion

AUTHORITY


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Authority (Individuals)• Do the author’s credentials show

experience and expertise on the topic?

• How reputable is the author in said field?

• Is the information credible and trustworthy?


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Authority clues• Author’s contact details• X-check author’s authenticity on

other websites• Check if author associated with

any reputable organisations or institutions


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Authority: Organisations &

Institutions • Is the domain - .ac, .edu, .org

credible?• How reputable is the organisation?• Is the organisation’s mission

statement available?• Are their contact details provided?


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Organisation’s clues• Look at the domain

- .ac, .edu, .org for credibility• Click on the Home page to find out

more about the organisation• Click on “about this site” to read

about the organisation’s purpose


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CONTENT


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Content• Accuracy/ Correctness• Scope/Coverage• Relevancy• Currency


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Content: Accuracy/Correctness

• What is the intention of this site?• Is this site for entertainment or

education or is it persuading me to buy something?

• Is the information error free and reliable?


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Accuracy clues• Read the “about us” for intention• Typos, spelling and language

errors indicate poor editing• X-check factual information with

other sites


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Content: Scope

• How in depth is the coverage?• How unique is the content?


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Scope clues:• A webpage of information with

mostly hyperlinks to other articles won’t satisfy depth of coverage

• A student’s essay or personal rant about a topic is not usually original or worthwhile citing


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Content: relevancy• Who is the audience for this site?• Is the content at the right level for

the audience?• Does the content assist in

answering the question?


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Content: Currency• How up to date is the page?• Does the information require

constant updates or is it not time-bound?

• Are the links still working?


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DESIGN


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Design

Is the site designed with ease of use and

is it aesthetically pleasing?


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Design clues• Site does not take

long to load• Colour & graphics

enhance content• Navigation is easy• Site map is

evident• Links are clearly

visible

• Activity pages are printable

• Games are playable

• Limited “bells & whistles”

• Site is disability friendly


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Web Evaluation Checklists

for teachers


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Learner Web evaluation checklists/forms

• Kathy Schrock’s Critical evaluation of a website for Senior phase learners http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/evalelem.html

• For Intermediate Phase learners try http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/rtrieger/rubric2-3.htm


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Alternatives to evaluating websites

yourself …use specialised search

engines


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Search Engines for learners

• Yahoo for kids (http://kids.yahoo.com/)for IP & SP learners

• Kidsclick database compiled by librarians. Over 6 400 sites. Search a subject directory or by key word. Can limit search by reading level!

• Ask Jeeves for Kids (www.askkids.com)the natural language search tool

• Awesome Library over 30 000 reviewed resources with ‘doors’ for kids, teens, teachers, librarians, or parents


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More search engines for kids

• Kids.Net.Au an Australian search engine for kids

• Berit’s best sites for children (http://www.beritsbest.com/) directory of selected, rated sites for children 14 and under

• Barbara Feldman’s Surfing the Net with Kids Archive http://www.surfnetkids.com/


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Creating a customized search engine

• Google allows us to create our own search engine which can be added to our Weblog, Website or customized Homepage

• As the creator, you can decide whether or not you want outside contributors

• So, you can create a child appropriate search engine with selections of your choice


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Referencing websites• Why?

– Learn to acknowledge Web source– Learn difference between a search

engine and a website– Learn to scrutinize a website


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Referencing a website• How?

– Author/s or organisation – if available– Date on which the site created– Title of webpage – Uniform Resource Locator (URL) including

the ‘http://’ part– Date when you, the user, accessed the site


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For exampleFoods Standards Agency (2003). What

is BSE? [Online]. Available http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/bse [Accessed 4 April 2006]


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Thank You!Questions?

Contact: [email protected]