Teaching Students to Think Critically About Internet Sources
This resource provides educators with techniques and materials for teaching students essential skills in evaluating internet sources. It covers topics such as searching effectively, recognizing credible sources, understanding the "grammar of the Internet," and identifying bogus sites. The handouts include tools for research planning, evaluation criteria, and citation guidelines. With these strategies, students will learn to navigate the digital world thoughtfully, becoming discerning consumers of information.
Teaching Students to Think Critically About Internet Sources
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Presentation Transcript
Website Evaluation: Teaching Students to Think Janine Lim Handouts at www.janinelim.com Email: janine@janinelim.com www.avln.org
Overview • Searching the Internet • Grammar of the Internet • “Bogus” Sites • Research Planning • Evaluation Tools • Citing Internet Resources www.avln.org
Searching the Internet: Google • Toolbar • “exact quote” – check for cheating • nutrition + site:gov • Google Tools… www.avln.org
Four NETS for Better Searching • Start Narrow • Find Exact Phrases • Trim Back the URL (dealing with 404 Not Found) • Find Similar Pages Source: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm www.avln.org
PAIR-SHARE Favorite Search Tools & TechniquesTips for Kids Searching www.avln.org
Internet Grammar: The Problem www.avln.org
Do we ban students from using the Internet in schools and/or for research? Or do we teach them to think critically and to be wise consumers of information? Junk on the Internet www.avln.org
Grammar of the Internet • Reading a Web Address • Finding the publisher of a website • History of the site • External links Source: Alan November, novemberlearning.com www.avln.org
Reading a Web Address • http://www.andrews.edu/~freed/resources_cooplearning.html Endings • .edu .org .ca • .k12.tn.us .gov .jp • .com .mil .edu.mx www.avln.org
Who is the publisher? • www.easywhois.com • The Martin Luther King site is published by a White Supremist organization called Stormfront. Stormfront.org. www.avln.org
History of the Website • Wayback Machine • www.archive.org • MartinLutherKing.org didn’t used to claim to be a “valuable resource for students & teachers.” www.avln.org
Who Links to the Site • Who links? • Google “link: URL” • i.e. “link: www.adventist.org” • why did they link? • What do the other sites say about the site? www.avln.org
PAIR-SHARE How do you teach students the grammar of the Internet? www.avln.org
Hoaxes & More • Urban Legends • Snopes • CIAC Computer Incident Advisory Capability • NEVER forward without checking it out! www.avln.org
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ www.avln.org
home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html www.avln.org
www.dhmo.org www.avln.org
DHMO continued… • DHMO contributes to global warming and the "Greenhouse Effect", and is one of the so-called "greenhouse gasses." • DHMO is an "enabling component" of acid rain. • DHMO is a causative agent in most instances of soil erosion. • DHMO is present in nearly every creek, stream, pond, river, lake and reservoir in the U.S. and around the world. • Recent massive DHMO exposures have lead to the loss of life and destruction of property in California, the Mid-West, the Philippines, and a number of islands in the Caribbean, to name just a few. www.avln.org
http://zapatopi.net/afdb/ www.avln.org
www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/0104/foolery/ www.avln.org
Pair-SHARE Have you received an email hoax lately? Do you use any bogus sites when teaching students about information literacy? www.avln.org
Research Planner • My Topic • My Big Questions: (Why, How, Should...) • 20 - 30 Keywords: (List synonyms too.) • Keyword Combinations: (for more specific searching) • Search Engines and Sites I Plan to Search • Books, Magazines, and Encyclopedias I Can Search www.avln.org
Require Internet Notecards • Website reference • Analysis of web address – is this trustworthy? • Analysis of web site owner – are they credible? • Analysis of external links – do other consider this site credible? • Analysis of history – is this site pretending? www.avln.org
Accuracy Authority Objectivity Currency Coverage See online handout. Authority Accuracy Bias Currency Coverage Design & Navigation http://library.lib.binghamton.edu/search/evaluation Evaluation Criteria www.avln.org
Pair-SHARE What do you require for quoting Internet in papers? What will you require now? www.avln.org
Bibliographies: Easybib.com www.avln.org
NoodleTools.com www.avln.org
Pair-SHARE When/where/how do you teach bibliography skills in your school? www.avln.org
Review • Searching the Internet • Grammar of the Internet • “Bogus” Sites • Research Planning • Evaluation Tools • Citing Internet Resources www.avln.org
Internet Research and Projects • www.avln.org • Sept. 25 - Nov. 3, 2006 (Winter 2007 credit) • 2 credits • $250 • 6-8 hours a week online • Instructor-led www.avln.org
Questions?Website Evaluation: Teaching Students to Think Janine Lim Handouts & additional readings & resources at www.janinelim.com Email: janine@janinelim.com www.avln.org
