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Evaluating Websites. Kim Napoli. I read it on the Internet. It must be true! Right?. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmx4twCK3_I. . Searching the world wide web…. Can be daunting with its volumes of resources Takes skill & perseverance. Should be done with prudence when
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Evaluating Websites Kim Napoli
I read it on the Internet. It must be true! Right? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmx4twCK3_I \
Searching the world wide web… • Can be daunting with its volumes of resources • Takes skill & perseverance. • Should be done with prudence when • selecting sites for your students to use • doing online research
Why evaluate? • Magnitude of resources • Any person can create a webpage • Search engines (Google) do not scrutinize sites • In fact, the top results are often the top results because companies PAY to be there!!
Examples of Types of Websites • Informational • Opinion • Point of View or Perspective • Commercial or business • Personal
What to consider? ABC’s!!! • A: Authorship/Authenticity (Verifiability) • B: Bias or Point of View • C: Currency/Content
Authorship • Author is well-known and well- regarded • Positive referral from another trusted source • Biographical information is given • Other contact information is supplied
Authenticity/Verifiability • Explanations of research methods provided • Bibliography / links to supporting documents • Individuals/sources are identifiable • Use other sources to cross-reference
Publishing Body • Name or link to governing organization • Organization is: • Recognizable • Suitable to topic at hand • Identified relationship between author and server • Verify server where document resides
Bias Or Point of View • Decide where webpage resides (URL) • Corporate site? • Political agenda? • Philosophical agenda?
Currency • Date of information • Publication date • Date of last revision • Current, active links
Content • Look at the material that is presented on the page • Are there any misspelled words? • Does the information appear reliable and valid? • Can you find this information elsewhere on the web?
A Little Bit About Domains: • .edu = Education Site • .com = Commercial Sites - Unrestricted! • .gov = Government Agency • .org = Organizations – Unrestricted! • .net = Intended for ISP’s & Networks (but can be purchased) • .info = Unrestricted!
More about domains.. • .biz = Intended for Business – Unrestricted! • .pro = Professionals/Organizations • .k12.nj.us = Public / Private Schools • .library.nj.us = Public Libraries • .state.nj.us = Official State Websites • .name = Individual, Personal Website
Worthwhile Websites • Web Search Strategies In Plain English • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8aYoVpdz8o • Hints on identifying personal pages are available inUnderstanding and Decoding URLs. • http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/url.html
Worthwhile Websites • Read "Rising Tide: Sites Born of Hate", New York Times, March 18, 1999 to learn about tough-to-detect extremist point of views. • http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/02/circuits/articles/18hate.html • Get students to evaluate web pages by exploring these hoax sites! • http://www.shsu.edu/~lis_mah/documents/TCEA/hoaxtable.html
Sample Thesis, Support, and Noodle Tools! • Topic: Psychology of Parenting • Started doing research to develop my thesis • Psychology Today Articles • Parental attention, when taken to an extreme known as helicopter parenting, has a detrimental impact on a child’s psychosocial development.
Noodle Tools • Follow directions for creating an account in packet #1 • Mini-lesson: • Creating a project • Starting a bibliography • Electronic Note cards • http://www.chathamcentralschools.com/