Evaluating+Websites

=** Criteria for Evaluating Websites **=

//Cartoon by Peter Steiner has been reproduced from page 61 of July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker//

Think about the cartoon above. What does it tell you about the Internet? You can type almost anything in a web search engine and retrieve information; it is easy and fast and accessible 24/7. But, is the information accurate? Who wrote it? How recently has it been updated? Can you trust it? All these questions must be answered by YOU, the Internet searcher. The web does not have an editor. Print publications (most of them anyway) go through an editing process to ensure the information is accurate and credible. On the web, anyone can publish anything and no one is checking for you to make sure the information is valid. When conducting Internet research, you must hold the information you find to a very high standard. Read the criteria for evaluating websites and apply them to any web sources you use//(Goole Docs which will be shared with jgrams@hlv.k12.ia.us. Make sure I can edit your documen!)//

//NOTE: The websites you use for school research do not need to meet every one of the evaluation criteria. However, the more of them a site does meet, the more likely it is to be a credible, authoritative resource and the less likely it will be questioned as a valid source.// Still not sure if the site is credible? Apply these techniques for web evaluation.

Then you have probably found a valid website!
 * Putting It Altogether:** If the website you found provides:
 * author name, acceptable author credentials and a way to contact the author
 * clear statement of purpose or mission
 * accurate information (as measured by the citations for information on the site OR by what you already know about the topic OR by comparing it to information from an authoritative source)
 * up-to-date information

__**Assignment:**__ You will evaluate the following websites using the criteria and techniques covered in class. You will need to create a table to show your evaluation for each site. Class discussion over your findings tomorrow.

-- [|Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanies] -- [|Boilerplate: Mechanical Marvel of the 19th Century] -- [|Burmese Mountain Dog] -- [|Buy an Ancestor Online] -- [|Cybertan] -- [|Case Analysis of a Historic Killer Tornado] -- [|Google Technology] -- [|Moonbeam Enterprises and Lunar Travel Agency] -- [|History of the Fisher-Price Airplane] -- [|Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus]

__ [] __ //[|www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html]// [|www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/phs/pdf/library/Evaluating_Websites.pdf]