D ecem ber 1998/January 1999 C LASSRO O M C O N N EC T

The online world is quickly becoming a source of primary

information for both teachers and students.
Considering the enormous amount of
information available online and that about
75% of all K-12 schools have Internet access,
students and teachers need to be able to critically
evaluate Web pages for authenticity, applicability,
authorship, bias, and usability.
Unlike the media center, there are no media
specialists to sort out the valuable information from
the substandard information. With more than 350
million documents available on the Web alone,
finding relevant information online can be daunting.
Therefore, the ability to critically evaluate information
is an invaluable skill in this information age.
The acquisition of digital literacy skills is dependent
upon the students ability to find information, determine
its usefulness and accuracy, and utilize it eff e c t i v e l y. W h a t
follows are 26 criteria that enable teachers and students to
assess every Web page the Net has to off e r.
Authority When we look at Internet information with a
critical eye, we want to know the basis of the authors
a u t h o r i t y. Some filters we can employ are:
Is the author a well-regarded name you recognize?
Does the online document contain a biography and
an email address?
Did you link to this site from a site you trust?
Are you led to additional information about the author?
http:/ / www.amazon.com
Bias Biased sites contain words that try to persuade rather
than inform. Some of these words include over- g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s
and simplifications and may also contain games, giveaways,
contests, or celebrity endorsements intended to persuade. Some
things to think about include:
Is it clear what organization is sponsoring the page?
Is there is a link to the sponsoring org a n i z a t i o n s Web site?
Is the page actually an ad disguised as information?
Citations If the author of a site includes a source bibli-
o g r a p h y, students can consult these sources to find additional
information about the topic and compare the authors content
w i t h
other works. If the
author leads the user to related
sources, it allows the student to evaluate the
a u t h o rs scholarship. Citations should be full citations to
allow students to locate the book or periodical at the library.
Dates Every credible Web site includes the date that it was
created and the date of last update. Another date that may be
important to your students is the date the data was collected.
Students need to ask themselves if the information they are
looking for is from an area that demands more current
information. In this case, the date of last update is an important
feature to look for.
Efficiency If you plan to use a site with a large group of
students, it is important to try it at all times of day. Some sites
get very busy at midday and may slow down your lesson. If
there are large graphics on the page, make sure the page
resides in your cache to speed up the download time. If you are
planning a major lesson around a site, the best idea is to ask
permission from the sites author and use WebWhacker or
WebBuddy to retrieve the entire site or a portion of it to your
c o m p u t e r.
http:/ / www.bluesquirrel.com/ whacker/
http:/ / www.dataviz.com/ products/ webbuddy/
FallacyAs with print material, one thing that may happen on
a Web site is that the information presented may be used out
of context. Citations allow students to research the original
Cover
4
Teaching
Media Literacy
in the Age of
the Internet
document and become familiar with the surrounding text.
Another event that occurs on the Web that is unique to
hypertext systems is the ability to jump into a Web site at any
point. Students should be encouraged to find the top of the
Web site and read the authors purpose and rationale for
providing the information.
Graphics As bandwidth shrinks and becomes a precious
c o m m o d i t y, more attention needs to be focused on the
graphics that are included on a Web site. Aclearly labeled
graphic is worth a thousand words when illustrating a point.
Graphics should aid students in reaching the desired objectives
for using the site and should serve a clear purpose for the
intended audience.
Handicapped Access In this day of the graphical browser,
the statement that a page should be usable via a text-based
browser is often disregarded. Visually impaired users may
utilize a screen reader to read the Web page, and it is important
that there be text available and text alternatives for the
graphics software to read.
Information Availability Tell students that a particular
piece of information might not be available online because
firms who pay to create and disseminate information are
unlikely to provide this information free
of charge. Also tell students that keeping
information up-to-date is costly.
Jerry-Built We b s t e rs Dictionary d e f i n e s
jerry-built as built poorly, of cheap
materials. When evaluating a site,
students need to understand that a page
that contains multiple spelling and
grammatical errors may have been thrown
t o g e t h e r. There is one exception: If the
native language of the Web site designer is
not English, spelling and grammar
inconsistencies should be overlooked.
Knowledge Before researching online, students should have
working knowledge of the topics they are pursuing. T h i s
allows students to relate how the new information compares
with what they already know about the subject.
Links Students should also try to find out if a site is meant to
be comprehensive in scope or is just an overview or sampler of
links. The links should be appropriate for the sites intended
audience and also offer something that is not available at any
other online destination.
Misinformation Students need to realize some of the sources
of misinformation on the Net, which include the fact there is
nothing to stop a Web page author from modifying the text at
any time; the use of opinion verbs and appeals to emotion may
indicate bias; and there are many jokes and pranks on the Net.
Navigability AWeb page should be designed for easy
navigation. Links should be easy to identify and grouped in
some type of logical order. Students should be able to tell at
first glance how a site is organized and the options available.
An added bonus is the inclusion of a keyword search function.
Online Research Models There are numerous research
models available that are applicable to the online research
process. They all have things in common including the
formation of the research question, the planning of the search
s t r a t e g y, the gathering of information, and more.
Pertinent Central to the online research model is the need for
students to know when to disregard information. With the
amount of information available, it is imperative that students
learn how to evaluate whether the information that they find is
pertinent to their purpose. This begins by having students
clarify their objectives before they begin the research process.
Quantity of InformationSome Web sites continue to grow
in size every day. With the interactive nature of the Internet,
some sites solicit input, examples, and stories from others. If
this type of site meets the studentsneeds, they should be
reminded to visit it regularly to keep up-to-date. Having
students practice extensive searches on topics that they are
familiar with will help them realize the most effective way to
find information and help them eliminate
some of the frustrations of the over-
abundance of information.
Requirements Some sites have certain
requirements for use. Students should
learn to exercise caution if they are asked
to submit registration information at a
site. Another annoyance is the use of
proprietary software (plug-ins or players)
that forces the user to access the site
using a specific Internet browser. W h e n
evaluating a Web site to use for
instruction, be aware that, if it was
designed for one browser or the other, it may not be presented
p r o p e r l y. All Web pages should be designed with the worlds
two most popular browsers in mind: Netscape Navigator and
Internet Explorer. (See our October 1998 Newsletter cover
story for more information.)
Scholastic Reviews There are many Web review columns in
professional periodicals that list and describe Web sites of
value. Use these reviews to choose sites to support instruction.
There are many awards given on the Net, and you should use
caution when choosing sites because they have won awards.
Oftentimes, awards are created to build up visits to the site of
the awarding page. One way to determine if a site is scholarly
in nature is to see what type of sites have linked to it. This type
of Internet search can be conducted using both HotBot and
A l t a Vi s t a .
http:/ / www.hotbot.com
http:/ / www.altavista.com
Digital literacy is the ability to
understand and use information
in multiple formats from a wide
range of sources when it is
presented via computers.
Paul Gilster
C LASSRO O M C O N N EC T D ecem ber 1998/January 1999

D ecem ber 1998/January 1999 C LASSRO O M C O N N EC T

Cover
HotBot employs a drop-down menu to search for links to
individual sites, while A l t a Vista allows users to type
l i n k : < U R L > in its search box. Try this example with
A l t a Vista. In the search box at the top of the home page, type
the following:
link:http:/ / www.classroom.com
Theorists The major educational tenets of noted theorists still
remain viable in the online world. Whether it is Eisenberg and
Bekowitz (The Big Six), Robert Marzano (Dimensions of
Learning), or Bernie Dodge (WebQuests), sound educational
theory should be the basis of all learning, including online
r e s e a r c h .
http:/ / big6.syr.edu
http:/ / www.mcrel.org/ products/ dimensions/ whathow.html
http:/ / edweb.sdsu.edu/ webquest/ webquest.html
By having students take the information that they find and
make conscious, educated decisions about what to use and how
to structure it, they gain the higher-order thinking skills
necessary for lifetime learning in an information-rich society.
Uniqueness The Web has many unique characteristics that
are not present in the print world. Marsha Tate and Jan
Alexander describe marketing-oriented Web pages, Web pages
that blend entertainment, information, and advertising, and
software requirements that limit access to information as some
of these unique characteristics.
http:/ / www.science.widener.edu/ ~withers/ webeval.htm
Verifiable Whenever possible students need to verify Internet
information in a reputable print source. If no citations are
included, the student needs to conduct further research to
determine the validity of the sites content.
6
The Five Ws As with any investigative reporting, students can
easily apply the five W s to simply evaluate a Web site: W h o
wrote the pages and are they an expert in the field? What does the
author say is the purpose of the site? When was the site created,
updated, last worked on? Where does the information come from?
Why is the information useful?
Xtra information Tate and Alexander have also designed
evaluation instruments for different types of Web pages. T h e y
contend that different criteria need to be examined for the diff e r e n t
types of pages.
http:/ / www.science.widener.edu/ ~withers/ webeval.htm
Yahoo! Information in a general-purpose directory such as Ya h o o !
has been filtered and organized to produce a browsable, keyword-
searchable index of a portion of the Nets Web destinations.
Students should take advantage of these directories to get an
overview of what is available on the Net as they formulate their
search strategies.
http:/ / www.yahoo.com
Search engines are useful only when students have gained
their background knowledge, identified key terms, and learned
e ffective search strategies. There is much more information
available through search engines than directories, and as long
as students have a clear strategy in mind, the number of results
returned should not be overwhelming.
http:/ / www.search.com
Zen In a 1995 issue of Computers in Libraries, Kirk Doran
writes about what the Internet is not. He contends that, since
the Internet cannot be searched all at once or seen in its
e n t i r e t y, the usual method of matching one type of question
with one type of source does not work. He feels, due to the fact
that the Net is not run by one company, it lacks the org a n i z a t i o n
and consistency we are accustomed to in print, and the navi-
gation is not consistent.
http:/ / www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/ lsdocs/ internot.htm
F i n a l l y, Paul Gilsters definition of digital literacy can be
summed up in a single phrase: the ability to understand and use
information in multiple formats from a wide range of
sources when it is presented via computers.
http:/ / www.december.com/ cmc/ mag/ 1997/ oct/ bunz.html
If we strive to teach students the best way to critically evaluate
the information that they find in relation to the purpose at hand,
we will produce a generation of digitally literate adults who are
equipped to learn throughout their lifetimes. In the end, is this
not the greatest lesson we can teach todays students?
by Kathy Schrock
<kschrock@capecod.net>
http:/ / www.capecod.net/ schrockguide/
Evaluation Web Sites
Crit ical Evaluat ion Surveys
http:/ / www.capecod.net/ schrockguide/ eval.htm
Evaluat ing Int ernet -Based Inf ormat ion: A Goals-Based Approach
http:/ / www2.ncsu.edu/ unity/ lockers/ project/ meridian/
feat2-6/ feat2-6.html
WWW CyberGuide Rat ings f or Cont ent Evaluat ion
http:/ / www.cyberbee.com/ guide1.html
Evaluat ing t he Qualit y of Int ernet Inf ormat ion Sources
http:/ / itech1.coe.uga.edu/ faculty/ gwilkinson/ criteria.html
Evaluat ion of World Wide Web Sit es: An ERIC Digest
http:/ / ericir.syr.edu/ ithome/ digests/ edoir9802.html
Bibliography on Evaluat ing Int ernet Resources
http:/ / refserver.lib.vt.edu/ libinst/ critTHINK.HTM
EDs Oasis Evaluat ion Guidelines
http:/ / www.edsoasis.org/ guide2.html