Assessing Reliability of Web Sites
 |
The World Wide Web offers us the opportunity to find information on any subject from all over the world. There is no single group who controls what is published or not published on the Internet. What makes the Internet truly amazing is that it is a highly accessible self-publishing medium. As educators and researchers, we need to be aware of the reliability and validity of the information our students are accessing.
By the end of this activity, you will have learned:
- key characteristics to look for when evaluating a web site
Agenda/Directions:
Examine the following two web sites and explain why they are misleading:
- Arthur R. Abutz Holocaust Article- http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/index.html
- Mankato, Minnesota Web site - http://www.lme.mankato.msus.edu/mankato/mankato.html
Discuss the three major characteristics when evaluating a web site.
Assignment
Pick a topic that you are working on with your students. Using the search techniques you have learned, find and evaluate three web sites on this topic. Remember to use the criteria we have just discussed and decide whether or not you think the sites are a reliable source of information.
 |