Module 2: Evaluating Websites

Evaluating websites is an important task that a teacher should teach students in order to become good digital citizens. Below are a few ideas to do this as well as a couple of my favorite websites.

Search Engines

Search engines are programs that help us locate information on the web. We can teach our students to use them to find better information for projects. Some tips that Roblyer (2016) recommend are give topics that require a thoughtful search, teach students to use keywords rather than questions, and show them how they can use the advanced search tool to narrow their results (Roblyer, 2016, p. 184).

Website Evaluation

(GCSC Library,2013)

I think that this video is a good source to talk about website evaluation because it starts with the two guys arguing about the water because the one guy had seen on the internet that tap water was “dangerous.” We have all heard someone say “I saw it on the internet so it has to be true” and I think this video illustrates that we can’t always trust what we hear on the internet. The librarian in the video then goes on to explain how to find reliable websites to get the facts straight. I don’t love the abbreviation this video uses to remember the criteria so if I was using it in my classroom, I may cut it off at a certain point and introduce a website rubric like Roblyer mentions in the text (Roblyer, 2016, p. 199).

Favorite Professional Websites

There are so many websites I love to use to find resources so it was hard to pick just two. Using the website evaluation checklist found in the text, I was able to evaluate 2 of my favorites (Roblyer, 2016, p.198).

One website that I use a LOT is the Scholastic website. It has so many resources for all subjects and everything is always up-to-date and well researched. The website is very easy to navigate for teachers and as well as for students. I use this site all the time for book suggestions and book leveling. Another part of Scholastic I would like to use this semester in Content Block is their virtual field trip modules, those are a great free resource.

Another site that I visit frequently is Elementary Shenanigans. Hope King is the author and is a teacher at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta (if you haven’t heard about it, look it up, it is amazing). While her website is considered a “blog,” I find Mrs. King’s writing style professional and the content valid and well-researched. I would use this site as a teacher to get ideas for lesson plans because if you want to teach a topic “out of the box,” Hope King is the person to help you accomplish this goal. With blogs, it is important to use the criteria for evaluating a website to determine their validity. Mrs. King’s blog passes the test.

Online Safety and Security

When teaching students about being digital citizens, it is important to discuss internet safety. As Roblyer discusses (2016), we are very lucky to have the Children’s Internet Protection act which ensures libraries receive funds to protect children from inappropriate materials (Roblyer, 2016, p. 174). Schools have piggybacked off this law and set up firewall and filtering software to protect students. As a teacher, I would always check with my school technology supervisor about their firewall and filtering softwares before introducing web materials to my students.

References:

GCSC Library . (2013, February 12 Day). Evaluating Websites [Video file].

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aem3JahbXfk

King, Hope. Elementary Shenanigans [web log]  retrieved from

http://www.elementaryshenanigans.com

Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching.  

Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Scholastic Publishing retrieved 29 September 2016,

http://www.scholastic.com/home/