We want our students to be able to search for impartial information on the Web without being tricked by false or biased information. Everyone, not just kids, should be able to distinguish between valid information on the Web and information that is out there as someone's opinion or to only show one perspective instead of multiple perspectives. David Marcovitz (2010), an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in Educational Technology at Loyola University Maryland, said, "we want them to think deeply about the site, analyze it for accuracy and biases, and think about its relationship to the broader context of knowledge in the domain being examined." I think that quote is very important to understand. It explains that we want students to be able to fully critique a Web site in order to determine it's value to their specific context before using information from it.
In order for students to begin to think critically about Web sites, they need to know what they are looking for. Using evaluation tools are very important during this stage of instruction. There are many different tools out there that have been created by many different people. One that I particularly like is called the 5 W's of Web Site Evaluation. It was created by Kathy Schrock, the Director of Technology for the Nauset Public Schools on Cape Cod, MA. She created many tools like the 5 W's of Web Site Evaluation. If you want a full list of the tools she has created, visit her evaluation guide on the Discovery Education Web site.
Kathy Schrock is not the only person to create evaluation tools. Here are a few other Web site evaluation tools/guides I found on the Web:
Since I am a Third Grade Teacher, I have created a lesson plan that would be appropriate for the intermediate grades in elementary school for evaluating Web sites. In the lesson, students will be evaluating a total of three Web sites. They will evaluate the first Web site with the guidance of the teacher. This is to make sure that the students fully understand how to evaluate a Web site before they try one on their own. They will evaluate the second Web site with a group of 3-4 students. This will be a nice transition from being with the teacher. They will not be completely on their own, but will not have the teacher walking them through it. They will evaluate the third Web site either independently or with a partner. This follows the pattern of gradual release from the guidance of the teacher. As an extension of my lesson plan, you could continue this pattern by giving them a homework assignment or another classwork assignment to evaluate another Web site completely independently.
Depending on the amount of time you have to spend on this lesson, it could take two days to complete. It will also depend on the availability of the computer lab in your school. The lesson as a whole, from the introduction to the evaluation process and sharing out, will probably take around 90 minutes to complete, so make sure you plan accordingly. If you cannot spend that much time in the computer lab on one day, spread it between two days.
I have also created a page that explains why I chose each of the Web
sites in the lesson. I
did research in order to find the perfect Web sites for what I
wanted to achieve in my lesson. I wanted the Web sites to be age
appropriate and interesting for the students. I believe all of the Web
sites I found fit that criteria. Please visit my resources page to learn more about
each of
the four Web sites that will be evaluated in my lesson plan.
Do you want to know more about evaluating Web sites? Here are a few informational videos about evaluating Web sites:
