Evaluating Websites: Spoof, Spam, and Spite Marsha Lustigman, M.A., M.L.S Librarian, Bialik High School, Montreal March 17, 2009

Teaching Information Literacy  Media literacy(curriculum reform)  To ‘google’ or not to ‘google’  Using the internet as the world’s library: pros and cons  Proliferation of opinion as fact on Web2.0

Spoof & Spam on the Web: ‘Just because it’s out there, doesn’t mean it’s good!’  Social Studies: Create a Travel Brochure Mankato, MNMankato, MN  Media: New York TimesNew York Times  Technology: The Search Engine How does Google work? Google work?

Hoax and Hate on the Web  Martin Luther KingMartin Luther K  The White HouseWhite House  Institute for Historical ReviewInstitute for Historical Review

Evaluation Criteria for Websites  Authority  Accuracy  Currency  Content

Evaluation Criteria: Authority  Who wrote it? .com,.edu,.org., gov?  Professional publisher?  Commercial vendor?  Amateur or individual author?  Educational organization?  NGO?

Evaluation Criteria: Accuracy  Have you compared this information with other websites on the same topic?  Are there links to other sources?  Is there a bibliography of print or other media sources?  Verify! Verify! Verify!

Evaluation Criteria: Currency  Is the information up-to-date?  How do you find out?  Medical & scientific information  Historical information

Evaluation Criteria: Content  Is the text well-written or are there spelling and grammatical errors?  Is the text too academic or difficult to understand or is the text too simple?  Are there many pictures or photos on the topic versus text?  Is the layout designed by a professional or academic organization versus an amateur or commercial organization?

Just because it’s on the Internet does not mean its for real!  Real Mankato Mn. website:  Fake Mankato Mn. website: ankato.html

Evaluation Forms to LEARN about critical thinking  The Research Path: 7 steps to success (Bialik Library Guide)  Information Skills for Lifelong Learning – the MELS reform (Quebec, CA)

The Research Path: 7 steps to success ..\Desktop\researchpath.pdf..\Desktop\researchpath.pdf

How to Evaluate an Internet Site: Guides for Educators  Bialik Library Internet Guide Bialik Library Internet Guide  Internet Public Library: A + Writing & Research Guide Internet Public Library: A + Writing & Research Guide  All About Explorers All About Explorers

Using Evaluation Forms to Teach Critical Thinking  Schrock Evaluation Guide for High School Students Schrock Evaluation Guide for High School Students  Berkeley Library Guide Berkeley Library Guide

How to Evaluate Websites: Recommended Guides for Students and Educators Internet Public Library Berkeley Library Evaluation Form Bialik Library Evaluation Information Kathy Schrock’s Guides /eval.html /eval.html November Learning literacy-resources