DIGITAL. LITERACY. MATTERS.
Website Evaluation
At school and at home, we are constantly using the internet to seek out information. There are millions of websites out there, but how do we know which ones to trust? After all, anyone can post anything to the web.
Part of being a skilled internet user is knowing how to evaluate websites. We have to think critically about the websites we go to and decide if they are worthy of our attention. Remember, just because information is on the internet, doesn’t mean it’s true.
Alan November's Web Literacy for Educators is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in evaluating the credibility of information found on the internet. November created the R.E.A.L. guidelines you see below.
Let's Get R.E.A.L.
Click on any of the pink buttons below to learn more
about each strategy for evaluating website credibility.
R
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Helpful Tools:
Find out who owns a website with EasyWhoIs.com.
Turn back time and look at past versions of a website with the WayBackMachine.
Research hoaxes and misinformation on Snopes.com
Evaluate website content using this handy checklist from the University of Maryland Library.
Determining Website Credibility
Made Using Xtranormal
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The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus: http://www.zapatopi.net/treeoctopus
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All About Explorers: http://www.allaboutexplorers.com
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Dog Island Free Forever: http://www.thedogisland.com
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Feline Reactions to Bearded Men: http://www.improbable.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html
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California's Velcro Crop under Challenge: http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html
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Dihydrogen Monoxide: http://www.dhmo.org
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Victorian Robots: http://www.bigredhair.com/robots/index.html
Try it out! Use the R.E.A.L. strategies
to validate the web sites below:
Are they credible?
Are they hoaxes?
Who is the author/publisher?
Is there obvious bias?
How do you know?