Kathy Schrock's ABC's of Web Site Evaluation

The ABC's of Web Site Evaluation

presented by Kathy Schrock

Evaluation of Web sites is an important skill to learn in this age of digital and information literacy. Students and teachers need practice in critically examining sites to determine authority, authenticity, and applicability to purpose. The sites listed below are useful for looking at pages with a specific critical purpose in mind. There are no right answers to the questions...the answers are up to you!

The handout from the presentation in Adobe PDF format.
An article by the author from Classroom Connect in PDF format. (Updated: 7/15/02)
Links to critical evaluation sheets and other articles.
5W's handout in HTML and PDF.
5W's handout for the earlier grades in HTML format.
Internet Curriculum: Critical Evaluation of a Web Page Lesson Plan.
Teacher Web Evaluation and Internet Lesson Plan Guide

Authority: www.tornadoproject.com: Can you find out about the owner of the company?; Would you use this site for reputable tornado information?
Bias: SmokingSides.com/: Would you consider some of these sites biased?
Can you find a site that refutes some of the facts presented on another site?
Citations: www.pantheon.org/mythica/: Does this site contain citations that indicate where the information comes from?; Would you use this site with your class?
Dates: http://www.solarviews.com/eng/history.htm: Does the date on the home page indicate the last date this page was updated?; Does date make a difference in this area?
Efficiency: cnn.com: Does the fact that this site does not stay in the cache make it inefficient?; Would you assign work from this page for homework?
Graphics: memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html: Does this collection of images support the use of this site for classroom use?
Jerry-built: www.altavista.com: Type "shcool" in the Altavista query box.; What did you find out?
Knowledge: www.nisk.k12.ny.us/fdr/FDRdatabase.html: Would you use the information on this page with your students?; Why or why not?
Misinformation 1: www.snopes.com/: Have you ever been duped by an Internet legend?; How could you use this site to help your students understand misinformation?
Misinformation 2: www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html: What about information which "seems" real?; How could you teach your students to realize when information is bogus?
Navigability: www.50states.com: Is this site easy to navigate?; What age group could easily use this site?
Pertinent: discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/eval.html: Take a look at the rubrics available on this page.; Could you easily design one of your own for critical evaluation skills?
Scholastic Reviews: www.biology.arizona.edu/the_biology_project/kudos.html: What are the criteria used to award each of these kudos?; Are awards a viable way to judge a site?
Uniqueness: www.castlesontheweb.com: Does this site contain any original work?; Does it include more than just a link to outside sources?
Xtra Information: http://www3.widener.edu/Academics/Libraries/Wolfgram_Memorial_Library/Evaluate_Web_Pages/659/: What are the different types of Web pages?; What criteria should be used to evaluate each type?
Yahoo:: How does a directory work?; How does a search engine work?

Sites to Use for Demonstrating Critical Evaluation

http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/eval.html

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