Dr. Christie: Evaluating Web Pages

Dr. Christie's Web Page
.UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops

I found several topics on Dr. Christie's web page that could be very helpful in classrooms today, but one topic stood out to me the most, searching the web. Today technology is used so frequently in the classroom I believe it would be extremly benificial to be more familar on how to recognize webpages that are child friendly and those that should be avoided. Under searching the web, on Dr. Christie's webpage I was connected to several helpful web pages that explaind steps on evaluating webpages. I read an article from Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply&Questions to Ask UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops that to me gave extremly important information and tips of how to evaluate and determine what kind of web pages you are using. The first step mentioned when identifying acceptable web pages is to first look at the URL. Before even looking at the information on the page, gather as much information as you can from the URL. Check things like does the URL have a personal name in it, meaning it is a personal webpage which may not render solid facts or be appriate for children. Also, try to locate what kind of domain the web page comes from. For example, look for .gov in the URL which means it is a government cite or .edu which means it is an educational web page. These are very important when determing if it is appropriate for students. The second tip this article mentions is to scan the basic boundry of the webpage and search for history of the page or things that can verify the validity of the page. For example, look for an authors name, someone who actually takes credit for the work, and look for details that show the author's qualifications to write on the specific topic for exaple, Dr., or PHD. Also, look for a date the web page has been last updated or modified to ensure all facts are up to date. The third tip this article mentioned was to look for indicators of quality information. Some indications that a webpage has quality ginuine information is to see if the web pages information is correctly cited. Also, if the web page provides other links to information on the specific topic it is a good sign the web page is a valuable source.
The Fourth tip given in this article to find good web sources was to determine what other web pages are linked to the one you are investigating. It is recommended that you have atleast two other well known or reputable sources. Also, find out what others are saying about this web page. Search out comments that have been made about the specific web page, and get to know what others thought about the page or the author of the page. Lastly, when evaluating web pages ask your self, " did it all add Up?". First determine the intention of the web page. Did it give facts, statictics, and information, or was it trying to sell something? Did the web page try to convince or presuade a point or just explain? All of these questions play a major role when determing the validity of a web page. In conclusion I believe all of these tips can play a major role helping teachers find the very best web pages for their students. In today's world the internet has become an easy place for anyone to post or creat a web page. Even though this is good is some ways because it shows other peoples opinions, in many ways it can be very detrimental. Often times, people are not qualified to write about topics they choose, and as a result there are thousands of web pages that are unreliable, and based on opinions alone. This could really creat a problem in the class rooms. The tips listed above are so helpful because they can help teachers recognize web pages that may not be the most reliable sources, and also aid teachers in finding the best, most viable web pages that benifit their students the most. I really enjoyed this article and found all of the tips very very helpful, I will be sure to use them in my future classroom.