Evaluating Websites
Part 1
When we evaluate a website, there are 7 questions that we want to ask ourselves:
- Is the Information relevant?
- What is the site's purpose?
- Is the site biased?
- What is the site's top-level domain?
- Is the author reliable?
- Is the information current?
- Does the site have a good reputation?
Lets take some time to create a table that we can use as a form to evaluate sites. Use the same Google Slides file as you did to answer the Searching the Web questions. The table can be very simple:
- One column for the Evaluating Websites Questions
- One column for the hints & examples from GCFLearnFree.org website (link below)
- One column for your answer
- You will also need a spot for the website url to be copied down as well as a heading at the top "Website Evaluation Rubric" and your name.
Click here for the GCFlearnfree.org How to Evaluate a Website Questions
Part 2
Now lets do a little practice with our newly created rubric. Follow the steps below.
- Duplicate the slide of your Website Evaluation Rubric table. We want to keep a master slide that stays blank so we can use it again later on.
- On the new duplicate, make sure your name is on the slide. For the name of the website, type in K-Power Energy Bars. There is no real url for this site, it is fictional. However, we will pretend that it is real. The fictional web address for this site is www.kpower.com. Keep this in mind for your evaluation process.
- Click Here for the GCFLearnfree.org webpage which has the fictional K-Power Energy bars. Notice the spy glasses on the sample webpage. These are for you to review as they will help you think about the questions on the rubric. Be sure to read each spy glass carefully, and think about how the information fits into your rubric.
- As you work through the spyglasses on the K-Power website, answer the questions on your Evaluation Rubric. Be thorough with your answers. Include examples and descriptions for each question.
Part 3
Now lets take a look at some actual websites that are out there on the web. At the bottom of the GCFLearnfree.org webpage that we used in Part 2 you will find 2 links to websites that look at the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Evaluate each with your Website Evaluation rubric. Make a copy of your rubric for each website and fill one out for EACH website. We will use your findings to compare the 2 websites.
As you finish your responses to each question in each of the rubrics, we need to evaluate ourselves for a moment:
As you finish your responses to each question in each of the rubrics, we need to evaluate ourselves for a moment:
- Did I clearly state my purpose?
- Did I identify what I thought was the websites purpose?
- Did I briefly justify why I thought the site was biased or unbiased?
- Did I describe what the top level domain tells me about the site?
- Did I do any searches/checks on the author to find more out about them?
- Did I give examples for our current or old the information is?
- Can I identify reasons for the site having a good or poor reputation?
Part 4
It seems that the website Wikipedia.org has gained a reputation by many to be an unreliable and untrustworthy website. Lets put that assertion to the test. Pick one of the Tech "Rock Stars" from the list on the whiteboard and search them up on Wikipedia.org. Run a Website Evaluation Rubric on that web page to see for yourself if the webpage meets any or all of the standards for a trustworthy website that we have talked about in class. If you cannot find any info on the Tech Rock Star you chose, pick another one. Start a new copy of your evaluation rubric and include it in the Google Slides file that you have been using for the other parts of our Evaluating Websites work. As always, be sure to explain and expound on your answers to our seven evaluation questions.
Wrap Up
After you finish all 4 parts of the Website Evaluation Activity and you have shared your findings with a colleague, its time to turn in your completed Google Slides file for this activity. Before you turn it in, lets check to make sure you have completed the activity successfully so that you have the ability to score the maximum points possible. Please check your assignment against the list below:
- Please name your Google Slides file: S11 Yln Site Eval
- Title Slide with Website Evaluation Activity as the title, S11 Intro to Internet, & Your Name
- Blank Evaluation Rubric from Part 1
- Completed Evaluation Rubric on the K-Power Energy Bar website from Part 2
- Completed Evaluation Rubric on both Moon Landing websites from Part 3
- Completed Evaluation Rubric on Tech Rockstar Wikipedia website from Part 4
- Each Completed Rubric is 4 points each, Title slide is 2 points
- Make sure all answers are written completely with explanations of why you answered the way you did. 8 points