MEDT 3401
Website Evaluation Activity
Name:
Directions: In this activity, you will consider how to determine if a
website is useful. There are five (A.-.E.) sections to this activity. Please
type your responses within the document below and save. Upload the
finished assignment to the appropriate dropbox at CourseDen.
Essential Question: How do you determine if a webpage is accurate,
relevant, appropriate, comprehensive, and unbiased?
A. Brainstorm a list of criteria which you believe should be evaluated to determine
the usefulness of a webpage for research. (Type your responses in the
textboxes below.)
1. Authors of
the website
4.
2. Can the website be
edited by outside
parties?
What
makes a
Web Page
useful for
research?
3. Where does the
website get their
information from?
5
B. Review the following websites and answer questions about each:
1. http://www.martinlutherking.org/
There’s something not quite right about this website. List any reasons you can see
why this website is not appropriate for students to use in school research. (Hint: who
is sponsoring this website?)
Answer here
The website has random information for instances it has a link for rap
*This lesson is adapted from Critical Evaluation of a Web Page Lesson Plan: Grades 6-8, Retrieved
1/31/08 from: http://kathyschrock.net/eval/index.htm
MEDT 3401
Website Evaluation Activity
lyrics and a link to learn more about Kwanzaa, when it is supposed to
promoting information about Martin Luther King. The website has a
sponsor link by stormcast. The website is very biased about its
information.
2. http://www.dhmo.org/
I (your instructor) am an ardent supporter of the cause to ban DHMO. Based on the
information you find on this webpage, will you join me in supporting this cause?
Why or why not? (If you dig deeply enough, you will discover why not.)
No because I do not feel that it has enough fact based or research based
information. On the page about Dihydrogen Monoxide and cancer they are
trying to say that there is a link between the two but with no research other
than “evidence.” At the bottom of the website there is a note that says
“content veracity not implied,” meaning the content is not accurately being
implied.
C. Complete the tutorial by Jennifer Sharkey of Purdue University at
http://www.lib.purdue.edu/ugrl/staff/sharkey/interneteval/index.html. Use the space
below to log your reactions as you work through each section of the online tutorial. For
each section, indicate which website you chose to evaluate (2 choices are provided for
each section), and answer the question(s) completely.
Accuracy
1. Which website are you evaluating for accuracy?
The True…Facts about Women with AIDS OR HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet
HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet
2. What information in this site leads you to believe or disbelieve its accuracy?
It lead me to believe this website because the information came straight
from the CDC website.
Authority
*This lesson is adapted from Critical Evaluation of a Web Page Lesson Plan: Grades 6-8, Retrieved
1/31/08 from: http://kathyschrock.net/eval/index.htm
MEDT 3401
Website Evaluation Activity
1. Which website are you evaluating for authority?
Bioethics.net : Article Topics: Cloning OR Clonaid
Bioethics.net : Article Topics:
2. Do you consider the author of the site to be an expert of the subject covered?
Why or why not?
The authors work from MSNBC and have seemed to have done a lot of
research on cloning.
Objectivity
1. Which website are you evaluating for objectivity?
The Truth OR FORCES International
The Truth
2. Can you determine the real purpose of the site?
What is it and how did you determine the purpose?
It is a website to help people understand the truth about smoking and its harmful
effects. The videos make it easy to determine what the website is and its
purpose.
Currency
1. Which website are you evaluating for currency?
The Onion OR The New York Times
The Onion
2. Is it easy to determine the currency of the site?
What did you do to determine the currency of the site?
Yes it is easy to determine the currency of the site. The date is listed across the
top and each of the articles have the date clearly listed.
Coverage
*This lesson is adapted from Critical Evaluation of a Web Page Lesson Plan: Grades 6-8, Retrieved
1/31/08 from: http://kathyschrock.net/eval/index.htm
MEDT 3401
Website Evaluation Activity
1. Which website are you evaluating for coverage?
OncoLink OR BioImmune
OncoLink
2. Do you consider the information on this site to be relevant and comprehensive?
Why or why not?
Yes, the information is in-depth and the articles have a list of references at the
end of it.
D.
Visit the following pages and briefly share your thoughts (a sentence or two) about
how you might guide your future K-12 students in determining the reliability of the
information found:
http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
http://www.weathergraphics.com/tim/fisher/
For the google site, I would have the students read through the material and
determine if the information is relevant or true. The students should be able to
determine quickly that by the end of the site it was an April Fool’s joke.
Zapatopi – I would have them read through this material as well and determine if
it is factual, and look up the information about the authors or researchers.
Weathergraphics – I would have the students determine if the website was
designed for humor or is truly accurate based on the information provided on the
website.
E.
Write a paragraph explaining why it is important to evaluate the information found
on a Web page, include the ways to find out more about the author, the sponsoring
agency, or the information itself.
It is important to understand where the information is coming from and who is
*This lesson is adapted from Critical Evaluation of a Web Page Lesson Plan: Grades 6-8, Retrieved
1/31/08 from: http://kathyschrock.net/eval/index.htm
MEDT 3401
Website Evaluation Activity
providing it. If it is an authentic website the authors should provide information
about where they found their research and list references. The website should
also have updated information when the research changes and provide the dates
for the research.
*This lesson is adapted from Critical Evaluation of a Web Page Lesson Plan: Grades 6-8, Retrieved
1/31/08 from: http://kathyschrock.net/eval/index.htm