1. How will you teach students to be critical readers of online information? Consider news sources - how are they biased? What is "fact"?
Students growing up in this digital age will find it easy to access information through the internet. However, they may not know how to vet the information that they come across. The internet is a world wide web of information - anyone is free to share whatever information they would like to. It is up to the reader to decide whether or not the information is correct. There are a couple things that I would teach students to consider when reading online information:
Authorship - while printed material normally undergoes "quality control", internet sources do not (even the reviews of online information are not dependable!). We, as teachers, should teach students to validate the sources that they come across. Helping students to recognize primary sources and secondary sources is a part of this process as well.
Purpose - this is where we consider "bias" versus "fact"! Bias can simply be defined as prejudice. Fact is true, indisputable information. Information online can be heavily biased and for students it may be hard to catch. Let us consider news sources. You would think that they are not biased, but they are! Imparting of information can differ based on the region in which the news is written. For example, a liberal region can write news articles about political events that are extremely liberal while conservative regions would spin the same events with a conservative view. An even better example to consider is the news in North Korea. They always tell their people that the North Koreans have dominated in every Olympics - this is obviously not true (and it is unfortunate). We need to help students determine the purpose of the information that they find online so that they can determine whether it is biased or not.
2. What are some specific criteria and strategies to help judge online information?
Criteria:
Authority - Who wrote the information? Know the author.
Objectivity - Is the information biased? From what perspective is the author writing from?
Authenticity - Has the information been reviewed by other, reliable sources? Did the author use reliable sources and provide a bibliography?
Reliability - What is the author's motive? Who sponsored this publication of information on the internet?
Timeliness - Is the information current? Does it need to be current or are you looking for historic information?
Relevance - Do you need this information? Is it relevant to what you are looking for?
Efficiency - Is the information well organized? Is it easy to find information through this source? Is it worth spending time going through the source for your research?
Strategies:
Look at the URL. What kind of domain is it (.edu, .gov, .org, .net, .com, etc)? This might help you find out who is sponsoring the website. You can also use www.easywhois.com to find who owns the website and who sponsored it.
Look for links that provide information on the author (and possibly their philosophy!).
See who links to the website and who the website links to - this can help determine bias and the validity of the information!
Cross-check your data to make sure you are not pulling incorrect information.
3. Why use one search engine over another? Include "kid-friendly" search engines. Some search engines are preferred over others because of their purposes/visions. There are some "kid-friendly" search engines that directly assist students in vetting websites. Sweetsearch.com provides students with peer-reviewed sources. Students will not have to do all the work to determine the usefulness of an online source. GoGooligans.com also provides students with peer-reviewed sources, but they present the sources with larger fonts. They consider accessibility for those that may need visual assistance. A great search engine that I've played with is WolframAlpha.com. This particular search engine peaked my interest because of its computational abilities. It is a great source for teachers! It will help to create inter-disciplinary lessons. Students may find it especially helpful when they are having trouble with any school assignment involving mathematics.
4. What is the "invisible web"? What is a search strategy to reach this information? The "invisible web" is information in databases that can only be accessed by searching for them from within the website itself. Search engines will not automatically provide you with these databases. One way to at least find these databases is to add the term "database" in the search bar on the search engine. Most of these databases will require a fee - it is up to the user to decide whether it is worth paying for or not.