Google. This word represents the most powerful search engine readily available to the public. Google gives you the ability to search any topic you could possibly imagine and receive thousands of results within seconds. From my own experience surfing the web, I click on the first few links that pop up and accept the information that is printed on the screen. If it's on the internet it has to be true, right? This is a common misconception with today's generations. We are not taught how to evaluate the credibility of websites so we assume that if it has a website it must be right. Evaluating a website is not necessarily as tricky as it may seem. As teachers, we must be knowledgeable of the process of evaluating websites so we can use the internet as a resource in the classroom.
I recently participated in an website evaluation activity in my technology course. The activity made me aware of how easy it is to be mislead by information published on the internet and how it is even easier for anyone to create their own website. I enjoyed the evaluation activity because it will be helpful to use in the future to make sure the websites I use in the classroom are credible and classroom friendly. The activity included a large list of criteria to help determine the credibility of a website. Although I may not be able to remember every detail of the activity in the future there were a few key rules that stood out. These are 4 key questions that I believe are essential to ask yourself while evaluating a website:
1. When was the website last updated?
It is important that the websites you want to incorporate into the classroom are recent and contain updated information. If websites are updated on a daily or weekly bases it means that are well maintained and more likely to be credible and recent information. If a website has not been changed within the last year it probably does not contain the most recent and accurate information.
2. Who is the author of the site?
A credible website most likely has a contact page or a history that provides information and sponsors to support the credibility of the author. Many websites may not have a single author but a corporation or partners that may be well known. It is easy for an author to 'fudge' their resume so it is always smart to double check the credibility of the author if the website is questionable.
3. Are all of the links active?
Dead links on a website may be a give away that the site is a spoof. When evaluating a website it is important to check all of the links to make sure they are active. It is also important to check and see if the site is undergoing a lot of 'construction'; if so, the construction should only be temporary. Websites that are under construction for several weeks are not well maintained and the author may not be a reliable source.
4. Is the website professional? (layout, grammar, etc.)
The overall appearance of the website is a huge part of determining the credibility of the site. Reliable websites should not have grammatical errors in the text and content. They should also appear professional and well maintained. A website is most likely a spoof or unreliable if there are noticeable errors and an unprofessional appearance.
These 4 questions are an easy guide to keep in mind while evaluating websites. I know that I will reference the guidelines I learned from the evaluation activity and hope that are helpful in the future.
