INTERNET CURRICULUM #3 : Evaluation of a Web Page

copyright 1996 Kathleen Schrock (kathy@kathyschrock.net)

Purpose :To have students realize that Web pages need to be looked at critically and evaluated for content accuracy and authenticity.

This lesson involves "WebWhacking" a Web page (with permission of the webmaster), altering it six times to create a different web page for each group of students, and then having the students critically evaluate the pages and report back to the class on their findings.

The lesson plan may be found below. For a complete description of the lesson, including the methodology for preparation, see the September 1996 issue ofTechnology Connection, the magazine for school media and technology specialists.

• "It Must Be True : I Found it on the Internet" by Kathleen Schrock
• v.3, no.5, September 1996, pp. 12-14
• Technology Connection (ISSN 1074-4851)
• Published 10 times per year, September - June
• Cost : $36.00; single copy price is $7.00
• Address : Linworth Publishing, 480 East Wilson Bridge Road, Suite L, Worthington, OH 43085-2372
• Phone : 800.786.5017 (FAX 614.436.9490)
• e-mail : linworth@linworthpublishing.com

Purpose :

To have students realize that Web pages need to be looked at critically and evaluated for content accuracy and authenticity.

Materials :

6 laminated Web pages; a set of 4 photocopies of each laminated page; 24 copies of the critical evaluation checklist; 1 overhead transparency of each laminated page; Internet connection or WebWhacked Web page that meets all of the criteria for a good Web page; large screen projection device for class Internet viewing

Procedure :

1. Library Media Specialist will poll the students to see if they know some of the methods for critically evaluating a print source. (copyright date, bibliography included, information about the author included, etc.) Library Media Specialist will then remind students that the Internet is a huge repository of information, but students need to be able to verify if the information presented is accurate and useful for their purpose.
2. The Library Media Specialist will then show (on the large screen) an exemplary Web page that includes all of the criteria for a good Web page. These include, but are not limited to, a descriptive title, a photograph or drawing, a date of last update, a signed page, information about the author, sources used to prepare the page, links to other related sites, and a page that is easy to navigate. Using the checklist, the Library Media Specialist will model aloud how to critically evaluate the Web page on the screen.
3. The Library Media Specialist will set up the lesson by presenting students with the scenario that they are doing a report on dinosaurs, and will need to evaluate information that they found on a Web page on that topic.
4. Working in 6 small groups, students will evaluate the copy of the page at their table by filling out the checklist. Encourage students to use traditional print sources to verify any information that they find questionable. Each group will then present their results to the class using the overhead copy of their particular page. (Some of the questions on the evaluation checklist will not be applicable for this static Web page lesson (i.e. Does the page take a long time to load?)

Summary :

Using "The Important Book" (by Margaret Wise Brown) strategy, have students fill out the following summary sheet. This picture book for children takes ordinary objects and identifies the key characteristics of the object. As a summarizer, this strategy involves a repeated first and last statement of the main concept, and three supporting details in the middle. Following is an example of a completed "Important Book" entry. The students fill in the information on the lines.

The important thing about Web pages is __(you need to check the information)_.
They __(should be signed)__.
They __(should be current)_.
They __(should contain a good title)_.
But the important thing about Web pages is __(you need to check the information)_.