Evaluating Internet Sites

I attended a conference in 1997 with the presenter being Alan November.  He spoke about accessing information on the internet and how to critically evaluate the site and/or the information on the site.  Although this is already fifteen year old information (hard to believe) I think it is still relevant today for all teachers to use with students but especially with older students. 

Students need to be taught not only how to use the internet but they also need to be taught how to evaluate what they find.  Students must understand a possible bias that may be represented in the information i.e. cultural, historical, gender, national, etc. 

The following are some questions that students can ask themselves to evaluate internet sites and information:

1. If my parents were standing behind me would they want me to view this site/information?
2. Who created the site (sponsorship)?
3. Why was it created?
4. What can I learn from this site?
5. How will I use the information I find?
6. Is it backed up by other resources/quality references?  Is it biased?
7. Is it relevant to what I am looking for?
8. Is it an original source or secondary, etc?
9.  Who am I interacting with?  Giving information to?
10. Do they know I am there (tracking)?
11. Can I take information/image from the site (permission)?
12. Can I find a contradictory source?  (Compare/contrast information)

Obviously, some of these are useful for younger students and all are useful for upper middle and high school students as they become more independent in their research and internet use.  I hope this is helpful!

-Thom Knab