Evaluating Websites

Well...it's that time of year again in my building when students are getting ready for semester exams and are being asked to complete RESEARCH. Last year I worked with a couple of my ENGLISH teachers showing their students how to "evaluate" websites for credible information. One of those teachers has asked me to do this again. Last year her students were researching someone they thought was a "Hero." This year they are doing "Greek Mythology." 

I pulled out my trusty Website Evaluation Form and the PowerPoint presentation and decided to "tweak" them both. 

I decided to create a Prezi (first time) this year instead of using the Powerpoint and made it a little bit shorter. I also created "two" Website Evaluation Forms because a few of her classes needed modifications. 

I'll be presenting with my iPad (first time using my 30-pin to VGA Adapter) and the students will also be using iPads to evaluate two websites chosen by the teacher (one good/one bad). 

At the end of the day, I'll post my reflections from the lesson and let you know what worked and didn't work. 

Reflection and What I Learned...

• Know the Student's You are Working With.
• What I mean by this is their reading and comprehension level. The first three classes I worked with needed a shorter version of the Website Evaluation Form. The form I used with them, after talking with the English teacher, I modified it. Instead of having 19 questions to determine if a website was a credible resource, I reduced it down to 8. This really helped those students feel successful. Also, after I worked with the first class, I realized I needed to guide the students through the first website, asking each question on the form and giving the students a few minutes to search for the answer. This helped a lot. 

• Set Time Limits
• It was also helpful to "time" them. Because we only had a limited period of time, they needed a deadline or they would begin discussing other things or get wrapped up in the "research" part of learning about Greek mythology which the teacher didn't want them to really do until the next day. This activity was strictly about finding credible sources. 

• Know The Limits of Your Technology
• My original plan was to have the students complete an "Exit Ticket" about what they learned by clicking on a QR code that would lead them directly to this blog and they would answer the question in the comments. However, because this blog is connected to my "work" Google email account, it required a Google sign in before you could comment. And actually, that's fine because our students DO have school issued Google emails, but, after the first class I ran into students who "forgot" their password. So, instead of having the students use the QR Code, I had them access the "Notes" app on the iPads they were using and answer the question. After, I realized I could "print" their note to a printer in my Media Center because it was connected to the network. Worked like a charm! I was able to print each note, then delete it off the iPad. 

• Easy Access To Pre-Selected Websites To Evaluate
• The teacher pre-selected two websites (one good/one bad) for the students to determine if it was a credible source. I also recommend this for whatever you  will have your students research. If you just send them out there to the WWW who knows what they'll pull up. But, if you give them at least 2 pre-selected websites it'll make it so much easier for this activity. One of the things I knew would be an issue was typing in the correct URL. So, I created QR codes for each website. So, all the students had to do was scan the QR code and answer the questions. It made the whole process very simple. 

• Student Exit Ticket Comments
• "I learned that you have to be very specific about what kind of website you use. Certain websites can give you the wrong information when you're looking information up. I have to be very careful." Sydney J. 
• "Today I learned that not all sites for research are reliable. Some creators of the websites are extremely biased and not accurate." Derrick J. 
• "I learned not to use websites that doesn't give you enough information about what you're looking for." Taishi W. 
• "What I learned today is to always look for the authors info when evaluating a website." Austin H. 
• "You can find real and fake stuff when you evaluate websites." Maria G. 
• "This was a good learning experience because I have trusted Answers.com and now I'm totally like, no." Nina R. 
• "I learned how to check a website to make sure it's relevant." Cedrick C. 
• "I learned specific details about figuring out how to get on a reliable website for new information." Cherlissa M.
• "What I learned today is to always check the website I browse on to see if the information is up to date and relevant." Ivory C. 
• "Some websites may not have correct information to help with certain projects or school work. Always look for the author and credible sources." Timothy J.