Level: Grades 10 to 12
Overview
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This lesson is designed to help students determine the validity of information that is presented to them on the Internet. After reviewing a series of evaluation techniques for online resources, students form groups to assess selected Web sites based on accuracy and authority, advocacy and objectivity, and currency and coverage.
Note to Teachers:
Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide! is an online exercise designed to help students determine the validity of information that is presented to them on the Internet. Teachers should check the links that are provided for the activities to ensure they are functioning correctly. Although we have endeavoured to link only to sites suitable for secondary students, there is always the possibility of encountering potentially offensive materials on, or through, some sites.
Preparation and Materials
Photocopy the following handouts:
The Lesson
Distribute The Web as a Research Tool: Evaluation Techniques to students and review and discuss the main points.
Beginning the Exercise
Before starting the exercise "Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!, divide your class into three groups. Each group will be given a specific topic that they will be evaluating on the sites they visit. The main question that students must decide is:
Would you use this Web site for a research paper? Why or why not?
When the groups have been designated, distribute the following assignment sheets:
Give students some time to review the exercise and discuss their exercise questions. Each group will then be given ten minutes to examine two Web sites from their assignment sheets. After ten minutes, the groups will report their findings to the class.
Additional information on evaluating Web resources can be found in the authors' book Web Wisdom: How to Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web, published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1999. 
