Website Evaluation
Evaluate your Website Why is this important? We
use the internet on a daily basis to find information; information
about songs or a band you like, movies, a place you want to go, or
information for a school project. You will want to evaluate your website to see if it is authoritative, objective, accurate, current, and useable. Follow
the steps below to help you better understand the process to evaluate
websites. Most of the time we just assume the information is accurate.
How do you really know if it accurate or bogus? After all anyone can
make a webpage. |
For Example:
First, get the "Evaluating a Web" Site grading rubric from the Library. You will use the grading rubric so you can "grade" (evaluate) this website for it's accuracy and authenticity.
You know about Martin Luther King...
1) Go to your favorite search engine (for example: Google, Yahoo, or Bing ) and type in "Martin Luther King" or click on the links directly below.
2) One of the top entries will be the website http://www.martinlutherking.org/
with the subtitle of "A True Historical Examination. Sounds like a good website doesn't it?
with the subtitle of "A True Historical Examination. Sounds like a good website doesn't it?
3)
Look the website over to find clues whether it is a reliable place to
find information. Use the Grading Rubric to help you decide. Did you
notice who hosts the website? How about the offensive words on the left
side of the page?
4) Now go to this site about Martin Luther King, Jr. http://www.thekingcenter.org/
What do you think of it? This one is actually the "official" website for the MLK Center.
5) Use the grading rubric Evaluating a Web Site for Research to "grade" this website for it's accuracy and authenticity.
6) It is very clear that this website does not have unbiased or accurate information. But sometimes it is not as obvious.
Now you try:
Here are some sites that may not be as easy to tell if they are accurate or bogus.
Use the Evaluating a Web Site for Research Rubric.
6) Dihydrogen Monoxide Research, the invisible killer? or something you cannot live without?
7) Which is the real city of Mankato's official website? (a local university runs the unofficial site)
8) Which type of Mountain Dog is real.
If you want to check out some more websites follow this link to Kidsnetsoft.
More links to tools to evaluate websites
Use RADCAB to evaluate information
Now
that you understand the criteria to use when evaluating a website you
can review the tutorial on this University of California Berkley.
Review this site from Cornell University Library that has some more information about evaluating websites.
