Mrs. Schroeder's Website

Please read all the information below and perform whatever tasks asked of you. Your assignment is due tomorrow. Any questions, ask Mrs. Schroeder for assistance.

 WEBSITE ADDRESS: LESSON 1

Here are some general thoughts to website review

• What is the Website Address?
• Is the Information on the site up to date?
• Who has written the information?
• Can you check the information?
• Are there contact details?
• Could the website be biased?
• What are the aims of the site?

Website Addresses:

The internet address of a website can tell you about its reliability even before you have visited the site.  Internet addresses ending in the following letters generally belong to non commercial organizations.

Examples:     .gov    .gov.uk   .gov.us   .mil

Most websites whose addresses end in the letters below belong to charities and purblic education organizations. But they are also available for commercial use.

Examples:        .org    .edu .ac  .k12   .sch

The endings below are the commercial sites.

Examples:   .co    .com    .net   .biz

While a reliable website may have an internet address ending in any of these, it is worth remembering that anyone can buy these addresses.  A website ending in .com could belong to anyone from a commercial organizaiton to your next door neighbot, so it's best to be careful.

Remember when you used to ask for help when walking across the street???

IS THE INFORMATION UP TO DATE?

Reliable websites containing factual information should always include a note about when the information was last updated or reviewed.  This will normally be at the bottom of each page.  For example, if you scroll down to the bottom of this site, you should see a 'last update' text with a date on it.

This is not quite so important on websites about personal experiences, or on online community sites which provide their users with moral support.  But if a site claims to contain accurate information about a medical treatment, for example, it should be specific about its information being accurate and up to date.  Even if the actual information does not change, reliable websites will still review the information and include the review date on the page.

WHO HAS WRITTEN THE INFORMATION?

As you know anyone can put information on the internet. So it is important to find out who has written a site and whether they are qualified to do so. this is particularly important in any science or medical field. Here are some questions you may want to ask:

• Are the writer's qualified authoritites in this field?
• If not, has someone qualified checked the information?
• Is the information research based, or is it just the writer's opinion?
• How do the writer's decide what to base their information on?
• Is the information on their site in line with that on other reliable sites?
• Are they just providing information or is the site trying to sell you something?

 CAN YOU CHECK INFORMATION?

The information on a website should tell you where the information came from.  They may include a list of journal article references or links to the books they used.  If not, you should be able to contact them to find out hte source of the information. Many websites will even offer links to other similar organizations and websites.

Be sure to check your information!

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ARE THERE CONTACT DETAILS?

Who is responsbile for the website?  Is there an address, phone number or email address?  The website should include thsee details on the homepage or in their about us or contact us sections.

COULD THE WEBSITE HAVE BIAS?

To have bias means that the website has an opinion about an issue it is more than likely trying to promote. For example, websites trying to sell you video games are not going to tell you that all video games stink, right? They will tell you how exciting the game is, how great the graphics are etc...

Even tho a website is advertising or selling you something, it does not necessarily mean the information is not accurate, but it may not give you all the options or choices open to you.  some sites trying to sell alternative home remedies have very official looking information on them, so be aware.

 

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IN CONCLUSION

A good website will tell you who it is for and what it is trying to do. If the aim is not clear, the headings of secitons and titles of pages may tell you if it will be able to answer your question.  If these are not clear either, IT PROBABLY IS NOT A SITE YOU CAN CONSIDER RELIABLE.

        At one time this lamp was considered the most reliable form of light. Now what is? You must think of websites in the same way.

 

ASSIGNMENT:

Download the following handout, print it and answer all questions. It is due to Mrs. Schroeder tomorrow.

Lesson One Handout