Evaluating Web Sites
Strategies for Evaluating Sites
To select Internet sites for your curriculum, you must first
decide on your criteria for a good Web site. You want the sites that you and
your students use to have accurate, current information. Presentation or site
design, readability, and the site's publisher are important factors
to consider.
Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate of Wolfgram Memorial Library at Widener University have taken the techniques that librarians have used for many years to evaluate print media and have applied them to Web sites. They have established five evaluation criteria:
Alexander and Tate discuss different types of Web sites and give examples of what to look for when evaluating them.
Kathy Schrock discusses Web site evaluation in the ABC's of Web Site Evaluation. She also has a good collection of Web site evaluation links and suggestions for rubrics.
A rubric uses a set of criteria to effectively evaluate Web sites.
To develop a rubric for evaluating Web sites, you need criteria and a rating
scale. Find an existing rubric or alternate evaluation tool for your Project.
Use this to evaluate one or two sites and see if it fits your needs. Make adjustments
as necessary.
Look at the evaluation rubrics at these sites.
Blue Web'N Site Evaluation Rubric
Kathy Schrock's Evaluation of a Web Site Form
Plagiarism is copying or using someone else's words or ideas and
failing to give them credit. Even if it's not intentional, plagiarism is a
serious academic offense, and students need to understand this. Even very young
students can learn to give credit to others when they borrow ideas. The Modern Language
Association's Guide to Grammar and Writing has a statement on plagiarism.
For more information on plagiarism, try these sites:
Citing Your Sources
Give credit where
credit is due. If you use someone else's ideas, you must give them credit.
Avoid even unintentional plagiarism by citing all Web sources in your projects.
Connected Teacher provides formats that students (especially younger ones) can use when citing sources. Examples are included.
Use these sites for information on how to cite Internet resources for a specific style such as APA or MLA