Cover

Teaching
Media Literacy
in the Age of
the Internet

The online world is quickly becoming a source of primary

information for both teachers and students.
Considering the enormous amount of
information available online and that about
75% of all K-12 schools have Internet access,
students and teachers need to be able to critically
evaluate Web pages for authenticity, applicability,
authorship, bias, and usability.
Unlike the media center, there are no media
specialists to sort out the valuable information from
the substandard information. With more than 350
million documents available on the Web alone,
finding relevant information online can be daunting.
Therefore, the ability to critically evaluate information with
is an invaluable skill in this information age. other works. If the
author leads the user to related
The acquisition of digital literacy skills is dependent sources, it allows the student to evaluate the
upon the student’s ability to find information, determine author’s scholarship. Citations should be full citations to
its usefulness and accuracy, and utilize it effectively. What allow students to locate the book or periodical at the library.
follows are 26 criteria that enable teachers and students to
assess every Web page the Net has to offer. Dates Every credible Web site includes the date that it was
Authority When we look at Internet information with a created and the date of last update. Another date that may be
critical eye, we want to know the basis of the author’s important to your students is the date the data was collected.
authority. Some filters we can employ are: Students need to ask themselves if the information they are
• Is the author a well-regarded name you recognize? looking for is from an area that demands more current
• Does the online document contain a biography and information. In this case, the date of last update is an important
an email address? feature to look for.
• Did you link to this site from a site you trust? Efficiency If you plan to use a site with a large group of
• Are you led to additional information about the author? students, it is important to try it at all times of day. Some sites
http://www.amazon.com get very busy at midday and may slow down your lesson. If
Bias Biased sites contain words that try to persuade rather there are large graphics on the page, make sure the page
than inform. Some of these words include over-generalizations resides in your cache to speed up the download time. If you are
and simplifications and may also contain games, giveaways, planning a major lesson around a site, the best idea is to ask
contests, or celebrity endorsements intended to persuade. Some permission from the site’s author and use WebWhacker or
things to think about include: WebBuddy to retrieve the entire site or a portion of it to your
• Is it clear what organization is sponsoring the page? computer.
• Is there is a link to the sponsoring organization’s Web site? http://www.bluesquirrel.com/whacker/
• Is the page actually an ad disguised as information? http://www.dataviz.com/products/webbuddy/

Citations If the author of a site includes a source bibli- Fallacy As with print material, one thing that may happen on
ography, students can consult these sources to find additional a Web site is that the information presented may be used out
information about the topic and compare the author’s content of context. Citations allow students to research the original

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 document and become familiar with the surrounding text. some type of logical order. Students should be able to tell at
Another event that occurs on the Web that is unique to first glance how a site is organized and the options available.
hypertext systems is the ability to jump into a Web site at any An added bonus is the inclusion of a keyword search function.
point. Students should be encouraged to find the “top” of the
Web site and read the author’s purpose and rationale for Online Research Models There are numerous research
providing the information. models available that are applicable to the online research
process. They all have things in common including the
Graphics As bandwidth shrinks and becomes a precious formation of the research question, the planning of the search
commodity, more attention needs to be focused on the strategy, the gathering of information, and more.
graphics that are included on a Web site. Aclearly labeled
graphic is worth a thousand words when illustrating a point. Pertinent Central to the online research model is the need for
Graphics should aid students in reaching the desired objectives students to know when to disregard information. With the
for using the site and should serve a clear purpose for the amount of information available, it is imperative that students
intended audience. learn how to evaluate whether the information that they find is
pertinent to their purpose. This begins by having students
Handicapped Access In this day of the graphical browser, clarify their objectives before they begin the research process.
the statement that a page should be usable via a text-based
browser is often disregarded. Visually impaired users may Quantity of Information Some Web sites continue to grow
utilize a screen reader to read the Web page, and it is important
in size every day. With the interactive nature of the Internet,
that there be text available and text alternatives for the some sites solicit input, examples, and stories from others. If
graphics software to “read.” this type of site meets the students’needs, they should be
Information Availability Tell students that a particular reminded to visit it regularly to keep up-to-date. Having
piece of information might not be available online because students practice extensive searches on topics that they are
firms who pay to create and disseminate information are familiar with will help them realize the most effective way to
unlikely to provide this information free find information and help them eliminate
of charge. Also tell students that keeping “Digital literacy is the ability to some of the frustrations of the over-
information up-to-date is costly. abundance of information.
understand and use information
Jerry-Built Webster’s Dictionary defines Requirements Some sites have certain
jerry-built as “built poorly, of cheap in multiple formats from a wide requirements for use. Students should
materials.” When evaluating a site, learn to exercise caution if they are asked
students need to understand that a page range of sources when it is to submit registration information at a
that contains multiple spelling and site. Another annoyance is the use of
grammatical errors may have been thrown presented via computers.” proprietary software (plug-ins or players)
together. There is one exception: If the that forces the user to access the site
native language of the Web site designer is using a specific Internet browser. When
not English, spelling and grammar — Paul Gilster evaluating a Web site to use for
inconsistencies should be overlooked. instruction, be aware that, if it was
Knowledge Before researching online, students should have designed for one browser or the other, it may not be presented
working knowledge of the topics they are pursuing. This p rop erly. All Web pages should be designed with the world’s
allows students to relate how the new information compares two most popular browsers in mind: Netscape Navigator and
with what they already know about the subject. Internet Explorer. (See our October 1998 Newsletter cover
story for more information.)
Links Students should also try to find out if a site is meant to
be comprehensive in scope or is just an overview or sampler of Scholastic Reviews There are many Web review columns in
links. The links should be appropriate for the site’s intended professional periodicals that list and describe Web sites of
audience and also offer something that is not available at any value. Use these reviews to choose sites to support instruction.
other online destination. There are many awards given on the Net, and you should use
caution when choosing sites because they have won awards.
Misinformation Students need to realize some of the sources Oftentimes, awards are created to build up visits to the site of
of misinformation on the Net, which include the fact there is the awarding page. One way to determine if a site is scholarly
nothing to stop a Web page author from modifying the text at in nature is to see what type of sites have linked to it. This type
any time; the use of opinion verbs and appeals to emotion may
of Internet search can be conducted using both HotBot and
indicate bias; and there are many jokes and pranks on the Net.
AltaVista.
Navigability AWeb page should be designed for easy http://www.hotbot.com
navigation. Links should be easy to identify and grouped in http://www.altavista.com

© CLASSROOM CONNECT December 1998/January 1999

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HotBot employs a drop-down menu to search for links to The Five W’s As with any investigative reporting, students can
individual sites, while AltaVista allows users to type easily apply the five W’s to simply evaluate a Web site: Who
link:<URL> in its search box. Try this example with wrote the pages and are they an expert in the field? What does the
AltaVista. In the search box at the top of the home page, type author say is the purpose of the site? When was the site created,
the following: updated, last worked on? Where does the information come from?
link:http://www.classroom.com Why is the information useful?
Theorists The major educational tenets of noted theorists still Xtra information Tate and Alexander have also designed
remain viable in the online world. Whether it is Eisenberg and evaluation instruments for different types of Web pages. They
Bekowitz (The Big Six), Robert Marzano (Dimensions of contend that different criteria need to be examined for the different
Learning), or Bernie Dodge (WebQuests), sound educational types of pages.
theory should be the basis of all learning, including online http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm
research.
http://big6.syr.edu Yahoo! Information in a general-purpose directory such as Yahoo!
http://www.mcrel.org/products/dimensions/whathow.html has been filtered and organized to produce a browsable, keyword-
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html searchable index of a portion of the Net’s Web destinations.
Students should take advantage of these directories to get an
By having students take the information that they find and overview of what is available on the Net as they formulate their
make conscious, educated decisions about what to use and how search strategies.
to structure it, they gain the higher-order thinking skills http://www.yahoo.com
necessary for lifetime learning in an information-rich society.
Search engines are useful only when students have gained
Uniqueness The Web has many unique characteristics that their background knowledge, identified key terms, and learned
are not present in the print world. Marsha Tate and Jan effective search strategies. There is much more information
Alexander describe marketing-oriented Web pages, Web pages available through search engines than directories, and as long
that blend entertainment, information, and advertising, and as students have a clear strategy in mind, the number of results
software requirements that limit access to information as some returned should not be overwhelming.
of these unique characteristics. http://www.search.com
http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm
Zen In a 1995 issue of Computers in Libraries, Kirk Doran
Verifiable Whenever possible students need to verify Internet writes about what the Internet is not. He contends that, since
information in a reputable print source. If no citations are the Internet cannot be searched all at once or seen in its
included, the student needs to conduct further research to entirety, the usual method of matching one type of question
determine the validity of the site’s content. with one type of source does not work. He feels, due to the fact
that the Net is not run by one company, it lacks the organization
and consistency we are accustomed to in print, and the navi-
Evaluation Web Sites gation is not consistent.
http://www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/lsdocs/internot.htm
Critical Evaluation Surveys
http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/eval.htm Finally, Paul Gilster’s definition of digital literacy can be
summed up in a single phrase: “the ability to understand and use
Evaluating Internet-Based Information: A Goals-Based Approach
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/project/meridian/ information in multiple formats from a wide range of
feat2-6/feat2-6.html sources when it is presented via computers.”
http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1997/oct/bunz.html
WWW CyberGuide Ratings for Content Evaluation
http://www.cyberbee.com/guide1.html
If we strive to teach students the best way to critically evaluate
Evaluating the Quality of Internet Information Sources the information that they find in relation to the purpose at hand,
http://itech1.coe.uga.edu/faculty/gwilkinson/criteria.html we will produce a generation of digitally literate adults who are
equipped to learn throughout their lifetimes. In the end, is this
Evaluation of World Wide Web Sites: An ERIC Digest not the greatest lesson we can teach today’s students?
http://ericir.syr.edu/ithome/digests/edoir9802.html

Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources

http://refserver.lib.vt.edu/libinst/critTHINK.HTM

ED’s Oasis Evaluation Guidelines by Kathy Schrock

http://www.edsoasis.org/guide2.html <kschrock@capecod.net>
http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/

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