Evaluating Websites

It is ironic that the first place I looked to answer how to evaluate websites is the internet. I have learned that questions in education are scrutinized on the internet. I found that Lesley University had detailed criteria that educators can use to weed out good sites from bad. The criterion is similar to the list posted in our course documents. The site also contains a few good examples of sites that are not acceptable.

The how can be achieved by following time tested methodology, but the why is extremely important and needs to be internalized. I have watched, on countless occasions, educator’s use the internet without regard for the risk they are taking looking at unscrutinized websites. Many educators count on the school firewall. That could not be more wrong! I have witnessed educators plagiarize and brake copyright laws on a regular basis. Educators who don’t do their due diligence risk committing career suicide. One mistake can create a snowball with long term consequences.

Many educators assume they only need to look at internet materials for content but they should also understand how to legally use good information. I have known educators who find a websites they like, who then pull text and images from those sites for use with Power Point. Many educators do not realize that all images on the internet, unless expressly written otherwise, are covered by copyright law.

The internet is a valuable tool, but its use comes with heightened responsibility. There are entire books dedicated to the appropriate use of the internet. I have only touched upon a few of the reasons to review websites, the one that resonates the most with me is, if I don’t take website review seriously it could cost me my job and possibly more.

1.Lesley University Web Site:
http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/evaluating_web.html

2.A great resource for Power Point Images:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

3.This article is excellent:
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/04/Hillsborough/Taming_technology_for.shtml

4.One of the books I looked at:
Web of Deception
Misinformation on the Internet
Edited by Anne P. Mintz
Foreword by Steve Forbes