Edutopia contributor Amie Weinberg has published an in-depth article on teaching students how to evaluate websites.
Perceptive adults and savvy students know that saying something doesn’t make it a fact, and neither does publishing information on the internet. But how to know which websites are sharing accurate information? As middle and high school students conduct research or access the internet on their own time, they need to be able to determine the accuracy of what they’re reading by reviewing websites with a critical eye.
IT’S EASY TO DEVELOP A WEBSITE
There are many platforms (like GoDaddy and Wix) that allow individuals to easily create professional-quality websites without having to learn HTML coding. That means that anyone with internet access can publish virtually anything on the internet, and with current estimates of 1.145 trillion MB of data being created each day, it’s unwise to assume that everything available on the internet is accurate and truthful. Middle and high school students should learn to review websites for their content, source, and purpose. By becoming educated consumers of information, students will gain a better understanding of what they’re reading and the context. Continue reading →