Re: Article Review -- LM Tech Mentor Forum

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Date Posted: 08:19:11 02/04/02 Mon
Author: Patti Rooney
Subject: Re: Article Review
In reply to: Adrienne 's message, "Article Review" on 14:59:52 01/23/02 Wed

Valenza Kasman, Joyce. �Evaluating Web Resources: Garbage In, Garbage Out!� Classroom Connect. February 2002: 4-7.

Valenza opens the article introducing the typical students as a �very poor information consumer.� Many students tend to rely solely on the internet as their only source of information. What many of these students do not realize is that all information �is created equally.� Valenza illustrates this with several examples of misconceptions and project results using invalid internet sources. She is quick to point out that this lack of information gathering skills is not the student�s fault. This generation of students is the first generation to �cope with information overload and true information diversity.� (p.4)
Valenza outlines four steps students must take take to determine the validity of a web source and assessing for accuracy. First, students should evaluate their search tools. Using a search engine that can categorize results helps to find the more relevant information. In addition, students should be exposed to a different search engines.
Second, students must possess the ability to evaluate the results. It is difficult to identify which of the many listed sites is a valid site; Valenza suggests modeling the process of evaluating the sources. After choosing the site, Valenza�s third step is to evaluate the author of the site�s credentials. She suggests searching the name of the author using a reliable search engine, or search articles or periodical database. Another strategy to use is to examine the URL by checking the ending domain. Example, .org, .edu, and .gov tend to be more reliable.
The final step Valenza discusses is to require students to �holistically evaluate� a site they intend on using in their bibliography. Valenza points to the teacher as the one to teach students the skill, and encourages teachers to conference with their students before moving on with their piece. This is a good time to recommend additional resources if needed.
Included in the article are web sites for evaluating sites and web sources. These prove beneficial to not only students, but also teachers. The apparent overload of information and excessive availability of resources on the internet is not only new to this generation of students, but to teachers as well. The lessons and sites included in the article should be helpful to us as mentors and to share with our proteges.

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Replies:

Re: Article Review -- Jim MacCall, 04:59:29 02/06/02 Wed