Evaluating the quality of information presented on a website is a skill targeted by teacher librarians in their information literacy programs, starting from the early years. As students develop the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction, begin to be able to identify the purpose of an article and learn to find and use information, it becomes increasingly important that they learn to evaluate the content they encounter. In a primary school setting, teacher librarians need a model for evaluation of content that is simple enough for students to remember and implement, but also effective. Below are some thoughts on what such a model could look like.
| C | Current/complete | Is the date of publication shown? (not just today’s date) Is the date recent? Have big changes happened since the article was written? Does the article show the whole picture? |
| L | Language | Is there emotive language? Is there exaggeration or sweeping statements? Is technical language used to help or hinder? |
| A | Author | Is the author identified? Is the publisher identified? Is the sponsor identified? Can you contact the author for clarification? |
| P | Proof | Are facts backed up with trusted sources? Are claims supported by evidence? Are other perspectives acknowledged? Do other articles agree or disagree? Are further readings linked? Do other trusted sources link to this article? Do links work? |
Technical criteria
In addition to criteria considered by students in evaluating online content, there are technical considerations for teacher librarians looking to recommend online resources to the school community. Teacher librarians should consider accessibility requirements as well as layout, usability, relevance to the curriculum, reading and cognitive level, balance between text and images and appropriateness to the context.
However, some technical aspects such as downloading speed, avoidance of Flash, responsiveness, adaptability to different browsers, whether information is held behind paywalls or require user accounts to view, should be considered. Cumbrowski (2018) suggests many other issues for consideration, however, many of these aspects are beyond the needs of most teacher librarians and are more relevant for web developers looking to have their sites indexed more readily by search engines.
Cumbrowski, C. (2018, March 22). 50 questions to evaluate the quality of your website. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/evaluate-website-quality/233555/#close
