Tag Archives: source evaluation

Website evaluation tools

Posted on by
Reply

Tonight I read a number of articles in Module 2.3 about teaching students and teachers the importance of and the skills of website evaluation. A number of models were presented, including Shrock’s (2009) 5Ws, Duke’s (2016) WWWDOT test, and the CRAP test, presented by Pru Mitchell (2017). I found the 5Ws to be a comprehensive guide that covers all the necessary elements, but I fear that the mnemonic may not be as memorable as one might wish in this context, after all who, what, where, when, how and why are used in other contexts too, possibly leading to confusion for younger students. The CRAP test I have found is quite memorable for my students. The WWWDOT method I had not read about before. I do not find this an easy model to use or mnemonic to remember. Duke (2016) relates that only a small percentage of students in her study were able to independently implement this test and I can see why.

The models presented above all cover roughly the same ground, just using slightly different language. It is up to the teacher librarian to select which model is most memorable and impactful for their particular cohort of students. Oddone (2016), on the other hand, presents some online tools that were completely new to me. These are tools I do not think are usually necessary for primary aged students, but would be very useful to high school and university students and the population at large. They are tools that I want to remember and return to at another time for further investigation and I highly recommend this article for other teacher librarians.

 

Duke, N. K. (2016). Evaluating websites as information sources. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/evaluating-websites-as-information-sources-nell-k-duke
Mitchell, P. (2017, January 15). Critical thinking tool – the CRAP test. Teacher. https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/critical-thinking-tools-the-crap-test
Oddone, K. (2016).  Information and critical literacy on the web. SCIS Connections, (96). https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-96/information-and-critical-literacy-on-the-web
Schrock. K. (2009). The 5W’s of website evaluation. http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/5ws.pdf

Website Evaluation Criteria

Posted on by
Reply

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