Evaluating Web-based materials

When evaluating web-based materials, the first thing to think about is: Am I looking for facts, opinions, news or entertainment?
If you are looking for facts, you should be able to find the following information readily:

• Author's Name
• Author's Title or Position
• Author's Organizational Affiliation
• Date of Page Creation or Version
• Author's Contact Information

These should be available so that if you have questions about the author's information they can reached.

Another aspect should be accuracy of information, you should look for

• links to original information
• dates that show when information has been updated
• a bibliography or list of links
• information about the criteria for using resources
  
• indications of bias

These are important because anyone can put information on the internet and therefore we need to be able to verify information as accurate.

One more aspect to check on is the purpose of the website, you should know if the site is
trying to entertain
persuade
inform
The answer to this should be obvious, the site should state its purpose and its intended audience

Overall, it is up to the person using the internet to be careful, and knowledgeable about the websites and web-sources they use. When using an internet source, one should be able to clearly defend that decision by havaing answers to the questions asked above or take a chance on having misinformation or passing on misinformation to others!

To help answer my question I used: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/, a very reputable resource with plenty of contact information. Which is intended for the education of others.

Reflection

While working through building this website, I found myself having a brand new respect for websites. I find myself looking at websites and wondering what tool the website creator used to create certain pieces. I really enjoyed learning Dream Weaver and seeing my work become live on the Internet. When we first opened Dream Weaver, I felt so overwhelmed and at the end I do feel as if I learned something and actually accomplished something that I can use something at a later date.

This class actually made me work through two different skill sets in such short time. Building the Web Quest was such a refreshing experience. Using a Web Quest is much different than building one from scratch. Finding valid resources for students to use was indeed a challenge. After valid resources came the challenge of reading material that students can read and understand.

This is one of the few projects that I feel I can take back and share with teachers in my school and also help them to create a Web Quest of their own. This type of project can go in so many directions that the possibilities are almost unlimited. Having teachers use this as instruction piece can help both teachers and students at my school become more independent thinkers and problem solvers. It gives students a true purpose for using the computer and also for reading the various pieces of information.
By completing this course assignment, I have demonstrated my ability to plan and design a learning environment that will be conducive for teachers to integrate technology across multiple subject areas in the classroom. Using this instructional strategy can maximize student learning and meet various learning styles. This strategy also encourages teachers to use and create rubrics to assess student work. Rubrics also help students to reflect and self-assess.
Overall this experience was a positive experience for me. I look forward to using this Web Quest with students at my school. I also look forward to helping any teacher at my school who may be interested in using this technique in their classroom.