Week Six in Accessing Knowledge!

7/4/08

Overview of week six lecture:
This weeks lecture was all about evaluation and authentication, and searching and finding quality information on the world-wide web.

• The context of the world-wide web includes open protocols and open architecture, and there is no control of who, why or what is published.
• When evaluating the web who must consider the following principles: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage.
• To find quality information it must be multi-dimensional and fit for use.
• The world-wide web was first developed by ARPANET in December1969 (4 host computers).

Tutorial Activities

• The first thing we did when we entered our tutorial class for week six, was open up our bloggers and showed Gary our posted blogs.
• After Gary reviewed our blogs we then carried on with our week six activities.
• Also throughout the lesson we got into our groups and started working on our group assignments.

Activity One:

• For activity one we were required to visit a webpage which was called 'ICYOUSEE Critical Thinking Page' (http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html).
• With this website we had to describe the strategies for evaluating information found in websites.

My description on evaluating the information found in websites:

• Make sure you are in the right place. You must make sure you know why you are using the web, and ensure that the website provides the appropriate information that you are seeking.
• When in doubt, doubt. Almost anything can be posted on the net so if you are unsure on the accuracy of the site compare it to other websites, check the authority and evaluate the site.
• Consider the source. Try to find out who wrote or created the webpage, not just find their names, but try to find out something about them which prooves and indicates it would be a good source.
• Know what's happening. Try to identify why the webpage was orginally created. When you know this it is easier to judge the pages content. A way in which you can know whats happening is to identify whether the point of the site is to inform, persuade or sell you something.
• Look at the details. Is the site well organised. Are there misspelled words or examples of poor grammar? Do the links work and are they related to the site and what is the date of when it was last revised?
• Distinguish web pages from pages found on the web. Do you think the page was designed for the web, or do you think it was originally something else.

Activity Two

For activity two we had to visit the webpage 'Reliving the sixties: a website evaluation assignment'. (http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think60.html). With this site we had choose two out of the five websites and evaluate them using the following criteria: a\Accuracy, Authorship, Purpose, Detail and Design, and Overall Worth.

Activity Three:

Website One: American Cultural History 1960-1969

• Accuracy: The information is reliable and error-free. It is published by Kingwood College Library which must have an editor or someone who checks and verifies the information. There are many references which you can click on to gain more and further your information.
• Authorship: There is an author; Susan Goodwin which is mentioned at the bottom of the page, if you click it, it then takes you to outlook express where you can her. It is copyrighted by the College Library.
  Purpose: To inform readers about the 1960's in America. As shown in the picture below, books and literature was one of eight aspects talked about.
  

• Detail and design: As shown in the picture above, it is well set out with photos and links to follow up the information. It has a plain white background, which makes the document look professional, and reliable.
  Overall Worth: Many aspects of that particular era are covered, it is informative and educational.
  

Website Two: The almost great society- The 1960's

• Accuracy: The information looks accurate and reliable. It is a lecture slide so it must be relevant information.
• Authorship: It is written by Stanley K Schultz, a professor of History. It was copyrighted in 1999.
• Purpose: To educate students about American History, from the Civil War to the present.
• Detail and Design: Set out on a notepad, like history is being written out on paper. Questions are placed as it is for a lecture.
• Overall Worth: The reader is informed about the history of America and it is educational.

Reading Summary:

Critical Thinking: The world-wide web has a lot to offer, but not all sources are valuable or reliable. Pointers given include content and evaluation, source and date, structure and others to check the validity of a particular website.
Evaluating web sites: Accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage are the main criteria of this page to check whether or not a web site is valuable and reliable.
Evaluating information found on the web: This reading is very similar to the one above, it talks about the criteria needed for spotting a bad website.
The good, the bad and the ugly: Authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage are the main criteria of this reading.
Evaluating Internet Research Sources: Credibility, accuracy, reasonableness and support are the main criteria of this reading.