Google Internet Keep Safe Workshop 1: Detecting Lies and Staying True Instructor Handbook - Manual (Page 8)

(c) IKSC 2010 Copying allowed for incidental, classroom purposes. 4
4. Ask the students to name the guidelines that they just heard. It should include:
1. Be a skeptic.
2. Don’t be fooled by cool or professional websites.
3. Ask yourself what’s the point of view of the site.
4. What are they trying to get me to believe?
5. What opinions or ideas are missing?
6. Investigate the source. Find out who published the information.
7. Follow the “rule of 3:” compare 3 sources of information.
8. Be careful about facts that you find without checking them out first.
5. Ask the student to think of more evaluation criteria.
Say: “This is great. You identified many guidelines for detecting trustworthy sources online.
Can you think of some more specific criteria that can help us evaluate a website?”
Write down any examples that the students provide. You can start the discussion by giving
specific examples (you can show websites from the Web Sources for Evaluation, Instructor
Guide, pg. 18) and asking the students questions to get them thinking:
– Investigate the source: Check the URL - what is the domain extension* and
what does it stand for? Is it clear who created the content? Can you tell what the
qualifications of the author are? Is the content protected by copyrights?
Discuss
the meaning of copyrights: A right given by law that gives the creator of an original
work exclusive right to use it.
It restricts the right of others to use that work, copy it,
distribute it or publish it in any way without getting permission from the creator. Who
holds the copyrights? Is there contact information that can be verified? Are there
any links or footnotes to other relevant and reliable sources? Do the links work?
Does the website use correct grammar, spelling and sentence structure? Are graphs
and/or charts clearly labeled? Is the content current? Are there any dates that can
tell us when the site was created and updated?
– What are they trying to get me to believe: What is the purpose of the site? Why was
it created? Is the purpose clear? Is it to sell something, to inform, to explain, to
persuade, to entertain, to share, etc.? What kind of a website is it? Is it a business
website? Is it a personal website? Is it a news source?
– What is the point of view of the site: What information is included? What information
is missing from this website? What is the bias of the author? What ideas or opinions
are missing? Is the information presented in a balanced way? Can you detect any
ideas or opinions that are missing?
* Refer to Top Level Domain Extensions in the Instructor Handbook, pg. 17.