Validity and Reliability of Information on the Internet

Validity and reliability of information on the Internet

A curriculum for critical thinking and web research

Skill level: Intermediate

School level: Middle school (11–13 years old)
High school (14–18 years old)

Prerequisite skills needed

Students need to have basic computer use skills, such as the ability to launch Internet Explorer®, type into search boxes, and navigate the Internet. In addition, students need the skills necessary to conduct effective Internet searches. (For ideas and information, see the “Mechanics of effective searching” lesson plans). Students should be able to determine the authors and timeliness of Internet sites.

Synopsis of lesson

Teachers develop a project within their content area aligned to their state/district standards that requires students to conduct research using the Bing™ search engine. Students develop the skills to effectively and efficiently search Internet sites using Bing, in addition to the skills necessary to determine the validity and reliability of the information they locate. Students will learn how to validate the accuracy and content of a website.

Rationale for lesson

Anyone can publish information to the web. Because of this, students need to develop the skills necessary to determine the validity and reliability of the information located there. These skills can help them decide which resources to use for academic research and projects. Before websites can be considered valid, students need to determine the accuracy and content of those sites.

Essential concepts / questions

Essential questions for teachers:

¨ How can I ensure that my students are able to determine the validity and reliability of information found on the Internet?

¨ How can I ensure that my students are able to determine the accuracy of the content on Internet sites?

Essential question for students:

¨ How can I determine the accuracy of content on Internet sites?

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)

NETS-T

¨ 4A: Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

NETS-S

¨ 3B: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

Teacher preparation

¨ Teachers should familiarize themselves with the Bing (http://www.bing.com) search engine.

¨ Teachers should work with the lab coordinator or media specialist to determine lab logistics, level of access per student, and seating arrangements.

¨ Teachers need to develop clear criteria for the project, including guiding questions to be addressed by students’ research, and a project scoring rubric, including criteria for use of technology (for example, the number of resources and images required, or how to cite sources).

à See the “Citing web sources” lesson plans for ideas.

¨ If students are working in cooperative groups, teachers should develop specific roles and responsibilities that provide for individual and group accountability.

¨ Teachers should have experience applying the questions in “Validity – Student handout 1: Questions to identify validity and reliability of Internet sites” to their own Internet searches.

Management issues

Teachers must consider student arrangement in labs; if students are to locate media files, where those files will be stored; and how much time will be allotted. Teachers should determine where students will store their work (possibilities include folders on the school server or on Windows Live™ SkyDrive™). To reduce off-task behavior, teachers should develop criteria to guide students’ searches.

Instruction

Teachers should demonstrate how to determine the validity and reliability of Internet sites. They can do this by using the bias and resource questions in “Validity - Student handout 1: Questions to identify validity and reliability of Internet sites” as a guide.

Teachers should demonstrate for students how to complete “Validity – Student worksheet 2: Accuracy and content.”

Student activities / guidance

Students conduct searches based on the assigned topic or guiding questions. As they locate sites related to their topic, they refer to the bias and resource questions in “Validity - Student handout 1: Questions to identify validity and reliability of Internet sites.” As guided practice, students record sites used and they log information concerning the accuracy and content of sites on “Validity – Student worksheet 2: Accuracy and content.”

Assessment

¨ Completed worksheet: “Validity – Student worksheet 2: Accuracy and content.”

¨ Students reflect on their own searches and answer the essential question:

à How can I determine the accuracy of content on Internet sites?

Related resources and tutorials

¨ Bing User Guide: How to use Bing

à http://www.nirmaltv.com/2009/06/01/bing-detailed-user-guide

¨ Information about the Bing search engine

à http://help.live.com/help.aspx?project=wl_searchv1&market=en-US&querytype=keyword&query=egapemoh&domain=www.bing.com:80

¨ Windows Live SkyDrive

à http://skydrive.live.com/

Related resources and tutorials (continued)

¨ “Validity – Teacher demo – Wikipedia: Wikipedia overview” and “Validity – Student worksheet 4: Wikipedia student worksheet”

¨ See the “Mechanics of effective searching” lesson plans for ideas and guidelines.

¨ See the “Citing web sources” lesson plans for ideas and guidelines.

Closure and reflection

Questions for closure and student reflection when reviewing student activity and learning:

¨ How can you determine the validity and reliability of information located on
the Internet?

¨ What are some questions you can ask yourself to determine the accuracy of a site?

¨ What are some questions you can ask yourself regarding the content of Internet sites?

¨ Why is it important to identify the accuracy of content on an Internet site?

Teacher reflection questions

¨ Were there any unforeseen management issues?

¨ Which elements of the lesson were effective?

¨ Which elements of the lesson should be adjusted for next time?

¨ Will students be able to complete this type of lesson more independently next time?

¨ What obstacles did students encounter in answering the questions related to accuracy and content?

Supplementary materials

¨ “Validity - Student handout 1: Questions to identify validity and reliability of
Internet sites”

¨ “Validity – Student worksheet 2: Accuracy and content”

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