Navigation

RSS Feed

Lesson Plan: Evaluating Websites

March 8, 2007 10:46 PM Posted by mac

Grade Level: This lesson plan is geared toward 11th and 12th graders.

Subject: Students will be evaluating the trustworthiness of content-oriented Web sites

Learning Objectives: Critically evaluate Web sites for utility, trust, and reliability; Go beyond the content to discover motives of the site's writers and editors; Figure out the audience this content is aimed at.

Introduction:
Many people now use the Internet as their primary source of news and information. However, the inherent financial and publishing restrictions that used to define news organizations have been removed in the Web world. These days, anyone with a computer, a Web server account and a credit card can create a “news” site. As such, it is vital that all readers cast a critical eye upon all news sources.

Sites Students Will Evaluate:

Boston.com | Lesson Link
Students in Massachusetts likely know this site, so I'd like to introduce this topic by having them analyze a journalism source they often encounter. The site itself represents a traditional news-oriented Web site. It's a good starting point for this investigation because it's the type of site students will encounter many times over.

The Drudge Report | Lesson Link
The Drudge Report is a classic muckraker site that has garnered a fair amount of publicity for breaking stories. It has also received significant criticism for its careless sourcing. The site's design is somewhat misleading -- it appears to be barebones and amateurish, but the site itself is quite well known.

The Poynter Institute | Lesson Link
Students should begin any site analysis based on the domain name. The ".org" in Poynter's Web address should help them conceptualize the site they're dealing with. Beyond that, I want them to see an example of a straight-down-the-middle professional site that is dedicated to furthering the journalism industry (Poynter is well regarded in the journalism world).

Yahoo News Business Press Releases | Lesson Link
This is a tricky one because, technically, the information being presented is housed within Yahoo's Business News area. However, the "news stories" students are looking at are actually press releases. I want them to be able to separate the site from the content. Hopefully, they'll realize that this information comes from companies that are looking to influence rather than inform.

Student Directions:
In this exercise, you will be asked to evaluate four news Web sites. You will be asked to determine the type of information being presented by each site, the audience this information is geared toward, and the source of the information (is it original reporting, is it from a news service such as the Associated press, is it a press release?). When you visit these sites, use your critical skills to look for clues: What do the domain name and Web address tell you? Does the site have a professional design? Do the articles seem objective?

Lesson Materials

Criteria Notes
What does the site’s domain name tell you? Does the design look professional?  
Are there author names on the articles? Are there email addresses for the authors?  
What are the sources of the articles? Are they written by reporters? Do they come from a wire service like the Associated Press?  
Is there advertising on the site? Is it clearly marked?  
What is the audience for this site? Who are the articles aimed at?  
In your opinion, does the material on the site seem objective? Or, is it trying to influence the reader? What led you to this conclusion?  

More Recent Stories:
• iPods and Violent Crime, Together at Last
• The Real Format War Has Yet to Begin
• New Currency in a Free World
• Web Analytics Stay Ridiculous
• Time for the "Oh My God It's Cold" Stories
• Memo to Jerry Yang: Use Your Shift Key
• Tutorial: Create a PDF with a Web Browser
• What's Behind that Multimedia Presentation?
• Microsoft Courts Yahoo with $44.6 Billion Deal
• Wi-Fi Comes to Boston Commuter Rail