Website Credibility Procedure

After looking at the websites provided for class, I found that it was a bit difficult to sum up exactly what kind of process to go about when evaluating websites. In the past when evaluating websites I kind of go with the gut feeling, if it seems right, and most of the time that works. To break down that process of “just seeming right” as an actual procedure or students I would have them ask themselves a number of questions.

The first thing I would have them ask, “Does the website first off look professional?” Most of the time a more professional looking site indicates some level of time and money spent that could indicate factual material, this is not always necessarily the case, as shown with the tree octopus and explorer websites but it would be a start. The next thing I would have them ask themselves, “Does the material in this website appear to have an obvious one sided bias being expressed in it?” For example, looking at the Martin Luther King website there was quite an obvious viewpoint that was being expressed throughout it. Next I would encourage them to read the information on the site and ask to themselves, “Does this seem legitimate?” What I mean by that is does the material seem real? Looking at the explorers page after reading a bit about some of the explorers some of stories were just ridiculous, for example, Champlain owning a hockey team in the 1600’s. I think the biggest piece of advice to is think critically while evaluating websites, don’t always trust it just because it looks good, and when in doubt check other sources. Those sources could be using other known reputable sites, books on that subject, or asking a teacher or other adult that may be able to help in evaluating the credibility of that site.