Integrating the
Internet
Facilitator: Michael Krauss
(Adapted by Norman Yoshida and Michael Krauss
from a TESOL presentation by Lawrence J. Zwier)
Some Internet sources are factual and objective, providing us with accurate information. (trustworthy). Others, however, offer mostly opinions or people's strong beliefs, and often the ideas presented are not accurate. Some may, in fact, be outright lies, designed to mislead the reader. Still other sources try to sell things and may make their products and services sound better than they really are. (untrustworthy)
Sometimes you can guess at how trustworthy a site may be by its domain suffix. However, even this label may not be very helpful. Some domain suffixes are these:
- .com = commercial
- .edu = educational
- .org = non-commercial organization
- .ml = military
- .gov = government
- ~name = personal page
When evaluating sites it is useful to follow a checklist of things to look for. This will help you to judge if the site is "trustworthy." There are different checklists for different types of websites. Follow these links and study the different checklists. When you understand them, come back and complete the two tasks below.
TASK 1: Choose 5 sites from the list below. Visit the sites and spend at least five minutes there. For each site your visit, choose which of the checklists would be the best for evaluating that site.
TASK 2: Using the 5 sites you chose in Task 1: Rate each site for trustworthiness. Use the scale below (from 1-5). In the "Explanation" box, write the reasons for your answer. Write at least 4-5 sentences. Be specific. Give examples to support your answer. Use your best grammar and spelling!
- 5 = "Completely trustworthy" means we can believe everything that is said
- 4 = "Very trustworthy"
- 3 = "Not sure" (neutral)
- 2 = "A bit untrustworthy"
- 1 = "Completely untrustworthy" means we can not believe most of what is said
NOTE: When you finish filling in the five forms below, you must click on "Submit" at the bottom of the page to send your answers to your teacher!
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Updated: 9/5/11