Critical Web Evaluation IChat Feedback

(1) share and discuss your Internet Workshop

My group, Beth, Jeff and I, met this evening via IChat to discuss our internet workshops. It was really neat to see their approaches to the workshop project against mine, and I learned a lot from theirs! Both of theirs required students to go to specific websites that had a known bias, and had students identify the bias through critical web evaluations. My internet workshop, on the other hand, had students go to a known website, and then go to 2 websites of their choice and perform web evaluations on them. I then had students meet with their group, discuss their findings, and present their information on current events in physics (the focus of the workshop). After a class discussion, students write a paper on the importance of being information literate.

Through the discussions, Beth and Jeff pointed out to me that my lesson plan needed to be clarified a bit. It was wordy in some areas and a little repetitive in others. They also suggested that I include in the rubric an evaluation on groupwork, since that is one of the objectives of the lesson. I thought that was a great suggestion, and we actually discussed today in our methods class how to do it so I will definitely include that next time. Otherwise, the feedback was pretty positive. They thought my objectives were very clear and concise, so that was good!

After reading their internet workshops, I found that I think I need to add a better "hook" into my lesson plan to get students more engaged in the purpose of the workshop. Beth and Jeff also both had students go to websites with a known bias, and I didn't, so it might ahve been helpful for students to go to a website with a known bias rather than find one on their own. I think that I could probably show students a website with bias, explain why it is a bias based on critical web evaluation, and that would show students how to identify a website that skews information.


(2) discuss the implications of the following statement: "Students will become victims of the expansive dark side of the Internet unless we teach the critical thinking necessary to make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that is now available and growing every day" (November, 2010).

Our groups discussed that we need to make our students aware of the vast amount of information that is being posted on the website every day, which makes it increasingly necessary for educators to give them the skills to discriminate between legitimate and falso web sources. We also discussed how students need to know who publishes the website to identify biases. For example, Beth's workshop has students read about the bp oil spill in the Gulf from three websites: Sienna Club, BP website, and the EPA. Students should be aware of the intentions and purposes of each of these organizations/companies/government agencies and should ask the questions, "what is in this group's best interest? What does this group WANT me to hear?" We need to let our students know that critical web evaluation is an invaluable lifelong skill, especially nowadays when it is so easy for anyone to create a website.

(3) Will I use internet workshop in class?

I think it is definitely a great tool to integrate in class! It is so easy to include without taking away from your unit or curriculum. I will definitely include an internet workshop in class if it is not covered in another class already. I would have to ask my students if they have already performed one and are aware of critically evaluating websites first, because I would not want to repeat anything that they are already familiar with.