Validating Resources Introduction

Topic: Using the Web Safely

Course: ELA Writing

Time-frame: 1 day (classroom), 2 days (computer lab)

Description: Students are led through a series of fake websites, all of which have different purposes and are typical of the types of websites students encounter on the web. Students are asked to decide if the “Jo” is “cool” or a “fool” for giving the information requested, using the web site, etc. At the end is a quiz over the material. Students then find a website on a teacher-assigned topic and qualitatively analyze it.

Rationale: When students search the web, they not only need to know how to be safe, but also how to differentiate between credible and non-credible sources. They also need to be able to discern whether a given resource is useful for the purposes of their research. This activity takes the Jo Cool or Jo Fool activity one step further, by asking students to analyze a web-page and explain whether the source is applicable to their own research.