Critical Thinking on the Web
Step 1. Evaluating Internet sites can be a challenge at first. All newcomers to the 'Net are immediately placed in the position of evaluator. Read the following to better understand the questions you should ask when visiting a web site.
Who is the author? Is there information about the author? Can you find it?
Who is the author? What qualifications, education, training, experience, knowledge do they have? Do they work for a responsible and known organisation?
Do you know how to check the publisher, i.e. using domain types, header or footer, watermark or wallpaper, link to home page etc? What do suffixes like .gov .org tell you about the source?
| 4. Contact and communication. |
Can the author or web coordinator be contacted for comment or questioning?
Has the site been recommended or reviewed by someone reliable?
What is the purpose of the information? e.g Is it serious or humorous, professional or amateur?
Is it valid information, or a thinly disguised commercial?
Is it genuine and trustworthy, or is it a 'virtual soapbox', mostly opinion, or biased?
Is it fair, offering a balanced argument, not slanted or selective?
Does it encourage thoughtful assessment, or are there sweeping statements or excessive claims?
What is the scope? Is the topic covered in depth? Is it full and comprehensive, or is it trivial?
What is the level? eg Is it too academic, too complicated, too long?
Do you accept everything, or do you think about how useful it is first? Can you treat this the same way you would treat a published book? Does it answer the question, or have you drifted?
Do you respect the fact that this is someone's work? Is it stated that it is 'Public domain', or is it protected by copyright? Do you give credit to the author? Do you keep a record of the source?
Has the information been updated? Has it been pruned and 'dusted' so that it is fresh?
Will it continue to be updated? Or might it be 'orphaned'? Can you rely on it over time?
Does access require special software? If it is popular, and therefore busy, will it be accessible in the time you have? Is the site 'viewable' by all web browsers? Do the links still work?
Is the design appealing, with elegant simplicity, or is it fussy, crowded, complicated? Do too many fancy or large graphics make it slow to load? Do special features enhance or hinder?
Search engines can retrieve pages out of context. Can you return to the home page to determine the source? Has the author shown where the information came from? Are more links provided?
Does every page have an index, navigation buttons or links to get around? Is there a site map, table of contents, or outline of topics? If there is a lot of information, is there a search function?
Is there a comparable source? Is the internet version complete, or partial? eg some newspapers only provide part of an story.
Are the facts correct? Websites can contain unchecked information. How will you know?
Are people treated with fairness and tolerance? Or can you see bias, stereotyping, insults, loaded language, racism, other 'isms, hurtful ideas?
Has it been proofread, checked and edited? Is the spelling okay? Is it reliable?
Do you remember to keep an eye open in case something isn't appropriate for you?
How does internet information fit into your subject and search? Are you looking for particular kinds of information eg current, historical, definitions, statistics, narrative, research results or opinions? Would it be easier to use another source for a particular question, or does the internet fill a gap?
Does your screen reader work on the web page? Does the web page meet your learning style?
Optional Resources
Net Knowhow - Evaluating Internet sites can be a challenge at first. All newcomers to the 'Net are immediately placed in the position of evaluator. And in schools everywhere, it's teachers who will help them learn how to evaluate!
Critical Thinking Quiz - An interesting, 26-question online quiz provided by the College of Forestry at Oregon State University.
Critical Thinking Web - OpenCourseWare on critical thinking, logic, and creativity. “This educational web site provides over 100 free online tutorials on critical thinking, logic, scientific reasoning, creativity, and other aspects of thinking skills.” A nice coolection of resources from Hong Kong University. You might want to give the world’s most difficult logic puzzle a try!
Step 2. - Open the online form for your grade in one browser window. In another browser window visit one of the web sites listed below. Evaluate the website by filling in the form.
Assignment - online form
Performing a Netcheck - Grades 7-9
Performing a Netcheck - Grades 10-12
Demonstrating Critical Evaluation - Web sites to visit
Step 3. - Can you think of another time when you visited a web site and it did not have good information?
