Flat World Education

Teaching students to efficiently find information on the Internet is easy. All we have to do is point them to Google or some other search engine, and show them advance techniques, such as using quotation marks around phrases and using Boolean logic with “NOT, AND, OR”. Teaching them to evaluate the validity of the information found on the Internet involves teaching critical thinking skills, which is harder to teach and requires deeper understanding of the Internet.

In order to evaluate validity of information, students must understand the sources of information. Students publish using blogs and contribute to wikis. They upload and tag photos to share with friends. They communication using instant messaging, but they may not understand the difference between a wiki like Wikipedia and an online encyclopedia such as the World Book online. They often do not understand the difference between information found on a website and information found in a subscription database such as SIRS Knowledge Source. They may not understand that a URL ending in .edu does not mean the person who wrote the information was knowledgeable about the topic. They generally do not understand that search engines such as Google are popularity contests with the most frequently visited sites at the top of the list, so the information found in the top choices are not always the most valid or most relevant.

I ask students in my grade 9 technology classes to annotate their references. This means that each entry in the bibliography must include a statement indicating how the student knows the information source contains valid, reliable information. When we first start the process, their annotations often include statements like the following examples. (1) It was well formatted. (2) It told me what I wanted to know, (3) It is supported by the School Board (in reference to an article from SIRS Knowledge Source database) (4) Experts write it (in reference to both Wikipedia and World Book). (5) It was updated recently. (6) It is copyrighted (It had a copyright symbol). (7) It states the name of the author. (8.) It is from an educational institution. (9) It had lots of links. They soon learn that these statements do not validate the information or the source of the information.

We practice evaluating information found on the Internet before beginning the research assignment, and I help them to evaluate information sources during the project. If they do not demonstrate their ability to critically validate information sources on the final product, then I know they need more practice. They are asked to re-evaluate the sources again to determine validity. (Many students want to learn to critically evaluate information sources, once they understand the importance of the task. Others need more motivation. My students are as grade conscious as any. I give a zero for an annotation if it does not demonstrate critical thinking, but allow students to correct errors for full marks.)

By the end of the assignment, students know that they have to spend far more time evaluating the validity of each source of information than they did finding the source in the first place. They learn to “Google” the author and web site sponsor to learn more about both. They learn to use the link: command to learn how many and what type of sites link to the information source. They learn that information found in personal directories (indicated by ~ in the URL) on a web site must be questioned for validity, even if it is on a university web site. They learn that some websites automatically show a false update-date that changes each time a web site is accessed. They learn that placing a copyright symbol on a web site does not indicate validity. They learn that even information found in a subscription database must be validated for credibility. They also learn that I will accept information from Wikipedia, if the article contains a bibliography of information sources, and if the indicated sources are valid, credible sources. (It is generally better if the students follow the bibliography links in Wikipedia to original sources, but sometimes the information in Wikipedia is written in simpler language that is easier for the students to understand.) They learn that I will accept information from blogs, if the student can prove the person writing the blog has the knowledge to provide accurate, valid information.

At the end of the assignment, they are not experts on how to evaluate information sources, but they are starting to think critically about what is valid and which sites are reliable. To improve on their ability to think critically about information sources on the Internet, to get better at shredding the Internet layer by layer, we must reinforce these skills in various content areas and grade levels.

Deeper Understanding:
We can help students by providing examples of valid information sources for all subject areas from different types of information sources. We should also provide varied sources of information with increasing subject-area depth of knowledge from year to year. To do that, we all need to learn to shred the Internet to find the most reliable, valid, relevant information sources. We must practice what we teach, then share the knowledge with students. We need to explain to students why the sources we provide are valid sources of information to help them develop a deeper, more critical understanding of the process.

Additional Tips for Shredding the Internet from Alan November