Information literacy is one of the most important issues students must deal with today. When is information reliable? How do you discern what is unreliable internet fodder and what information will turn out to be invaluable in a report or research paper? Like me, most students today think that they know how to weed out the unsafe internet sources, but they'd be surprised to read about how little they truly know. One of the least utilized search tools is the use of Boolean operators. Searchers can weed out so many unusable sites by using simple Boolean tools like "AND" and "OR." Many students know nothing about these useful operators and, thus, miss out on some sucessful search tools. Of the reading we've done this week, perhaps the most useful bit of information for students is "The 5 Basic Evaluation Criteria."
Accuracy
Does this information seem reasonable?
Who wrote it? Can you contact them?
Authority
Who is the author?
What are his/her credentials?
Who is sponsoring the page?
Objectivity
Is this an opinion piece or factual?
Does the information seem to have a particular slant?
What's the author's agenda?
Currency
How old is the information?
Does age matter for this subject?
Is there a date on the page?
Do the links work?
Coverage
Are the needed dates included?
Is the information cited? What are the sources?
Is there a balance between images and text?
Students would do well to utilize this advice, and as a future English teacher it's helpful to have such a clear cut list of judgement criteria. One of the most challenging things for teachers is keeping up with the technology, and I now know that making sure our students are information literate is also a vital part of education.
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