Treasure or Trash Folly or Fact Jewel or Junk

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Treasure or Trash Folly or Fact Jewel
or Junk

• Telling the difference on the Internet.

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Maureen BaronThe English Montreal School
Board6000 Fielding AvenueMontreal, Quebec, H3X
1T4mbaron_at_emsb.qc.caTel. 514-483-7203Fax.
514-483-7246
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Screening or Filtering SoftwareNot an answer!

• Net Nanny, CyberPatrol, Safe Surf
• Not foolproof
• Objectionable sites can come through
• Must be updated, nourished
• Non-discriminating blocks
• Not a truth / crap detection service

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Students and the INTERNET

• Students think
• the Net is one big answer machine.
• if its on the Net it has to be true.
• Students should move from
• being information consumers to information users,
  evaluators and producers.
• using data, to evaluating information, to gaining
  insight, to action.

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Which is the real White House URL?

• www.whitehouse.gov
• www.whitehouse.net
• www.whitehouse.org

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Decide what type of stuff you want.

• Facts
• Opinions
• Statistics
• Descriptions
• Immediate news
• Narratives
• Reasoned arguments

• Images
• Sounds
• Eyewitness reports
• Financials
• Cutting edge research
• Historical documents

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Why do you want the stuff?

• Get new ideas
• Find factual information, reasoned support,
  documents, or logical arguments to support or
  refute a position
• Survey other sources
• Locate information on which to base a decision

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Information Source Diversity

• Web pages
• Journal articles
• Reference sources
• School projects
• Video and audio files
• Pictures / Images
• Advertising

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Who is that saying what?

• Anyone can say anything.
• There is no supreme editor or authority.
• There is no inspector general or truth verifier.
• The Net is the ultimate democracy.

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Why might the stuff be on the web?

• To inform
• To persuade
• To recruit
• To sell
• To present a viewpoint for discussion
• To create or change an attitude or belief
• To demonstrate a function

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Is this a commercial site?

• Is this a profit making company?
• Is this the charitable division of a profit
  making company?
• Is the company name in the URL?
• Is the store or shopping section the first
  screen available?
• How many clicks until you reach the sales pitch?
• How many clicks until they ask for personal
  information?
• Is this a real company?

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What type of information is this?

• Press release / Announcement
• From whom, to whom, why
• News story
• Who or what is the source?
• Can this be verified or corroborated by a 3rd
  party source or another media?
• Advertising
• Who is advertising what, to whom, and why?

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Advertising Public Relations

• Usually easy to identify
• Bias exists towards the product or service is
  usually easy to see
• Message is usually Buy It, Use It, Take It, You
  Need It

• Usually disguised to seem to be a real story
• Bias is much more subtle and hidden
• Message appears to be objective, for the public
  good or helpful.

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Timing

• When was the web site last updated?
• When was the article written?
• Is all of the information current or is some of
  out of date?
• Do the contact coordinates still work?
• Does the traffic counter number seem credible?

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The CARS checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• C Credibility
• Source supplies evidence to prove it can be
  trusted
• Authors credentials
• Information, data or statistics are cited
• Cross referenced to other media
• Material is hosted at a reliable www site

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What to do?

• Search for information on the author.
• Do a link check to see who else is linked to
  this page.

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Examine the URL

• Read the URL address.
• edu. , org., net., com., gov.,
• ca., uk., au., fr., us.,
• This TILDE personal site. This could indicate
  a PHD faculty member expert site or a grade 6
  students site.

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How did you find the link?

• Which search engine was used?
• Google, Yahooligans, Excite,
• What search term was used?
• Chocolate, White chocolate, chocolate chips,
  chocolate cake, chocolate recipes
• Where was the link in the list of returned sites?
• 1st, 10th, 25th, with or without (0.05) beside
  it

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What to do

• Look for at least 2 corroborating sites.
• Determine when the site was last updated.
• Is there a known agency, company, institution or
  organization attached to the site?

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The CARS checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• A Accuracy
• Source gives the whole truth and is as current as
  possible
• When was the information created?
• Are there sins of omission as well as commission?
• Why was the information put on the web?
• Does the level of the text match with the level
  of the intended audience?

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What to do

• Make a checklist of pro and con elements of the
  information.
• Check if experts on both sides of the question
  are referred to in the text?
• Examine the language for emotional laden words,
  phrases or imagery.

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The CARS checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• R Reasonableness
• Source is concerned with the truth
• Balanced and reasoned argument
• Objective position
• Overt or covert conflict of interests
• Reality check -Too good to be true?
• Contradictions or inconsistencies evident
• Extreme language or claims

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The CARS checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• S Support
• Source provides evidence of accuracy, reliability
  and corroboration
• Cross references to corroborating or supporting
  sources
• Author or source contact information provided
• Find at least 2 other sources to support the
  information, data or position
• Author, or his work, is referenced elsewhere

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What to do

• Use other media, such as books, as corroborating
  sources.
• If possible, contact the author for further
  clarification or information.
• Are the hyperlinks functional, current, and easy
  to use?
• Is it a members only site?
• What do you have to provide to be a member and
  why?

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The CAFÉ checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• C Challenge the information
• Demand accountability
• Who says so?
• Why do they say so?
• Why was the information created and posted?
• Why should I believe and trust the text?
• Is this the whole truth?
• Is the language reasonable?
• Who else supports this?
• Where else does this appear?

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The CAFÉ checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• A Adopt skepticism
• Is it too good to be true?
• Are the claims too grandiose?
• Are the arguments too sweeping or vague?
• Is the language too extreme?
• Are there big promises of things to come or
  further proof?

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What to do

• If you answered yes to any of the previous
  questions - then this is a dubious website.
• Rethink why you would want information from this
  site.

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The CAFÉ checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• F File new information or data to be verified
  or corroborated
• Avoid premature closure or acceptance.
• Dont jump to conclusions.
• Critically evaluate the data before making a
  decision to accept or reject.
• Look for other sources.

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The CAFÉ checklist - Robert HarrisSouthern
California College

• E Evaluate and re-evaluate according to new or
  changing information or data
• Information is dynamic and fluid.
• There is a range of information quality and
  reliability.
• Match your purpose with your source and planned
  finished product.

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External verification strategies

• Do an author citation search.
• Where else does the name appear?
• Check maps, atlases and other reference tools.
• Look at other pictures of the same site.
• Use a variety of search engines.
• Is there a motive of profit or gain on the site?
• Are there spelling or grammar mistakes?

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Find out information about the information

• What are the goals of those who generated and
  published the information?
• What are the goals of those who search for and
  use the information?

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Student Internet Evaluation Form

• Project name and goal / purpose
• Keywords used in information search
• Site citation including list of authors or
  sponsor or host, type of information
• Statement as to why student accepts this
  information
• How did the information relate to your project
• State what will be done with this information

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Internet Detective

• Interactive site to test your treasure versus
  trash detection skills
• http//www.sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.h
  tml

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URLs for this Presentation

• www.sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html
• www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/teamed2/warli
  ck.htm
• www.virtualchase.com/quality/checklist_print.html

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The End