The world wide web is a great platform that lets anyone share information and ideas.
When you are browsing the web, you need to think about whether the things you are viewing are reliable.
Can you trust that the content is accurate?
How can you know which page is best for you?
Is it the one at the top of the list?
You need to consider who is the author or publisher, is it regularly updated, is it biased or objective.
When you are browsing the web, you need to think about whether the things you are viewing are reliable.
Can you trust that the content is accurate?
How can you know which page is best for you?
Is it the one at the top of the list?
You need to consider who is the author or publisher, is it regularly updated, is it biased or objective.
Making sense of the results
Addresses which end with .gov.au or .edu.au are government or educational websites and usually reliable.
Once you have a list of results, you need to choose which links to click on. But how can you work out which are the reliable sites?
Well, it can be tricky. You need to look at the information and then use your best judgement. Here are a few tips to know what to click on:
Top links
Usually the top links are the most relevant to your search. However it is often worth scrolling down the page because you might find something better further down. Sometimes the top links are advertisements for companies who have paid to be listed at the top. They will pay for every click they get.
Domain names
You could also look at the domain name. Do you recognise the address as one that you can trust?
Addresses which end with .edu.au or .gov.au are educational or government websites so are usually reliable.
Addresses which end with a .co.au, .com or .org can be bought and used by anyone but this doesn't mean they are unreliable.
Addresses which end with .gov.au or .edu.au are government or educational websites and usually reliable.
Once you have a list of results, you need to choose which links to click on. But how can you work out which are the reliable sites?
Well, it can be tricky. You need to look at the information and then use your best judgement. Here are a few tips to know what to click on:
Top links
Usually the top links are the most relevant to your search. However it is often worth scrolling down the page because you might find something better further down. Sometimes the top links are advertisements for companies who have paid to be listed at the top. They will pay for every click they get.
Domain names
You could also look at the domain name. Do you recognise the address as one that you can trust?
Addresses which end with .edu.au or .gov.au are educational or government websites so are usually reliable.
Addresses which end with a .co.au, .com or .org can be bought and used by anyone but this doesn't mean they are unreliable.
Evaluating content and being critical
Once you have chosen a site, always be critical of what you read.
Unlike most non-fiction books that you get from a library, many sites are not checked for accuracy.
If you have doubts about how reliable a piece of content is you can check it by looking at other sites. If they all say the same thing it is probably accurate. This is called ‘verification’.
It is also important to think about who has published a website. Why has it been written and published?
Some websites might be biased or could give only one side of an argument. These sites might present their opinion as fact.
Once you have chosen a site, always be critical of what you read.
Unlike most non-fiction books that you get from a library, many sites are not checked for accuracy.
If you have doubts about how reliable a piece of content is you can check it by looking at other sites. If they all say the same thing it is probably accurate. This is called ‘verification’.
It is also important to think about who has published a website. Why has it been written and published?
Some websites might be biased or could give only one side of an argument. These sites might present their opinion as fact.
Activity Time |
Download 'Who wrote the Website' and save it in your class folder. Copy the web addresses into your browser and for the first five questions, find and type the author and/or the publisher of each website in the table. For the second five questions, find and type the update date (or copyright date) of each website in the table. Save and print the page when you are finished.
s2-who-wrote-the-website_1.docx | |
File Size: | 113 kb |
File Type: | docx |