Overview of assignment

The vast amount of information and the speed with which it becomes available on the World Wide Web are both overwhelming and yet remarkable.  But is everything credible and valuable?  What web sites are good for research on a particular topic and what web sites should you stay away from when your goal is to retrieve valid information to complete a research assignment or authoritative information on a health topic.  

According to Steve Forbes from Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet, the Internet's very ease of communication has actually added to the level of human wrongdoing from "misinformation, libelous gossip, child pornography, fraud and thievery, assaults on privacy, disruptive viruses, global terrorism and other crimes."  

This assignment is designed to keep you from being victimized by faulty information.  Using sound criteria you will find and evaluate web sites and analyze them for validity and appropriate use. After completing this assignment you will always look at web information with a more critical and discerning eye.

Student Outcomes

1. Student will collaborate with classmates to develop a tool for evaluating web sites.
2. Student will find wellness web sites and utilize the developed tool to evaluate web sites for validity, appropriateness of use, and general usability.
3.  Student will demonstrate technological competency in:
     a. searching the internet
     b. downloading a document.
     c. emailing a document as an attachment.

How you will be evaluated on this assignment...

The evaluation of this assignment will be made according to the rubric developed to measure your performance. This Assessment Rubric contains specific performance characteristics arranged in levels indicating the degree to which a standard has been met.  How successful you will be is up to you.  

The Task:  click on each step for detailed information.

     Step 1         Step 2             Step 3         Step 4 Develop evaluation  Select and evaluate    Find and evaluate   Complete and
     tool             1 wellness web site    2 additional sites    submit tool

Evaluation Tool

The Internet has billions of web sites and growing everyday.  How can we be sure that the information provided is current and accurate and that the web site is appropriate for our use? During this part of the assignment you will help to develop an "evaluative tool" that you can use to complete this task.

What are the activities?

1.  Review the following three web sites and begin to think about how one determines if a resource is valid.  

      University of Santa Anita AIDSFACTS

       KidsHealth

       RYT Hospital/Dwayne Medical Center

The following sites are good sources for evaluation criteria: 

       From Chesapeake College--P.L.A.D.S
       From Cornell University Library--Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools

2. As you review the three web sites use the following chart to record "the good, the bad and the ugly" of each site. Once you complete the chart make a copy so that you will have it for the class discussion.  The other copy will be submitted to your instructor and will be assessed according to the criteria outlined in the Rubric.

To download the chart to your computer  RIGHT CLICK on this chart . Click on "Save Target As" and designate where on your computer you want to save the chart, such as your desktop, 3 1/2 floppy, etc.  You will then be able to type in the chart just like you would any WORD document.  

3.  Come to class ready to discuss the "good, the bad and the ugly" of each of these sites.  You will be assigned to a group who will develop an "evaluative tool"--criteria for you to use to complete the rest of the assignment.

Find Additional Wellness Sites

• Search for two more web sites to evaluate.  Each site must deal with fitness and wellness. Evaluate the two sites using the Evaluation Tool developed by your class.

Evaluating Web Sites Tool

• Complete the Evaluating Web Sites Tool.  Be sure to review the the Assessment Rubric so you are familiar with how the project will be graded.

• This Evaluating Web Sites Tool can be downloaded for you to complete, save and then attach to an email to your instructor. RIGHT CLICK on the tool your class developed, click on "Save Target As" and download the tool to your computer.  You can then complete the assignment as a WORD document and email it to your instructor as an attachment.

                       Evaluating Web Sites Tool -- Section 01

                       Evaluating Web Sites Tool -- Section 04

                       Evaluating Web Sites Tool -- Section 05

                       Evaluating Web Sites Tool-- Section WW