Media Awareness

This page contains links to Web sites that deal with authenticating online information, collected by Susan Harris of California State University at Fresno; Robin Pence, a Technology Resource Teacher; and our own review of relevant Web resources.

Here are two excellent Web sites by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate that will introduce you to new strategies for teaching media awareness.

• The Web as a research tool: Evaluation Techniques
  
• Hoax? Scholarly research? Personal opinion? You decide!

The following list contains a collection of guides, checklists, rubrics, and "tip sheets" that deal with evaluating the credibility of information sources and developing media awareness.

• 21st Century Information Fluency Project
  IMSA (Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy) announces their MicroModules - an online teaching and learning package consistnig of short, self-directed learming modules to enhance your skills in locating, evaluating, and using Internet resources for the classroom.
• "I C You See" - A Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web
  This is a good resource from the Ithaca College Library.
• A Tale of Two Cities
  This "teachable moment" site compares promotional Web sites for two cities - one bogus and one real. However, due to the popularity of this site for teacher professional development, the Web sites for the two cities have since moved or disappeared.
• Becoming a Critical Consumer of the Web
  Kimberly S. Roempler, Eisenhower National Clearinghouse's Associate Director of Instructional Resources, has looked at thousands of web sites. This article explains her criteria for selecting the best.
• Critical Evaluation Information
  This page, created by Kathy Schrock, contains critical evaluation surveys, information by the author, and links to other Web site evaluation resources.
• Eight Quick Ways of Checking Information on Web Sites
  This British Web site provides a checklist summary that your students can use.
• Evaluating Web Pages
  This is a valuable resource with guidelines, developed by the Teaching Library Internet Workshops, University of California, Berkeley.
• Evaluation Criteria for Web Sources
  Five important criteria to consider: Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency (timeliness), and Coverage. By Susan Beck, New Mexico State University.
• Evaluation Rubrics for Websites
  This is another excellent resource with evaluation rubrics geared to different grade levels, created by Tammy Payton.
• Media Awareness Network
  This excellent Canadian site has several features in both English and French, such as Reality check! Evaluating online information; Media Literacy Classroom Resources; Media Literacy Key Concepts; Media Issues, and many more.
• Rubrics and Assessment Samples
  Another good resource created by Kathy Schrock.
• Teaching Zack to Think
  This article about a student who was asked to write a paper about the Holocaust will help to dispel the notion held by many students that "If it is on the Internet, it is true."

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