I have something that might be useful - although the example is a little
old, I think that it does demonstrate the need to critically appraise
web information very well. I've been using it with my teaching of 1st
year undergrads (mainly biological sciences and allied health
professions) for a while now.
Try a Google search on "mad cow" - the top result is the "Official Mad
Cow Disease Home Page" ( www.mad-cow.org ). It looks a little basic (not
necessarily a problem), the news is rather old (though not all students
notice this), and it's very unclear who's written it (and therefore how
it's earned its "official" status). If you look hard enough, you'll
eventually discover that the site is written by the Organic Consumers
Association -- leading to further discussion about how balanced the
site's point of view may be.
The search also retrieves a couple of humorous sites - "How to spot a
mad cow" (I challenge you not to laugh, or at the very least smirk:
http://viswiz.gmd.de/~steffi/madcow/madcow.htm ), and the "Mad Cow" from
totallytom.com ( ***BE WARNED***: contains rather adult language!
http://www.totallytom.com/MadCow.html ).
I get the students to work in pairs, one does the Google search the
other does the same search on Intute - allowing them to see the huge
contrast in the quantity and quality of the search results.
The humorous sites act as great ice-breakers, and illustrate the range
of material that Google can retrieve. The "official" page also
illustrates many of the issues you must deal with when appraising web
information.
This example also allows me to ask the students how they might improve
their search -- they usually do come up with some good suggestions, such
as searching for CJD, BSE, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, etc.
As I said, the topic is a little old now, but it covers most of the
bases regarding appraising web info. As an aside, I was hoping to update
my example last year to "bird flu", but Google comes up with lots of
good information -- which is rather inconvenient!
I'll leave you to decide whether the topic is relevant enough to your
education students.
Regards,
Ric.
----------------------------------------------
Ric Paul,
University of Southampton Libraries Web Administrator;
User Services Librarian, Biomedical Sciences
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Tel: x 24247 (internal)
023 8059 4247 (external)
-----Original Message-----
From: A general Library and Information Science list for news and
discussion. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of kim mcgowan
Sent: 13 March 2007 15:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: dubious website
Could anyone recommend some examples of dubious or misleading websites
that
I can use with faculty of education students in sessions on critically
evaluating web resources please?
I already use http://www.rythospital.com, http://www.dhmo.org and
http://www.martinlutherking.org but I'd like to have some sites that are
particularly relevent to education students
best wishes, kim
Kim McGowan
Learning Advisor (Education)
Library and Information Services
St Martin's College, Soon to become the University of Cumbria
Bowerham Road
Lancaster
LA1 3JD
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01524 384259
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