OTEN Conference, Pacific University, 9/27/03
NOTE: If you are viewing this in hard copy, the URL is: http://mcel.pacificu.edu/mcel/barlow/oten03/quality.html

I. What is the problem which we will address here?

• Locating Good Resources on the WWW: The Internet is notorious for the problem of poor resources; inaccurate or irrelevant ones equally problematic. True for us, and perhaps more surprisingly, for our students:

While many students rely upon the Internet as a virtual textbook and reference library, it can also be a cause for frustration and anxiety. Perhaps the single greatest irritation facing students is their use of search engines that point them to online information that is not trustworthy or understandable to them. Students say it is often hard to find information online that is specifically related to the topic that they are exploring and comprehensible at their age and grade. ( "The Digital Disconnect" p. 8)

II. How do we deal with these issues?

• Improve search skills.
• Improve student (and our) ability to evaluate pages.

1) How do we improve search skills?

1. Teach them just like any other skill.

• "Stump the Researcher" Game played in two-week turns. First week everybody brings in a difficult question that can be answered on the web and swaps them with another student. Second week students bring in their answers and another question for next round. Winner is the student who does the most "sophisticated" search---least number of search steps, fewest number of sites to be checked out. Student must write out search process and illustrate it on web. You must give an edible prize.
• See http://websearch.about.com/mlibrary.htm
• Other ideas?
• Scavenger Hunts: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2003/06/chalmers.php
• Webquest: http://education.ed.pacificu.edu/sj/workshop/webquest1.html
• Key: Boolean searches; go to: http://library.albany.edu/internet/boolean.html
• See also: How to Choose a Search Engine: http://library.albany.edu/internet/choose.html
• http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/boolean.html for an excellent tutorial tied to specific search engines and their practices.

2) How do we improve evaluation of web pages?

• Improving searches will itself help
• Best way is to learn by doing web pages, I think.

Useful Sites for Teaching the Creation and Evaluation of WWW Pages.

• http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/ (For evaluating pages in a very irreverent style; a favorite of undergraduates.)
• http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/ (Lots of useful resources for building pages and sites and a great deal of sound advise.)
• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html (Berekley Library site for evaluating pages.)
• http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webcrit.html (Cornell Library site for evaluating pages.)
• http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/webeval.htm (Widener University site, a well established and highly regarded one.)
• http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/ (UCLA library evaluation site)
  

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