Evaluating Websites

It is important for teachers to evaluate websites because they need to make sure that they are giving their students correct and accurate information. It is also important for students to evaluate the websites that they will use for research because they also need to have accurate information. Everyone who navigates on the web needs to be aware of the facts. Once the facts are established, they can form opinions based on those facts. However, many people use the world wide web to post their opinions on topics, and they have every right to do so. Nonetheless, this makes it harder for those who do not know anything about the subject to figure out the basics.

I think that many people do not understand and do not apply evaluation techniques. Because as we were showed in class, even professional journalists were tricked about the fact that Americans did not land on the moon. They stated that they did not know that the Onion was a satirical website. These journalists faced world wide embarrassment because they did not use proper evaluation techniques. However, other consequences will not be so severe but will still be critical. For instance, if a student uses an inaccurate website as a source for a research project, then they could fail that project. The student will most likely have to redo the entire project.

As a way to incorporate evaluation techniques into my classroom, I would give my students a list of famous mathematicians. They would have to find what their claim to fame was or to which branch of mathematics they contributed. I would tell them to write down the websites they used and why they think these websites were reliable.



It is crucial that students learn how to evaluate websites because the internet is becoming a central technology in their lives. Students are also our future, and they need to be correctly informed about everything that is going on in the world.