Website+Evaluation+Blog+Post+-+EDLD+5306

Back to Concepts of Educational Technology Sub-Menu

Go to Blog

“The Internet is a great resource, but it is also a public forum, where anyone can make a claim or an assertion. If you find an article that provides relevant information for your research topic, you should take care to investigate the source to make sure it is valid and reliable. It is your responsibility as a researcher to find and use the trustworthy sources” (Fleming, para.1& 2). Recently I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate a website for its reliability and validity that I could use to help me better understand how to acquire information using digital tools. I came across the website, Internet Tutorials at [] maintained by Laura Cohen, a retired Web Support Librarian at University at Albany, SUNY. The website provides information about the basics of the Internet, research on the Internet, search engines, subject directories, and the web. But how reliable and valid is the information on this website? Will this be a good source to help me learn about acquiring information from the Internet? To help me determine the reliability and validity of this website, I had to evaluate it in several areas. The website’s strengths in the area of navigation and design are attributed to its organization. Information is presented in an outline form with hyperlinks to more detailed information. This allows the user to quickly move from page to page and navigate through the website. Even though the text organization and format of Cohen’s web pages are user-friendly, the site lacks some visual appeal. The website contains mostly text, some in different colors. Pictures and graphics are limited or non-existent. As Gwen Solomon suggests, “To get people to read what you write …the information has to be interesting, useful, and appealing” (p. 48). It’s disheartening to think that others may overlook the usefulness of this website for lack of visual appeal. The areas of content and appropriateness focus on specific items such as providing reliable information and hyperlinks to other resources, using appropriate vocabulary for its audience, its usefulness for research, and appropriateness to objectives. In all of these subtopic areas, Internet Tutorials faired very well. For example, I learned about the different search engines available to aide in locating specific information on the Internet. If a query is about an ambiguous topic, use the “SurfWax” search engine. Knowledge about what search engine to use can speed up research and provide the user with quality information. There are many other examples such as this on the website. Lastly, authenticity of the website was the final area of the evaluation. Unfortunately, the results show this to be the website’s weakest area. In order to determine the reliability of a website, its author needs to be authenticated. A user needs to determine the author’s expertise and knowledge about the subject on the website. Users need to know if the information has been updated to reflect current information. Also, if they have questions, whom can they contact? Although, the website provided Laura Cohen’s name and email information, I had a difficult time trying to verify her area of expertise. The website makes reference about Laura Cohen maintaining the tutorials. However, it also made a reference to her being an “emeritus faculty at the University at Albany, SUNY, where she served on the faculty of the University Libraries for many years” (Cohen). Since the Internet is open to the public to share information, it’s important to be able to verify the credibility of this information. The background information about Cohen was limited. Adding details about her history would make the area of authenticity much more reliable. Overall, the results of the evaluation for this website suggest that [|www.internettutorials.com] is a good website. In this 21st century, when technology is a necessity and is changing so rapidly, it’s important to have websites such as this one. Rather than focus on how to use the Internet to acquire information, the user’s focus can remain on the research being conducted. Internet Tutorials provides today’s students and educators a place to assist them in how to navigate through the Internet, and provides tools for conducting research effectively. I strongly recommend this website to all educators, students, parents, and the public sector if you are seeking to learn how to responsibly acquire information from the Internet or simply want to learn more about the tools of the Internet. It is important to remember, “Helping students become literate when dealing with information is our job“ (Armstrong & Warlick, p. 22).

Works Cited:

Armstrong, S. & Warlick, D. (2004). The new literacy: The 3Rs evolve into the 4Es. Technology & Learning, 25(2), 20-28.

Fleming, G. (2005). Internet Research Tips: Finding Reliable Internet Sources. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from http://homeworktips.about.com/od/ researchandreference/a/internet.htm Solomon, G. (2004). E-Communications101. Technology & Learning, 24(11), 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60. Posted by Mrs. Sanchez at [|10:59 PM] Type in the content of your page here.