Reflection

The skills, strategies, and resources provided in this class have been invaluable to my
teaching repertoire. I have been introduced to strategies that I was easily able to teach to my
students to help them check internet sources and websites for validity and reliability. Strategies
such as REAL, 5 W’s and 1 H, and ABC’s of a website are all excellent strategies for helping
students validate web resources. The resources provided in the class also thoroughly addressed
information literacy and how to go about teaching it to my students. The information covering
online design structures and evaluating web addresses was equally as valuable. In all of the
information covered in this class, I would have to say the knowledge I gained about hoax
websites was most intriguing.
Using the internet as a research tool poses issues for students that using books in the school
library does not necessarily pose. There are websites that look authentic and seem to have
valuable information, but are merely a hoax website. When using the internet students must be
able to determine if the information they are considering using is reliable information. “A home
page can sometimes give you perspective about a site or help you find more information. If you
are ever concerned about the quality of information on a site, try looking at its home page”
(November, 2008). Teaching students about the prevalence of hoax websites and more
importantly skills and strategies for identifying these websites is a necessity for teachers.
Truncating a URL is a great skill to teach students to help them identify hoax websites. “It can
be a great trick when validating information” (November, 2008). As internet searchers make
card catalog searches a thing of the past, teachers must equip themselves with the knowledge to
direct their students in the right direction in this new learning environment.