Finding information online: How do we address truth and bias in the classroom?

Bias

1) Who is respobsible for the site? Do you know who the person is who published the site? What is the difference between a sit ending in .com and .org (there is none) However, most likely if it's a "legit" organization like The Red Cross and you go to redcross.org chances are it's a real Red Cross site. You do actually have to be an educational organization to get a .edu website so it's likely that the .edu site is legit or contains real information at least. People (students) should be aware of stuff like this. You should be able to find a link to an email where you can contact the person or people who are creating the site's content. If there is no such functioning link or contact info then beware!

2) How current is the site? Not only when was the site made but when was it last updated? Sites shouldn't really say "under construction" cuz by nature that's what it should be, particularly a blog. Some sites, however, don't necessarily need to be updated all the time as the content may not be time dependent.

3) Content and purpose. Why is the site there? How reliable is the information? Is the site trying to sell you something. If they are trying to sell you something then there is probably a bias about a product that they're trying to sell. For example, if you want to know about your aching back, look for something that's a .org rather than a .com because the .com is probably trying to sell you some back pain medicine.

4) At whom is the audience aimed? Kids? Adults, etc. Does the language of the site match the target audience?

5) Is it a good website--easy to use, well structured, etc. May not necessarily have much to do with the legitimacy of the sites content, but could be helpful in determining who created the site and why.

How could we apply this to what kids do in the classroom? How can we teach kids to evaluate what they see on the web? Are there any simple tools that aren't subjective? I think the search for contact information is a good place to start, but I do often find students who really don't have any idea even to go about looking for that, so that's something they would have to learn.

I like the idea about determining if there are any external links to the page or if it links to other pages. If the page is "stand alone" it might be a good indication to proceed with caution regarding the content.

I will definitely do the idea of students creating a completely "true sounding" story that is actually a hoax.