INTERNET RESEARCH TIPS AND CREDIBILITY

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title: N/A (available for multiple programs)

  Course Title: Digitial Information Technology

  Course Number: 8207310

  Career Cluster: Business, Management, and Administration (available in multiple career clusters)

  CIP Number:

  Course Type: N/A

  Standard(s) and/or Benchmarks:

  Focus

  01.04 Utilize the Internet to find reliable resources and reference materials (e.g., on-line help, tutorials, manuals).

  01.05 Apply research strategies to use and evaluate electronic research technologies for valid and reliable information.

  11.05 Demonstrate proficiency using search engines and search tools (e.g., Boolean search strategies)

  SC.912.CS-CP.1.1 Supporting

  Evaluate effective uses of Boolean logic (e.g., using “not”, “or”, “and”) to refine searches

  for individual and collaborative projects.

  SC.912.CS-PC.3.1 Supporting

  Evaluate the quality of digital resources for reliability (i.e., currency, relevancy,

  authority, accuracy, and purpose of digital information).

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson can be used within a unit where internet research is requested. This lesson will help students to better use internet search techniques for online sources including how to determine credibility of the sources.

• Career Connection

  
  

  Student will learn internet research techniques to analyze and evaluate possible resources for credibility to use as a resource of information for a topic.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Apply Boolean strategies to conduct an internet search.
  • Evaluate and analyze search results to determine credibility for selection on the topic question.
  • Develop skills to demonstrate internet search abilities.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Access the internet with a web browser.
  • Begin an internet search with a search engine.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What elements allow you to decide that a resource is credible and can be used for your research?
  • How can you conduct an internet search in a manner that retrieves more relevant results?

• Procedure

  
  
  1. To introduce the lesson, provide a topic for discussion (see presentation titled Internet Search Credibility) and ask students to tell you what they would put into the search engine to start looking for resources on that topic.
  2. After displaying several options that students provide, begin to discuss with the whole class if they think these options could be enhanced in any way to make them more specific for the topic.
  3. Have the group choose one option and, using a display system, (be sure students can see it on the board while you do the activity) type in that option to see how many search results come back.
  4. Discuss with students what they think is the difference between a natural language search, keyword search, an advanced search, and a Boolean search. See Search Term Techniques document for information to help guide the discussion.
  5. Then, provide students with information and instruction on Boolean search strategies including how the specific words of And, Not, OR provide differences in the search criteria. Discuss the use of advanced search techniques on some search engines that allow you to choose a time period (i.e., in the last week or in the last year) or specifically tailor your search to scholarly literature.
  6. Provide students with URL addresses and discuss the different parts of the URL address that include the internet protocol and if it is secure, the host portion, and the domain ending. (see credibility check handout for information)
  7. Discuss which, if any, parts of the address may help to determine credibility of this resource.
  8. Provide students with the published date of a website to discuss the information found in this area and if it also lends to credibility of the website resource.
  9. To bring the lesson to a close, hand out the Find Your Resource worksheet and have students use the checklist of items to look for and use a technique for internet search to find one credible website for a topic they choose.

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • You can have students do a search in real time for a given statement and ask them to share information they find instead of you providing examples.
  • The presentation will follow along with the procedure steps listed above.
  • Notes have also been added to the PowerPoint presentation to assist teachers.

• Optional

  
  

  Formative Assessment Ideas:

  • Have students submit the Find Your Resource handout and check student understanding in evaluating digital resources for reliability.

  Extension Ideas:

  • Have students create a flyer or poster board that helps others to learn about the search strategies and / or the credibility checklist.