Research – Internet Research
A definition or overview of educational purposes of this application
Asking students to conduct research on the internet is a frequent task set by teachers. However students need to be taught how to do this: not only how to find information (such as by using key word searches) but also how to critically evaluate the information that they find. There are numerous useful web resources – as listed below.
Classroom examples
- Kathy Schrock’s Guide to website evaluation
Schrock offers links to critical evaluation proformas for classroom use, along with many links to classroom activities such as “Internet Search Challenges” and “Digital Investigator Training” - Fun activities that are designed to engage students’ critical faculties, such as “Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!”
- elearnspace – see the resources under “Validating Web Content”
Hint sheets on how to use the application
- Schrock’s guide for educators: see “Slideshows for Teaching” such as “Effective Search Strategies” and “Extreme Searching”
- Schrock’s Website Evaluation
- Virginia Tech on Website Evaluation
Some readings
[We have focused on articles that are readily available at RMIT, usually via the Library’s databases and e-journals]
- Bradshaw, A., Bishop, J., Gens, L., Miller, S.,&Rogers, M., (2002). The relationship of the World Wide Web to thinking skills. Educational Media International, 39, p275-284
[Discusses the potential, and importantly, the potential problems, of incorporating the World Wide Web into classrooms. Points to webquests as a useful way to structure student learning and to foster complex thinking skills] - Eagleton, M. & Guinee, K (2002). Strategies for supporting student internet inquiry. New England Reading Association Journal, 38 (2) p39-47.
[Provides tips for supporting students – essential strategies and skills for teachers and students – and shares some classroom activities to prepare students for successful online searching] - Harris, R. (1997, updated 2007). Evaluating internet research sources. Retrieved 10 November, 2008 from
[Provides advice on how to screen and evaluate web-based information, with the acronym CARS as a checklist for: Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness and Support] - Salpeter, J. (2008). Make students info literate: there remains a larger challenge for schools: how to develop a new generation of knowledgeable digital citizens who can operate in the unregulated online world. Technology & Learning, 28 (10), p24-28
[A short, contemporary article with simple ideas for engaging students in critical web-based activities] - Smith, Alastair G. (1997). Testing the surf: Criteria for evaluating internet information resources. The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 8 (3). Retrieved 8 November, 2008
[A perennial guide to assessing the quality of websites]