Grammar of the Net

You must not only learn to Surf The Net....you must learn how to access information and make meaning of what you access. You must understand web addresses, links, and search engines.

When evaluating information on the Internet you must ask and answer these questions:

	What is the source of the information? Is it from a nationally recognized organization, or from a highly biased source?
	Why is this information online? Is the information there to inform people about a particular topic, or is there a hidden agenda?
	Who wrote the information? Are they a recognized expert in their field or is the author or organization unknown?
	Does the Web page contain links to other sites that may reveal any biases of the author(s)?
	Is the Web page professionally packaged? Does the layout influence your opinion as to the validity of the contents?
	How current is the information?
	How does this Website compare to others that deal with similar topics?

Understanding Web Addresses

Guessing URL's

Information Quality on the Internet

The Quality Information Checklist

Checklist for Evaluating Web Resources

Evaluating Web Sites

Web Evaluation

Skeptical of the veracity of the web?

Links

Links are the digital threads that connect Web sites to one another and that make the World Wide Web a true Web. One of the strengths (some would say weaknesses) of the Internet is the ability of anyone to add a link from his or her Web Site to another. There is no link police force. Within seconds, anyone can create a link to point or connect to someone else's Web site. A link does not mean a legitimate relationship or special endorsement of the site. (**Adopted from Alan November, Empowering Students With Technology, SkyLight Professional Development, Arlington Heights IL, 2001.)

Link Command

Finding the links pointing into a site is different than finding the links within a site. Internal links are created by the author of the web page. External links reveal who is connecting to a website. You can use the link command to cross reference the website to see if there are any "red flags" pointing into the web page. As we saw with the article Thinking Zach To Think, many red flags came up when the link command was used.

To use the link command:

Copy a URL of a web page you would like to cross reference
Go to www.altavista.com
Click in the search box and type the word link: and then paste the URL and click on the search button.
You will get a list of sites that are linked into the original web address....the author of the website has no control over this type of link.

(**Adopted from Alan November, Empowering Students With Technology, SkyLight Professional Development, Arlington Heights IL, 2001.)

Go to your favorite site and see who is linked to it....any surprises?

Host Command

Follow the same procedure as the link command....except type the word host: and then paste the URL and click on the search button.

This will tell you who is hosting the website....and can be invaluable in deciding if the page is truth or fiction.

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