Tips for Evaluating Websites

Digital Citizenship is an ongoing topic that I've had an opportunity to share with teachers, parents, and students in my district. Each week, we highlight a Digital Learning Tip through our District's webpage in the "What's Happening?" section.
This is the Digital Learning Tip #6:

Evaluating Websites

The Internet is filled with answers to our questions! Some of these answers come from reliable, evidence-backed research and some are just myths. How do we help our children find websites that are trustworthy? Encourage your child to do a some detective work with you and ask the following questions, shared with us from www.commonsensemedia.com :

1. Who is the author of the website? Look to see if the site is credible by looking at their title, expertise, and background.
2. What is the source of the information? Do you recognize any connection to a well-known organization or news source?
3. How does this information compare to other information? It is important to seek out answers from a variety of sites, so that you can do a compare/contrast of the information.
4. When was this information last updated?
5. Are advertisers trying to target you on this website? Children might need help to look for ways that advertisers are trying to persuade them. Help your children interpret what the ads are saying.

For more information about finding reliable websites for research and discovery, check out the Family Tip Sheet - Research and Evaluation.

Here’s a link that will take you to a list of websites for children that Common Sense Media has evaluated and ranked: Kids’ Websites Reviews