MediaSmarts Tags - Authenticating Information

Finding information

We assume it is simple to do research online because the Web contains a wealth of information. The drawback, however, is finding information directly related to the topic at hand from the thousands of potential links. Learning proper search techniques is a good start.

The first stop for online research is generally a search engine – most often Google: 72 per cent of all online searches in 2009 were through Google. The following tips will help kids and their families use Google and other search engines more effectively:

Level: Grades 7 to 12

Author: This unit was created for MediaSmarts by Media Educator, Maureen Baron.

Overview

In this three-day unit, students assess media coverage of natural disasters and their aftermath. Students explore how sensationalism plays a role in determining what is newsworthy, and how that can distort our perception of issues in developing nations.

In this sequel to Privacy Playground, for ages 8-10, the three CyberPigs learn some important lessons about authenticating online information and observing rules of netiquette. They also learn how to distinguish between fact and opinion and how to recognize bias and harmful stereotyping in online content. As Les, Mo and Lil discover, "just because it's on the Internet, doesn't mean it's true."

Level: Grades 7 to 10

Author: MediaSmarts

Overview

In this lesson students apply the "5W's of Cyberspace" to sources of information they find online. Assuming the role of a student researching a science project, students must authenticate the information in an online article about the artificial sweetener, Aspartame.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

Level: Grades 7 to 12

Author: This unit was created for MediaSmarts by Media Educator, Maureen Baron.

Overview

In this two-day unit, students learn strategies for using the Internet effectively to research global development issues. Students discover how to determine the truth and accuracy of online information and learn effective ways to obtain balanced sources of information. Students learn to ask, and search for answers to, the questions: Who is presenting this information and why?

Someone encountering the Internet for the first time might be forgiven for assuming it was created specifically for teenagers. Indeed, the Internet could reasonably be said to have been aging backwards since its birth – the domain first of scientists and the military, then of university students in the 1990s and now children and teenagers.

Level: Grades 10 to 12

Limit assignments to a few specific topics.Assign particular features, like "compare and contrast" or personal observation.Insist that students use both online and offline resources.Combine writing assignments with other related tasks; for example, ask students to keep a journal of the writing process in which they discuss their research, explore the topic and thesis, and even discuss any challenges they faced while completing the assignment.Set a schedule whereby students submit an outline, the introduction, portions of the text, research

Level: Grades 7 to 9

Duration: 1 1/2 hours

Author: MediaSmarts

Overview

Students will consider the use of the Internet as a research tool and learn how to use search engines more effectively. They then apply these new found skills to investigating popular myths about sexuality and contraception. Finally, they consider three websites they have used in the course of their research and evaluate them as sources of information.

Learning Outcomes

Students will: