The Internet is a place where you can find "proof" of any belief system you can imagine. The problem is that too many kids believe if it's on the Internet, it has to be true.
When students are asked what Internet-related subjects they would like to learn about in school, the top choice for 68 per cent is “How to tell if information you find on the Net is true or not.”
(Source: Young Canadians in a Wired World Survey, Media Awareness Network, 2005) |
Traditional resources have gatekeepers—proofreaders, fact checkers, peer reviewers and professional editors—to ensure that published information is accurate. But the Internet is different. In many cases, it has no gatekeepers: anyone can put up their own Web site—and appear to be an expert.
This section outlines strategies for helping kids find and evaluate good online information and advice on how to address the increasing problem of Internet plagiarism.
How to find good information online
With millions of pages already published, and thousands more being posted every day, finding information can be daunting. Some online searches produce hundreds of results—and many legitimate-sounding Web sites may not be what they appear to be. A good start is to use dependable sources, such as bookmark collections from library sites. As well, learn to conduct effective online searches. The resources listed at right contain tips on finding good information on the Internet.
How to evaluate online information
When you think you've found what you're looking for, the next step is to evaluate the information. How can you determine if the source is legitimate?
Part of Web literacy involves encouraging kids to approach the Internet with a healthy scepticism, and teaching them to ask the right questions about the information they find online:
- Who is the source?
- What are you getting?
- When was it created?
- Where are you?
- Why are you there?
- How can you distinguish quality information?
The resources listed at right include tips to help young people think critically about finding and judging online information.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is hardly a new issue. However, the Internet gives kids easy access to information for school projects, and may make cheating a tempting proposition. Talk to your kids about the ethics of plagiarism and copyright infringement. They should understand that:
- There's no real moral difference between downloading an entire essay off the Internet, and lifting a paragraph from a Web site—both count as plagiarism.
- Teachers treat plagiarism very seriously—and they're becoming increasingly savvy about identifying plagiarized work. There are several Internet sites that allow teachers to enter a few sentences from a student's work to track down the source of the information.
- Any material taken from another person's work—even just a paragraph or a sentence—must always be presented as a quote, and properly credited with the author name, the publication name, and the publication date. For more information on Web footnotes and bibliographies, see Style Sheets for Citing Internet and Electronic Resources.
- Use plagiarism as a starting point for a discussion with your kids about copyright. The Internet provides kids with easy access to other copyright-protected material such as music, video games and movies. Talk to your kids about the issues surrounding intellectual property and the Internet. Should artists be compensated when their work is made available online? Could the Internet be a positive thing for artists by creating a larger audience for their work?
