This slide show was used as part of a two day institute that walked teachers through instructional supports for fostering reading skills focused on critically evaluating relevance, accuracy, reliability, and author perspective during the online inquiry process. It has a companion website at http://www.lite.iwarp.com/CoiroVT2009.html

1. Julie Coiro - University of Rhode Island [email_address] http://www.lite.iwarp.com/CoiroVT2009.html Teaching Critical Evaluation on the Internet: Blending Strategy Instruction with Collaborative Inquiry (Part 2)

6. Findings from recent research

8. Online Reading Comprehension Assessment - Scenario I (ORCA-1) Study #2:

9. N=109 X 2=218 Study #2:

10. Population: Demographics of School Districts Included In This Study

11. Population: Ethnicity of Participants (n=118)

13. Evaluating Accuracy of Online Information Total N=109 80% do not know how to evaluate accuracy or did not locate the page. Only 20% have strategies for evaluating accuracy 0 = 54% It seems right but you can never know; The website I N=58 think is always right; It had plenty of pictures; I checked it out with Ask Jeeves; Why would they lie? [misconceptions] 1 = 26% I know this is accurate because it’s made by a corporation N=28 and there is a place to contact them. [implicit trust] 2 = 19% I know this is accurate because I learned it in science class. N=21 [compared with prior knowledge] 3 = .02% I checked this information with www.____.com and they N=2 compared similarly. [checked with 2nd reliable source]

14. Evaluating Least Reliable Source Total N=109 68% considered only relevancy or interest or did not know. Only 32% correctly identified the least reliable source 0 = 47% This is the least reliable source because the text is a little N=51 confusing to read. [readability, size of page, etc.] 1 = 21% It doesn’t really talk about anything specific - there’s not a N=23 lot of information about the topic [only relevancy or interest] 2 = 18% It’s a .com and they are trying to sell you something at the N=20 very top of the page. [surface procedures] 3 = 14% There are a lot of misspellings, there is no way to contact the people who put out this site, and it’s a .com compared to a N=15 .org or .gov [at least one critical attempt]

15. Evaluating Most Reliable Source Total N=109 71% considered only relevancy, text length, or did not know. Only 29% correctly identified the most reliable source 0 = 37% It’s really detailed and it has like 10 paragraphs of N=40 information. [readability, size of page, etc.] 1 = 34% I knew more about carbon monoxide than I knew from reading N=37 all of the other pages [only relevancy or interest] 2 = 16% There are no spelling mistakes and the url is a .org. [surface N=18 procedures] 3 = 13% This is most reliable because it is made by doctors from the N=14 American Lung Association [critically consider source]

16. Evaluating Commercial Bias Total N=109 71% are mildly cautious of the ads [not the info] or think ads make it better! Only 30% see reason to caution information with advertising 0 = 43% It makes me think they must really know what they’re talking about; I think that what they are telling you about those things N=47 is really true [ads make the information better] 1 = 17% I think websites that try to sell you things just want to get a lot of money because the Internet is really expensive [caution, but N=28 not in relation to the information] 2 = 17% If a website is trying to sell you something then it is a bad source and doesn’t have good information [some suspicion or N=20 overgeneralization] 3 = 13% This site is probably one sided info - the information might be N=14 inaccurate or exaggerated [balanced consideration of bias]

19. Challenge 1: Evaluating Relevancy - Reading Search Engine Results

21. Sample Lesson: How do you fare?

23. Challenge 2: Evaluating Relevancy - Reading Within a Website

24. Challenge: So I’ve found a website…but where do I read first??? How do I know if it has what I need? A book versus a website…

25. LIST FIVE “BRAIN STEPS” YOU MIGHT TAKE TO PREVIEW THIS WEBSITE.

27. 1 2 3 4 5

29. Challenge 2: Evaluating Relevancy - Reading Within a Website Log onto the website and refer to page 7 in your handouts Activity Imagine... you want your students to get more involved with community service and to network with other youth volunteers around the country. You will have one minute to preview each of the websites using the strategies above and rank each website according to its relevancy to your needs (0=lowest, 3=highest). Provide details to support your decision. Then, identify two parts of the “best” website that you believe would be most relevant for your students. Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4

32. Challenge 3: Evaluating Accuracy - Reading To Verify Online Information

36. Confirming, disconfirming, and considering context

38. Verifying Online Information

39. A real-life scenario… What causes a hurricane?

40. Investigate the source homepage

41. Scrolling for “About Us”.. and then ??

42. Do some investigating at Snopes.com Where else could I look?

43. Search < dolphins dart guns >

46. “ As testament to its value and accuracy, this site won more than 20 awards, including the 1998 ‘Cool Site of the Year,’ just during the past twelve months.” AAAS (American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science) Who is the author?

47. Reliable UK News Source ?? A constant process of reading, thinking, questioning, verifying, and synthesizing - many authentic opportunities await!

48. Challenge 4: Evaluating Reliability - Investigating the author’s credentials

50. Reading more deeply - Think & Check Activity Coiro (2005) Educational Leadership

51. Investigating the Author

53. Considering the author(s) and their level of credibility Reading deeply at the “About Us” page

55. Investigating the author: Who is Patsy Stevens?

56. Challenge 5: Critically evaluating online information - Level 2 Integrating strategies for evaluating accuracy and reliability

57. Challenge 5: Integrating strategies for evaluating accuracy & reliability Activity 1. Work with your group to brainstorm strategies for critically evaluating the information at a website. Create a list of these ideas in your handout. 2. See if you can determine if each of these sites is real or not real (there are some of both). Avoid relying only on your prior knowledge - since often your students will not have this knowledge to rely on or it is inaccurate. If you determined that the information is real, what evidence do you have to prove it? If you think it is a hoax, how do you know for sure? 3. Share with the larger group the strategies that helped you determine the quality of information at each website. Add to your own list any new strategies you learned from someone else in the group.

58. Confirming/disconfirming

59. The challenge of comparing sources

61. Challenge 6: Evaluating Bias - Separating fact from opinion, determining purpose, and understanding what influences an author’s perspective

62. Dogsledding images and questions from assessment Reading Across Multiple Perspectives

63. Reading Across Multiple Perspectives

64. Reading Across Multiple Perspectives

65. Activity Explore each website related to the Iditarod dog sled races as you complete the three tasks described below... * Ray Redington's Dog Care * Racing for the Grave * Scholastic's Is the Iditarod for the Dogs? Level 1: Detecting Fact Versus Opinion Tell which website you think has the STRONGEST opinions about the use of sled dogs in the Iditarod. Tell whether you think the author of the website you chose is for or against racing sled dogs for competition. Select a quote from the website you chose and explain why you think it is an example of the author sharing strong opinions. Detecting Facts, Opinions, Points of View, & Underlying Agendas

67. Reading Across Multiple Perspectives Identify your own perspective Compose a blog entry that tells which side of the issue you support and give at least two reasons from the websites you read to support your ideas. (opportunity to practice/assess authentic use of online communication tools)

68. Challenge 6: Negotiating Multiple Perspectives How do different authors portray the Japanese Internment Camp Experience to readers?

69. An Information Challenge For You

70. How do different authors portray the Japanese Internment Camp Experience to readers?

72. How do different authors portray the Japanese Internment Camp Experience to readers?

73. How do different authors portray the Japanese Internment Camp Experience?

76. Reflections… What did you notice/learn during today’s activities? What implications do these ideas have for your own classroom literacy instruction?