Web+Literacy+4

media type="custom" key="23494406" =**Lesson 4 : Who controls information on the Internet?**=


 * Aim:**

Who controls information on the Internet?


 * Common Core State Standards:**


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7** Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8** Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.


 * Objectives:**

Students will learn how information is controlled on the Internet.


 * Vocabulary:**


 * algorithm
 * googlitis


 * Essential Question:**

Do you only click on the first few results when you perform a search?


 * Introduction:**

Because we are morelikely to click on the top of the list results, the ranking of search engines results is a lucrative business that is monitored very closely.


 * Discussion:**


 * For Sale! The English Language**

You can bid on any keyword search term you wish at a search marketing company, such as Yahoo!

Some are more costly than others.

For example, you might find a keyword like //Elvis// costs about 30 cents.

Another, such as the phrase //"breast cancer"//, can be up to $3.

That means that the person who bids the price has to pay if someone clicks on their site.

Yahoo! estimates that in the United States more than 300 million times per day a keyword is entered into a search engine.

Fifty percent of these searches are looking for a particular product or service.

Considering these statistics, it's no wonder advertisers are interested in tapping into the search engine market.

If a keyword has been bid on and you conduct a search using that word, your search results will begin with a //sponsored search//. (Different search engines use different terms).

Many people don't realize that sites rank at the top because they've paid to be there.

It's not that these sites are necessarily bad; you just can't assume they offer top quality information if you or your students are looking for academic-type information.

They are often trying to sell you something or make you think a certain way, which may mean they are subject to bias.

For example, during one U.S. presidential election, the phrase //global warming// was purchased by the American Petroleum Institute. //Social security// was another hot phrase being purchased during a recent election.


 * International Marketing**

It is worth noting that search engines operate separately within different countries. Marketers have the ability to bid for keywords either regionally or worldwide.

In other words, keywords that are bid on in the United Kingdom may only appear as sponsored listings on designated U.K. search engines.

The same holds true for the United States.


 * A False Sense of Security**

Just because paid listings are grouped in a specific section with a clear heading does not mean that the rest of your results are safe from manipulation.

Understanding how a search engine ranks results may surprise you.

For example, Google is currently the most popular search engine.

It is so popular, in fact, that it has its own infinitive verb, //to google//, and its own affliction, //Googlitis//. Googlitis is an affliction that strikes students and adults who rely on this search engine wholeheartedly and fail to question how it generates results.

When you enter a keyword into Google, your search results are pulled together and organized using a highly sophisticate mathematical algorithm.

This algorithm takes into account numerous factors including, but not limited to, the actual domain name, the title of the Web site, the meta-information contained within the background of the site, the actual text on the page, and the number of links coming into that site from others.

Once all of these factors are measured and plugged into Google's algorithm, you are presented with a page of search results.

What this means is that the results of your search do not necessarily have anything to do with the quality of the information.

A site at the top might be there based on how many links are coming into it from other sites.

Popularity does not equal the best quality.

What is most interesting about this process is that many of these factors can be controlled by a savvy Web page creator whose intentions might not be to get you the most reliable information.

For example, a search on //octopus// brings up the site, //Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus// site in the top 10 results. Careful reading of this site will quickly indicate that the information on this site is a hoax.


 * Class Activity:**

1) Create a new page on your wiki and name it Web Literacy 4 with today's date.

2) You should use more than one search engine when you do your research. You should also look past the top results. Given the same keyword search, different search engines rank sites differently according to their own search algorithm. Are the top results in one search engine “better” than another? You decide. In this exercise, you will search the same keyword in five different search engines (Yahoo!, Google , Lycos, Ask, and Bing ) and record the top five results for each, plus count the number of paid listings per each search, and answer these questions:


 * What are you researching?
 * Compare and contrast the results from the various engines. Can you make any generalizations?
 * Did some search engines seem to have more paid listings than others? If so, which ones?
 * Which search engines might you be more likely to use and why?
 * How might using more than one search engine when researching information help you find better information?
 * What conclusions can you draw about researching information on the Internet?


 * Google**


 * **Keyword(s)** || **Top Five Results** || * **Number of Sponsored Results (Paid Listings)** ||
 * Animal Rights || animalrights **coalition.com/ **
 * www.abolitionistapproach.com/ **
 * www.arconference.org/ **
 * https://awionline.org **
 * www.bbc.co.uk/.../ **animals **/ **rights **/ **rights **_ ** || 11 ||
 * Yahoo!**

www.peta.org en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights
 * **Keyword(s)** || **Top Five Results** || * **Number of Sponsored Results (Paid Listings)** ||
 * Animal Rights || animalrights.about.com
 * www.wisegeek.org/what-are- **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1e7d83; font-family: 'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">animal-rights **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1e7d83; font-family: 'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.htm **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1e7d83; font-family: 'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1e7d83; font-family: 'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Animal+Rights || 4 ||


 * Homework: **


 * Questions for Extended Thought and Discussion to be answered on your blogs:**


 * What is your favorite search engine and why?
 * How do you think the sale of keywords affects your search results?
 * Do you believe the Internet can influence how people vote?
 * When using the same search engine around the world, you can see very different results with the same search phrases, such as "//global warming//" or "//Tibet//." What impact do you think this will have on global understanding?


 * Exit Ticket:**

Go here and follow the directions. You can start typing anywhere on the wall:


 * @https://padlet.com/psarles/exitticket4**

3-2-1

Name 3 new things you learned from the lesson.

Name 2 areas in which you are still confused.

Name 1 way you might apply what you've learned to another area.


 * Source:**

November, Alan (2008). //Web literacy for educators//. Thousand Oaks, CA : Corwin Press.