Web+Literacy+7



=**Web Literacy 7 : Getting R.E.A.L. : Ask about the Author and Owner**=


 * Aim:**

How do we lookup the author and owner of a Web site in order to validate the information it contains?


 * 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 to ask about the author and owner of a Web site in order to validate its information.


 * Introduction:**

Anyone who wants to be an author or a publisher on the Web can easily fulfill that dream.

The drawback however, is that not all Web site authors are going to be reputable and reliable sources of information.

A key skill to validating Web sites is learning how to check for author and ownership information.


 * Discussion:**

Very often a Web site author will not list his or her name on a site.

Sometimes reading the URL of a site will give you clues about author information, since the domain name of a site may tell you who published or who owns the site.

For example, a URL that includes cnn.com tells us that the site is owned and published by CNN. We don't know exactly who the author is by looking at the URL, but it may be safe to assume whatever is written was done by a CNN reporter.

Unfortunately the URL http://martinlutherking.org/ doesn't tell you much. In fact it is misleading. So how do you know to be wary of a URL that looks innocent enough?

One solution is to validate it further using the esayWhois site and the Wayback Machine.


 * easyWhois**

You may not be able to find out who wrote a Web site but you can find out who owns it.

Knowing who owns a Web site is somewhat similar to knowing who publishes a book.

Sometimes the owner is the author of a Web site, but not always.

Knowing who owns a Web site is a useful validating tool.

Because anyone can be a publisher on the Internet, you want to ensure the author or owner of the site is a qualified and reliable source of information.

Another validating tool is the Wayback Machine. One of the great things about the Internet is that it's possible to chart the history of a Web site. In bookstores and libraries, we only see the finished product of a body of work, but the Internet allows us to explore a collection of drafts with the Wayback Machine.


 * Class Activity:**

1) Create a new page on your wiki and name it Web Literacy 7. You will write all your answers on this page.

2) Go to @http://easywhois.com. (This site is a directory service that collects information from the Internet to track who owns and is responsible for a domain name. Enter the domain of the site you are researching. Once you scroll through the information you receive, you will find dates the site was created, specific contact names, and addresses at which the organization is based. You will also learn the name of the organization responsible for the site. The martinlutherking.org Web site for example is published by an organization called Stormfront. Using easyWhois can help you find owner information for almost all Web sites. However, it is possible to bury information about Web site ownership if an owner hires another company to publish a site under the hired name - than it cannot be traced). When you type in the name of the site you are searching, remove the //http:// and //www.//. If you use a long address, truncate from right to left up to the first forward slash.

3) I want you to continue to either think about a topic you'd like to research, or to visit Web sites related to something you are learning in school. Perform a search in the search engine of your choice.

4) You will see 10 sites on the first page of your results. Go to each one and look up who owns the site. Answer the questions below and record your answers on your wiki.

a. Is the author’s or owner’s name provided? b. Is there a contact person or an address provided? c. Is there biographical information provided about the author or owner? d. Does the author seem knowledgeable? Is he or she an expert in the field? e. What kinds of results do you see when you do a search on the author’s name?

6) Now search those 10 sites in the Wayback Machine. Type in the URL and click on the button, Take Me Back. Once you have conducted a search, select a specific date from the archived dates available. (The Wayback Machine allows you to browse through 30 billion Web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago). The purpose of looking for the history of a site is to establish whether any changes have been made throughout the years that might shed light on the reliability of information on a particular site.


 * Exit Ticket:**

Go here and answer the questions on the wall:


 * @http://padlet.com/psarles/exitticket6**


 * Source:**

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