6th and 7th Grade – Web Evaluation Project #1

For this project, you will need to follow ALL of the directions below. Make sure you don’t miss a step. This is your first graded assignment.

1. Open Microsoft Word. You want a blank document.
2. SAVE the document to your Documents Folder. The filename should be your first name and last initial dash eval1 Example: johnd-eval1.doc
3. Type your First and Last name in the top left corner of the document
4. Title your document Evaluation of the Tree Octopus. Your title should be centered and bolded.
5. Complete the Evaluation Described below in the order in which the steps are presented
6. Type your responses into your word document. Make sure to number your answers

Site Description: This website focuses on an animal that the author believes is in danger of extinction and therefore needs our support. It provides pictures, descriptions, and reasons why we should support their efforts to protect this creature.

Lesson Details: You will be working independently on this project. You may NOT ask a classmate for help. I need to know what you can do, and you need to form you own opinion as to the validity of this site.

Lesson Description: Please follow these steps in order

1. Go to http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
2. Read through the entire site
3. Your first sentence should read EITHER
• I believe that we should support the author in the quest to save the Tree Octopus because….
• I do not believe that we should support the author in the quest to save the Tree Octopus because….
4. As you are reading about the tree octopus, be thinking about the following ways we can evaluate the web site itself to determine whether or not we believe in saving this Tree Octopus. In your Word document, type the words coverage, origin, currency, objectivity, accuracy, purpose, extensions, and common sense on separate lines of your document. Then, after each of these words or phrases, write your responses to the questions below (complete sentences please):

• Coverage: Does the web site give you too little or too much information on your topic for you to get a good idea about the tree octopus? Is it just right?
• Origin: Who created this web site? Is he or she an expert in this field? What credentials (college degrees, research, published articles, and career accomplishments) does he or she provide? If no reason to believe the webmaster is an expert is given, be sure to write that down!
• Currency: When was this site last updated (look at the bottom of the page)? If it does not give a last updated date, please note that. Also, check out any links. Are they expired or do they still work? Do you feel this is a current or out-of-date site and why?
• Objectivity: What does objectivity mean? Does this site read like an encyclopedia or do you feel a bias (a strong opinion for or against) towards the subject? Do you feel this site is objective or opinionated and why?
• Accuracy: Name any factual or grammatical errors you find. Why do errors on a web site make us doubt the validity of a site? If there are no errors that you can find, note that too!
• Purpose: What do you think is the author’s purpose in creating this site: informing, entertaining, or persuading? If persuading, what does the author want us to do or think? Does the purpose make the site less reliable as a good source for information on this topic?
• Extensions: What is the two to three letter extension for this site (the most common extensions are: org, com, mil, edu, net, and gov)? Is there a tilde (~) in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL or address)? A tilde tell us it’s a personal and not a company, university, or museum site.  If it does have a tilde, what does that tilde mean to us as informed consumers of the web?
• Common sense: What does your gut tell you about this site? Is it a valid site for information or not and why?