R-Sixlets-My+Page+Evaluation+&+Example

R-Sixlets-My Page Evaluation & Example
** Kim Ehnes ** Julesburg High School B. Title of Web Site: **“The Straight Dope” Fighting Ignorance since 1973.** C. Truth or Trash: **Truth website about Trash** D. Criteria applied to determine Truth or Trash: a. Credibility of the site ii. URL – any clues. **No** iii. Sponsors or ads? **Weight Loss ads, movie ads, digital camera sells, Skype Ads.** iv. Dates: copyright & updates v. Link backs - **YES** b. Usefulness of the site i. Ease of use – **Very Easy to use** ii. Contact: site master or author? **YES** Automatic email? **YES** iv. Timeliness – **Has 2500 of your questions already answered, encourages you to look up FAQ before submitting your questions.** E. **I would use this with my students to teach them better searching methods and evaluation about what sites not to waste your time with. Though some of the information could prove to be factual, such as the gases that comprise internal gas, the information seemed to be based mostly on opinion and not necessarily on fact. There was a tremendous amount of information but it was information on stuff that really doesn’t interest me or stuff I would not consume my personal time looking up. It’s a true website with a lot of trash in it!!!!**
 * A. ** Web URL address: ** http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mwaterbags.html **
 * Article “ ****What's the purpose of bags of water hanging in restaurants?” **
 * i. ** Authenticity: author and their credentials, bibliography/sources listed – **Cecil Adams – direct link to his personal email. Notes encouraging you to contact him with your questions.**
 * Copyright 1996-2009 Creative Loafing Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No material contained in this site may be republished or reposted without express written permission. The Straight Dope is a registered trademark of Creative Loafing Media, Inc. **
 * iii. ** Other links – **The Straight Dope Store has a direct link to the Chicago Reader Inc.**
 * v. ** Relevance – **It doesn’t seem to be relevant to me but others that like to know facts about stupid stuff might enjoy this website.**

A. url address: http://www.whitehouse.gov B. Title of Web Site: The White House /President Barack Obama C. Truth or Trash: This site is “Truth”. D. Criteria for determination: Is there a date on the site? This site is up to date as new postings are made daily. It contains the President’s weeky video address Is there an email contact? Yes, and there is a separate button for you to directly email the staff with comments or concerns to create a very accessible administration. Is there a posted author? As this is a government site, there was not one author posted. Is it relevant to the search? If you were to search White House you would see that this site bills itself as the official government sit. You could also hit the “White House officious website”, a trash site! Is there current data? Relative information about our government can be obtained using this site- up to date newsbriefings, signed legislation, and press releases. Is the site user friendly? This site was very user friendly as it was easy to navigate, very appealing (for a government site!) and had video clips too. Can it be cross-referenced?tThere were newspaper references as well on this site to validate the briefings posted. Can it be backtracked to a reputable site? There was no other site other that the White House. gov. Is it age appropriate?This site would be considered to advanced for my second graders if you didn’t explore all it had to offer. The second graders would enjoy the sldeshow of the past presidents, biographies, and particulary the past pets that were included in the first family household! The button for facts and fun about the White House would be the most interesting for them. I did want to explore the idea of having them email their comments and concerns directly to the White House! What a concept! I would like to find out if they would receive any email in return! "Sixlets" criteria was used to evaluate this website.
 * Marcia Hill, Julesburg, Sixlets Assignment from 3-13-09**

//Title of Website:// Burger King Introduces the Left-Handed Whopper //Truth or Trash:// I think the website is truth but the story about the whopper in the website is trash. //Date on the Site//: yes, there was a copyright date but the date in the article was not accurate //Email contact//: yes, I could link directly to the creator of the website which was the business news wire. //Posted author:// it wasn't a person but an Ltd. //Relevant search:// I'm sure students would be interested in a left handed whopper especially if they were left handed. //Current Date:// yes, I believe it was since the copyright was 2009. Of course this type of information really would not be outdated. //User friendly//: yes, this article was easy to find but when you get into the news wire website it was easy to navigate to different types of news information in many different areas of media. //Cross referenced:// Not this article as there was nothing on the website to reference it too except talking about famous left handed people. This had nothing to do with the whopper or even stating that they had tried the "new left handed whopper". //Backtracked:// yes, eventually it backtracked to the news wire website. But the first two backtracks went to a forbidden site. //Age appropriate//: yes, this would be okay for any age. I believe this particular website is trash with this article about the whopper, however, the news wire website I believe is truth. It is news around the world that is legitimate. I would use this website to show that the first part of any website can be truth or trash and the backtracking of that particular website could prove to be the opposite of what a person would initially think.
 * Mary Rice, Julesburg, Sixlets Assignment #2**
 * u**//**rl address: http://www.prenewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=39523**//

Jeana Johnson, Julesburg, Sixlets Assignment from 3-11-09 A. url address: [] B. Title of Web Site: Dog Island Free Forever C. Truth or Trash: I believe this site to be trash, cute cuddly trash, but trash none the less. D. Criteria for determination: //Is there a date on the site?// Yes, current but it looks to be a counter date that changes automatically. //Is there an email contact?// Yes, two. One forquestions and one for “reservations”. I did send an email to tell them how I used their site, but it was undeliverable (yet another clue). //Is there a posted author?// It is a copyrighted site (2003) but I did not see an author posted. //Is it relevant to the search?// A wide search for dogs might lead to this site, or someone looking for dog friendly vacation sites might come upon it. I did notice that there is a legitimate “dogisland.com” site (dealing with real estate sales in Florida) where as the one I researched is “thedogisland.com” //Is there current data?// The data listed includes current weather conditions for Dog Island and statistics related to the size and numbers of dogs currently residing on the island. //Is the site user friendly?// Yes, absolutely. I found it easy to navigate. However, many of the hotlinks were dead. The Dog Island Radio was an interesting option…it reminded me of Adam Sandler and his attempts to sing/write music. //Can it be cross-referenced?// Many of the links were dead or led right back to this site. However, the ads sponsored by Goggle were legit, mostly products for dogs. //Can it be backtracked to a reputable site?// There was no site to back track to other than this site, but as stated above, the Goggle ads were reputable. //Is it age appropriate?// I can tell you my 6th graders would/did LOVE this site, especially the radio. There was no questionable language. One link was to a new age music site that looked strange but not dangerous. //Is there a cost to use the site or for downloads?// There were no cost associated with the site, as a matter of fact, it’s all FREE. Just send them your dog, but you don’t get Fido back… However, in the disclaimer they admit it is a fictitious site and ask that people do not send their dogs or any money. E. Rather than write about what I //would// do, I tried this out with my 6th grade Reading class. I actually worked backward and had the students look at this site and three others from the list. I asked them to investigate the site and be prepared to give the class a short synopsis of what the web site is about. I then revealed that each site was bogus; all but 2 of my 18 students we convinced the sites were legit. We made a list of criteria they could use to determine the validity of web sites. Their criteria centered around, “too good to be true” or “sounds fake.” We used the "Sixlets" criteria to go even a little deeper.

Diane Bell, Julesburg, Sixlets Assignment 2 A. **url address:**  http://www.brookview.karoo.net B. **Title of Web Site:** Britain for Americans C. **Truth or Trash:** This site is Trash. D. **Criteria for determination:** //Is there a date on this site?// No I//s there an email contact?// No //Is there a posted author?// No--The introduction just opened with an outline map of Britain followed by several paragraphs opening with "We live here. We are called British people." //Is it relevant to the search?// When I googled "Britain for Americans", this site came up first. Other sites I inspected had travel information or articles form newspapers with an author listed. But some other sited seemed to be trash also. Titles were fairly good indicators as to content even without opening the websites. //Is there current data?// There was nothing to indicate when any of the data was posted. //Is the site user friendly?// There were five categories in addition to the introduction (language, geography, transport, music, food) to click on for further information. The site was easy to navigate. //Can it be cross-referenced?// There were no links for cross-referencing. There was one web design link which was unavailable or no longer existed. //Can it be backtracked to a reputable site?// I could not backtrack the site. //Is it age appropriate?// This site is for older students. Older students would recognize the sarcastic humor (or "humour" since the author stated the British like to add the letter "u" to words). I would say the author of this website thinks Americans are somewhat ego-centric and bossy. He shows a language chart that has British, Australian, and Swahili languages evolving from American. He advises that, when the British don't understand us, we should shout louder. Under the "music" section, the author stated that songs such as "Smack Yo' Momma" help the British understand our culture. When discussing air travel, he refers to the British flying during WW II, but says to remind any old chap who used to be in "dogfights" that "good Old America" really won the war. I actually think this site would be a really interesting one to take older students to and speculate as to the age and sex of the author. (Or are there more likely several authors?) What might the author do for a living? What experiences has the author had that have shaped what seem to be pretty negative views of Americans? Or is the commentary just tongue-in-cheek? I see possibilities for both social studies and language arts teachers. //Is there a cost to use the site or for downloads?// There is no cost.

Mary

Carla http//www.thedogisland.com/index.html

Dog Island

Trash

The criteria I used to determine if it was TRUTH or **__TRASH__** was whether or not there was an author, a disclaimer, ability to contact the website, a copyright date, and just reading some of the material to see if there seemed to be an agenda or if it seemed to be serious or more “tongue in cheek.” The first thing I saw was the disclaimer which stated that the site was made “all in fun” and “not intended to be taken seriously.” After that it was easy to recognize the silliness of the site, however, if I hadn't seen the disclaimer, I would seriously wonder - I know how crazy about their pets pet-owners can be. There also was no author, an old copyright date, the contact link didn't work, and the names were a little crazy.

I would/will use this in my junior English class when they prepare to do their research papers, and also in my College English class before doing their research papers to show them that you can’t necessarily believe everything seen on the internet. Carla Tjaden - Julesburg