The Internet offers tremendous resources and learning opportunities. Ten years ago, who would have imagined being able to e-mail an expert at the Canadian Space Agency as part of a high school science project?

Unfortunately, the Internet also contains a great deal of information that is neither valuable nor reliable. Since anyone can post comments or information on the Internet, users need to develop critical thinking skills to judge the accuracy of online information.

This is particularly true for kids who tend to believe that “If it’s on the Internet, it must be true.” Research shows that 36 per cent of kids think “most of the information” on the Internet is reliable.

Traditionally, printed resources have had gatekeepers – editors, proofreaders and fact checkers – to weed out mistakes, lies and inaccurate information. However, the Internet, in many cases, has no safety guards.

Misinformation can appear on the Internet in many guises, including:

• Hate sites that spread malicious misinformation. These kinds of sites can overtly promote extreme viewpoints or use a subtle, deceptive approach.
  
  
• Commercial sites that blend fun and information with the promotion of products. These sites are essentially online ‘infomercials’ with advertisers creating their own content to attract their target market.
  
  
• Sites that promote and sell bogus or false products. There are many examples of dangerous products available through such sites, for example, HIV testing kits and miracle cures for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
  
  
• Personal opinion that is presented as fact. Most of these sites are home pages of individuals who publish what they like and claim that it is true. o Parody or spoof sites. These sites purposely mislead users. Some are just for fun, others have a political point to make, and some are created to show kids how easy it is to fool others online.
  
  
• E-mail hoaxes. E-mail can spread misinformation through false virus warnings, bogus money-making schemes, urban legends and unsubstantiated health alerts.

Addressing this in the Classroom

Teach students how the Internet works, and how Web sites can be established with no questions asked. Train them to use a wide variety of information resources, and to check and question what they see online.

The following tips will put you on the road to helping your students make the most out of the Internet:

• Start when students are young. Primary students are now using the Internet to look up information, so it’s important to teach them early on how to distinguish fact from opinion and how to recognize bias, propaganda and stereotyping.
  
  
• Encourage students to question information that they find online. For example:
  
  
  • What’s the purpose of the site? To inform? To entertain? To persuade? To sell?
  • Who are the authors or creators of this Web page? Are they credible?
  • Does the site contain contact information for the author or an “About Us” section?
  • What sites does this site link to?
  • Who links to this site? (Enter the name in a search engine and see what other sites appear.) - When was this Web page created? When was it updated?
  • Why did you choose the Internet to find this information? Is there a better place to look?
    
    
• Make sure students compare the online information they collect to other sources. Have them check out Web sites or media such as newspapers, magazines and books to verify the information.
  
  
• Create assignments where students must use a wide variety of information resources for research.
  
  
• Teach your students effective online search techniques. This will greatly improve their ability to obtain quality information. One suggestion is to encourage them to use a variety of search engines rather than settling for just one site.
  
  
• Explore popular commercial Web sites with your students. Discuss how marketers create virtual playgrounds where advertising is integrated into graphics, games and activities to reinforce brand-name loyalty.

Classroom lessons and activities:

• Fact or Folly
  An online teachers’ resource for teaching students how to find and evaluate good information on the Net. 
  
  
• Tale of Two Cities
  This teachable moment, demonstrates the importance of authenticating online information. 
  
  
• Deconstructing Web Pages
  In this lesson students in grades 7 to 10 apply the "5W's of Cyberspace" to sources of information they find online. 
  
  
• Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!
  This lesson is designed to help students in grades 10 and 11 determine the validity of information that is presented to them on the Internet.

 
Know the Risks
Privacy invasions | Pornography | Cyber bullying | Online predators | Spam | Misinformation | Violent and hateful content | Gambling | Reporting trouble