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Lesson · Grade 6 · Applied Design, Skills and Technologies

Can You Trust This Website? Five Checks

  • Grade 6
  • Applied Design, Skills and Technologies
  • 1 min 11 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC6-AD-16

A student searches how many planets there are and finds a web page saying there are 9, with no author named, last updated in 2005 and a button to buy a telescope. A numbered checklist (source, date, accuracy, bias and fit) is tested against the page one check at a time: four checks fail, including the fact that other sources say 8 planets because Pluto is now called a dwarf planet, so the video ends by telling viewers to find a better source and to check source, date, accuracy, bias and fit before trusting a website.

Concept: Can you trust this website? Checking accuracy, date, source and bias

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In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

You search for how many planets are in our solar system, and you find this page.

But can you trust this website?

Transcript

What the lesson says

You search for how many planets are in our solar system, and you find this page.

But can you trust this website?

Five useful checks can help you decide.

Source: who made the page, and are they an expert?

This page does not name its author, which is a warning sign.

Date: is the page up to date?

This one was last updated in 2005, so it may be out of date.

Accuracy: do other trusted sources agree with it?

They say there are eight planets, because Pluto is now called a dwarf planet.

Bias: does it show only one side, or try to sell you something?

This page wants to sell you a telescope, so it may be biased.

Fit: the page is on your topic and easy to read, so it passes.

With four warning signs, it is best to find a better source.

Before you trust a website, check its source, date, accuracy, bias and fit.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 6

Applied Design, Skills and Technologies, Digital literacy: search techniques, how search results are selected and ranked, and criteria for evaluating search resultsBC6-AD-16

Previous: How a Search Engine Finds and Ranks Results

British Columbia, Grade 7

Applied Design, Skills and Technologies, Digital literacy: search techniques, how search results are selected and ranked, and criteria for evaluating search resultsBC7-AD-15

Previous: How a Search Engine Finds and Ranks Results

This lesson is also listed in Grade 7.

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

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