Transcript Citizenship in Cyberspace - Brandywine Heights Area School

Citizenship in Cyberspace
How to be responsible, reputable, and righteous online
Part One: If it’s on the Internet, it
must be true…
Bonjour!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bufTna0WArc
Vocabulary
 Accuracy: the condition or quality of being true, correct, or exact.
 Bias: a particular tendency or inclination or prejudice
 Credible: worthy of belief or confidence, trustworthy
 Domain Extension: the suffix at the end of a Web address, such as .com or .org
 Evaluate: to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality
 Relevance: relation to the matter at hand
 Skeptic: a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something appearing to be
factual
True or False
 If I can find it online, it must be true.
 There is an email address listed in the Web site, so it must be a legitimate source.
 There is a logo of the White House at the top of the page, so I can definitely trust this Web
site.
 There are a lot of graphs and charts on this site. With all this information it must be true.
 I should always compare the information I find online with at least 2 other sources.
 I should think about what’s missing from a Web site.
 I should always review the sources (or author) of the Web site.
Two Truths and One Lie
 On your index card, quickly write down two truths and one lie about yourself (in random
order).
 Read your three “facts” to a partner. They will try to guess which is the lie. Then switch
roles and do it again.
What makes a Web site trustworthy?
 Investigate the Source
 Domain extensions: .com, .edu, .gov, .co.uk
 Is it clear who created the content?
 Can you tell what the qualifications of the author are?
 What are they trying to get me to believe?
 What is the point of view of the Web site?
 Are there any links or footnotes to other relevant and reliable sources?
 Are graphs and/or charts clearly labeled?
 Does the Web site use correct grammar, spelling, sentence structure?
 Is the content current?
 Are there dates that show when the site was created and updated?
With your partner, visit these sites and decide
whether they are accurate, credible, reliable
sources of information:
www.aliensthetruth.com
www.seti.org
www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov
www.ufos-aliens.co.uk
Go to www.peta.org
 Is this the genuine Web page of a legitimate organization?
 What is the purpose of the Web page?
 What is missing from the Web page?
 Could a site like this be a useful research source?
Famous Web Hoaxes
 www.dhmo.org
 http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/