LRC Resources for Students
LRC Resources for Students
How to Tell if You Are Looking at a Great Website
Established by the first ALSC Children and Technology Committee, 1997
It’s not hard to find sites if you use a search engine like Google, or a subject directory like Yahoo (or Yahooligans for kids). But how can you tell if a site you find is worthwhile?
Sometimes what is in a Web site’s address can indicate the nature of the site. Sites from commercial businesses usually include .com; federal government sites end in .gov, K-12 school sites often include k12 in the address, and college and university sites often include .edu. Sites from non-profit organizations often include .org. A site with a tilde (~) in the address usually indicates that this page is maintained or created by an individual, rather than representing an organization, a business, or a school.
Here are some helpful tips to use when trying to find a worthy website:
Authorship/Sponsorship: Who Put up the Site?
▪ The name of the individual or group creating the site should be clearly stated.
▪ The creator should give a source for information in the site where necessary.
▪ The Web site author or manager should provide a way for users to make comments or ask questions.
▪ The Web site author or manager should be responsive to any questions regarding copyright, trademark, or ownership of all material on the site.
▪ Sites that knowingly violate copyright statutes or other laws should not be linked, listed, or recommended.
Purpose: Every Site Has a Reason for Being There.
▪ A site’s purpose should be clear and its content should reflect its purpose, be it to entertain, persuade, educate, or sell.
▪ Advertising should be limited and appropriate.
▪ Sites devoted strictly to sales will not be considered as Great Sites. A good site should enrich the user’s experience and expand the imagination. Sites promoting social biases rather than enlarging the views of the child should not be considered Great Sites.
Design and Stability: A Great Site Has Personality and Strength of Character.
▪ The information on the site should be easy to find and easy to use.
▪ The site design should be appealing to its intended audience.
▪ The text should be easy to read, and not cluttered with distracting graphics, fonts, and backgrounds.
▪ Users should be able to get around the site easily.
▪ Pages consisting mainly of links should be well-organized and appealing to young people, and the collected links should be well-chosen and useful to children exploring the subject.
▪ The site’s design should be appropriate for the intended audience. The site should be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, as much as possible.
▪ A game or recreational site should have a clear interface and playing instructions.
LOCAL LIBRARIES AND USER FRIENDLY SEARCH ENGINES:
American Library Association|
Wealth of information for students on all subjects; lists of award winning books and authors
Ask for Kids
News source; great for debates and persuasive papers
Brain Pop
Interactive website for all subjects
Edmarie Tim Capsule
Headlines, songs, famous people on the day you were born; decade research on popular culture
Factmonster
Excellent site for any research topic; great reference sources also — encyclopedia, atlas and almanac
How Stuff Works
Easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works
Internet Public Library
Site arranged by subject area and selected by librarians; Kidspace for grades 6-8
Kidsclick
Search the web for everything at this librarian developed site
Kid Info
An organized directory of websites for many of your homework needs
The Why Files
Explains the science behind current news stories
Images for Websites
Library of Congress Image Catalog
What’s happening in the News?
Chicago Tribune
World and local news
CNN News
Up to date news coverage including videos; search by topic for list of quality websites; most helpful for 7th and 8th graders
Daily Herald
Arlington Heights newspaper that covers local and world news
Google News
A one stop source to find your topic from hundreds of news sources around the world
National Geographic
Daily news on science topics around the world
New York Times
World renowned source for current news
Time
Magazine designed for homework help; news coverage and topic research; interactive games and quizzes for family fun
Worldnews
World news by regions available on all topics
Author/Company and Copyright Date Information
This information can be anywhere on the web page, usually at the top or bottom. Sometimes it can be located by finding a copyright symbol. Many times, a website will not be published by an individual author but will be published by an agency, organization, school, or governmental body.
Copyright dates are important especially for current topic research. Use the most recent date if a range is provided. If no copyright date is given, note n.d.
If you cannot locate information on the web page, go to the HOME page. Sometimes there is a link to HOME. If not, shorten the URL address to include the first forward slash. This will take you to the home page.
Example: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/middleschool/projects
Shortened: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/
This shortened URL is the home page. When you are on the home page and looking for author/company and copyright information, look for links such as these to help locate source information:
About us
Mission
FAQ
Biography
URL Address:
The address usually begins with http//:
Titles:
Page title is located in the top window bar of the web page (grey area).
Site title is located at the top window bar of the home page (grey area).
How to Tell if You Are Looking at a Great Website
Established by the first ALSC Children and Technology Committee, 1997
It’s not hard to find sites if you use a search engine like Google, or a subject directory like Yahoo (or Yahooligans for kids). But how can you tell if a site you find is worthwhile?
Sometimes what is in a Web site’s address can indicate the nature of the site. Sites from commercial businesses usually include .com; federal government sites end in .gov, K-12 school sites often include k12 in the address, and college and university sites often include .edu. Sites from non-profit organizations often include .org. A site with a tilde (~) in the address usually indicates that this page is maintained or created by an individual, rather than representing an organization, a business, or a school.
Here are some helpful tips to use when trying to find a worthy website:
Authorship/Sponsorship: Who Put up the Site?
▪ The name of the individual or group creating the site should be clearly stated.
▪ The creator should give a source for information in the site where necessary.
▪ The Web site author or manager should provide a way for users to make comments or ask questions.
▪ The Web site author or manager should be responsive to any questions regarding copyright, trademark, or ownership of all material on the site.
▪ Sites that knowingly violate copyright statutes or other laws should not be linked, listed, or recommended.
Purpose: Every Site Has a Reason for Being There.
▪ A site’s purpose should be clear and its content should reflect its purpose, be it to entertain, persuade, educate, or sell.
▪ Advertising should be limited and appropriate.
▪ Sites devoted strictly to sales will not be considered as Great Sites. A good site should enrich the user’s experience and expand the imagination. Sites promoting social biases rather than enlarging the views of the child should not be considered Great Sites.
Design and Stability: A Great Site Has Personality and Strength of Character.
▪ The information on the site should be easy to find and easy to use.
▪ The site design should be appealing to its intended audience.
▪ The text should be easy to read, and not cluttered with distracting graphics, fonts, and backgrounds.
▪ Users should be able to get around the site easily.
▪ Pages consisting mainly of links should be well-organized and appealing to young people, and the collected links should be well-chosen and useful to children exploring the subject.
▪ The site’s design should be appropriate for the intended audience. The site should be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, as much as possible.
▪ A game or recreational site should have a clear interface and playing instructions.
LOCAL LIBRARIES AND USER FRIENDLY SEARCH ENGINES:
American Library Association|
Wealth of information for students on all subjects; lists of award winning books and authors
Ask for Kids
News source; great for debates and persuasive papers
Brain Pop
Interactive website for all subjects
Edmarie Tim Capsule
Headlines, songs, famous people on the day you were born; decade research on popular culture
Factmonster
Excellent site for any research topic; great reference sources also — encyclopedia, atlas and almanac
How Stuff Works
Easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works
Internet Public Library
Site arranged by subject area and selected by librarians; Kidspace for grades 6-8
Kidsclick
Search the web for everything at this librarian developed site
Kid Info
An organized directory of websites for many of your homework needs
The Why Files
Explains the science behind current news stories
Images for Websites
Library of Congress Image Catalog
What’s happening in the News?
Chicago Tribune
World and local news
CNN News
Up to date news coverage including videos; search by topic for list of quality websites; most helpful for 7th and 8th graders
Daily Herald
Arlington Heights newspaper that covers local and world news
Google News
A one stop source to find your topic from hundreds of news sources around the world
National Geographic
Daily news on science topics around the world
New York Times
World renowned source for current news
Time
Magazine designed for homework help; news coverage and topic research; interactive games and quizzes for family fun
Worldnews
World news by regions available on all topics
Author/Company and Copyright Date Information
This information can be anywhere on the web page, usually at the top or bottom. Sometimes it can be located by finding a copyright symbol. Many times, a website will not be published by an individual author but will be published by an agency, organization, school, or governmental body.
Copyright dates are important especially for current topic research. Use the most recent date if a range is provided. If no copyright date is given, note n.d.
If you cannot locate information on the web page, go to the HOME page. Sometimes there is a link to HOME. If not, shorten the URL address to include the first forward slash. This will take you to the home page.
Example: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/middleschool/projects
Shortened: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/
This shortened URL is the home page. When you are on the home page and looking for author/company and copyright information, look for links such as these to help locate source information:
About us
Mission
FAQ
Biography
URL Address:
The address usually begins with http//:
Titles:
Page title is located in the top window bar of the web page (grey area).
Site title is located at the top window bar of the home page (grey area).
