After doing some research on how to find the best internet sites for classroom purposes, I found that the same key points kept popping up.  The following 4 points are what we should look for to determine if this is a quality website to use with our students.

<strong>1. What is the website's purpose?</strong>

<strong>Purpose </strong>of the website is similar to author's intent, something we teach our students during reading instruction. Is the purpose of the site to sell something, propaganda, is it objective, is it personal, or is it pure entertainment?

<strong>2. Is this appropriate to use?</strong>

<strong>Appropriateness </strong>is directly related to if the site relates to the content taught in the classroom. Does this reinforce something taught in the classroom, or supplement by showing a new perspective of something taught in the classroom?

<strong>3. Is this information current?</strong>

<strong>Currency </strong>addresses whether this information is considered up to date enough. Oftentimes, sites are not updated to reflect current news. For example, when pluto was changed from a planet to a moon, every time a book about planets was read aloud with incorrect information, it became the teacher's duty to add the current events.

Also, when sites aren't updated regularly, there are sometimes dead links that no longer go to any site and the dreaded 404 page appears.

<strong>4. Clarity</strong>

Is the information clearly presented and organized in an understandable manner? When flash and graphics and colors and too many buttons get in the way, the content becomes lost as the site is less easily to navigate. Clear, organized websites are easier for the students to use, and to gain knowledge from.

Pam Berger, a school librarian and blogger at http://infosearcher.typepad.com/ has developed a student-friendly rubric for evaluating good websites. The ready-to-print PDF can be found <a href="http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/5ws.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.