Web Search

When you find information on the internet you need to figure out how useful that information is.

Use these tips to help you spot useful (or not useful) parts of your web information sources:

checklist

Headings and subheadings

Quickly go through the webpage reading only the headings and subheadings. What are some topics you would learn about if you read this webpage? Will those topics be useful for your research project?

Quotes

Are there any quotes on the webpage? Who said it? Why is this person important to the topic? How does the quote add to your research project?

Illustrations and photos

Are pictures and photos on the webpage related to your research project? What can you learn from this picture? How does this picture add to your understanding of your research topic?

Graphs or charts

Find any charts or graphs on the webpage. What does the graph or chart show? What three things about your research topic can you learn from the graph or chart?

Tables

Are there any tables? What information is displayed on the table? What three things can you learn from this table?

Maps

What is shown on the map? How is it related to your topic?

Fact boxes

Is the fact interesting? Is it important?

Timeline

What are three of the most important events on this timeline?  Why is each event is important?

Sidebars

Is the information in the sidebar related to your topic? If so, what three things have you learned by reading the side bar?

 

For the teachers 

AustralianCurriculum / General capabilities / Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability / Learning continuum

Investigating with ICT

Select and evaluate data and information – Level 2. Typically by the end of Year 2, students explain the usefulness of located data or information (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d. c).