Separating the good from the bad

This is the digital era and it cannot be doubted that all who are born in this era are digital natives. Students of today are absolutely natural users of the web. But with so many websites pouring out loads of content in a few seconds’ loading time in front of your face, how can a student know what is “trustable and quality content”?

Distinguishing the quality content on the internet from the crass is a never-ending battle …

Because today’s educational and learning goals are tightly tied to technology and the use of internet, students learn to sift through and evaluate the kind of web content they meet up with, during their searches.

First and foremost, it all depends on the way they conduct their searches, be it on Google or on another search engine. Students need to understand the way a search engine works and what is the best way of getting desired results through the use of search engine. This includes the use of search parameters and Boolean operators. Experts say that the following attributes should be checked out for gauging the usefulness and reliability of web content.

What is useful web content?

• Currency- How useful is the information? Is it relevant to the present context or is it extremely outdated? Obviously, information from 20 years before cannot be used for the present context.

• Accuracy- Are the sources of the information accurate, recognized and reliable? Are they authoritative and credible? Are they experts in the subject area? Is the website representative of some trustworthy organisation or is just an assemblage of information lifted from somewhere?

• Relevance- Does the information really fit your purposes and what you want to do with it? Is it really what you need? Does it answer your questions?

• Purpose- What is the aim of the website? Whether it is educational, persuasive or persuading you to a particular call of action- which may or may not be compatible with your purpose.