Reflection on Evaluating Websites

 After completing the website evaluation activity, I realized that it is not always clear whether the website is a reliable source or not.  Previously, I felt that it was pretty obvious whether or not you should use a website as a source for any educational work, and sometimes I believe this is the case (i.e. Facebook and Wikipedia are clearly not valid sources while a professional journal online is a valid source).  I chose a website that I thought was clearly a reliable source, but when I was asked to go through a checklist, I found it did not meet quite a few of the criteria.  I believe it is very important to teach students how to evaluate websites in Elementary and High School classrooms alike, otherwise they may reach the same initial conclusions that I did and the source may be a hoax, not be supported by research and references, or outdated.  It frustrates the student and the teacher when a student doesn't evaluate websites before using them in their work.  It is also important for me to evaluate websites that I am going to have the students visit during class to ensure that I am not teaching them inaccurate material.