Website and Source Evalutaion

     Today in history class, we did two activities that were meant to help us learn how to choose valid sources for research.  One activity was called A Google A Day and in our groups, we had to find the answers to different questions by using the internet for help.  The other activity was checking out a website on the "Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus".  These two activities helped us learn the difference between good sources and not so good sources.

     A Google A Day, sponsored by Google, was a very interesting activity.  We were given a question that we had to find the answer to by using Google as a search engine.  It was not as simple as I predicted it would be.  Some of the websites that my group and I came across were not useful so we had to try searching for different keywords from the questions. One part of the activity that frustrated me was that the answers had to be very exact and even when we did know the correct answer it would not accept it because it wasn't phrased right.  Overall it was a great activity to help us learn how to select a valid source.  Here is the link if you are interested, www.agoogleaday.com/#game=started

     There were a few terms we went over during class while learning about selecting a valid source.  Accuracy is the quality or state of being correct or precise.  It is important to make sure that the source you are using has correct information.  Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, and character.  When choosing a source, you need to make sure that the authors identity is appropriate and that they really are who they say they are.  Lastly, reliability is the ability to be depended on for accuracy.  This is important because every source must have accurate and reliable information in order for it to be valid.  During the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus activity, we had to look at the website zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/.  This website was created by a person who was not authentic.  They claimed to be a professor at a college university but the university does not exist.  Obviously there is not such thing as a tree octopus because they are aquatic animals that need water in order to live.  Therefore the website was not reliable because the information was all made up to trick people.  Overall, the website was an example of a source that you would not want to use.  I thought this activity was very amusing.  

Tree Octopus.  zapatopi.net/octopus/.