Web Research - Critical Questions for Critical Thinkers 

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

On April 12, 2002, Seven Oaks School Division hosted a keynote address by Alan November, an internationally known leader in educational technology. I was very fortunate to be able to attend Alan's session entitled "Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning" which was advertised as follows:

If educators are expected to make the best use of emerging technologies, then we need to create a new culture of teaching and learning, including collegiality, new relationships with family and community, leadership and decision-making, students who are much more self-directed and interdependent, and new models of curriculum and assessment and our concept of time.

Alan is indeed a very motivational speaker who gets one thinking about how we as educators need to prepare students to be:

1. self directed (as opposed to "spoon fed")
2. able to work with people who are not in the same room or office, and
3. able to make meaning out of massive amounts of information.

In this article, I will try to share with you strategies that Alan felt all students should acquire and practice when conducting web research. He suggested that all primary school children today are familiar with the concept of a book. This same familiarity needs to be fostered when using the Internet as a resource. Alan went as far as to say that primary children should be introduced to Internet address (URL) understanding in Grade 2 and web design by Grade 6.

He used the following web address to illustrate several points which are posed as questions below:

• http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/di/intro.html

What information can you discern from the above address? 

How reliable is the information displayed on the above web site?
Knowing that the information is hosted at Northwestern University, some students might automatically think that the material is sanctioned and vetted by this University. However, more knowledgeable Internet users will know that although the actual web page is hosted on a Northwestern University computer as indicated by the domain "pubweb.acns.nwu.edu", the web pages following the tilde (~) separator are most likely a personal web page. In fact, the "abutz/di/intro.html" is a personal subdirectory and any web pages following a tilde, in general, are created by individuals and may not necessarily be sanctioned by the University or Internet Service Provider (ISP) hosting the web site. 

What can you learn about the web site through "truncating"? 
Students who enter the above Internet URL into their browser's "Location" or "Address" field and press the <Enter> key will have the specific web material displayed. However, a common strategy for learning more about a specific web sites and their resources involves truncating the address. For example, after typing the above URL into one's browser and seeing the initial site, one can begin at the extreme right hand end of the address and start deleting characters until one comes to a "/" separator or delimiter. At this point, press the <Enter> key to examine if a page is displayed and what can one learn from it. Continue this truncation process until one has moved backward through the personal directory to the actual domain. For example, if one uses the truncation process on the above address the following information is displayed:

What can you learn about the web site by examining the "forward" links?
When one searches the Internet it is very important to ask questions about any web resource in order to appraise the contents critically. Are there any biases that show through? What was the purpose for creating the particular web resource? Does the web material attempt to sell you something or manipulate you in any way? 

A very simple process, of which students should be made aware, is the examination of any "forward" links. If the browser's status bar is turned on, at the bottom of the screen, when one moves the mouse over an underlined link, the "forward" link URL of the next web page will be shown. 

On-line readers should visit the Arthur R. Butz' web page entitled "A short introduction to the study of Holocaust revisionism" at: 

http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/di/intro.html

and examine the "forward" linked URL addresses by moving the browser's cursor over the underlined links on this page. 

On-line readers, who visit this site, will find the web page which is illustrated in the screen capture which follows the table below. Note when one's browser cursor is positioned over each of the underlined forward links that the actual linked URL address is actually supporting material from Butz's own web site.

In fact, every link throughout this on-line treatise transfers to an additional page that is part of Butz' own web site. Imagine, if you will, comparing two prominent historians' journal articles on Louis Riel - Hero or Traitor. One author's research includes a range of footnotes from other respected historians supporting the author's position. On the other hand, the second journal entry is written by a historian but every footnote refers to a paper or article written by this same author. I ask you which journal entry do you feel has more credibility? 

What can you learn about the web site by examining the "backward" links?
In the previous process one examined the forward links which are under the control of the web creator. However a much better indicator of authority is to examine the links that are made from other web sites to the specific document. These backward links cannot be created by the author so one can get a better insight as to how many and who deems the article or web resource to be relevant and meaningful. 

Briefly one can search for backward links to a web resource by entering the "link:" command preceding the URL address of the web site/resource under examination. For example, if the following command is entered into search engines like AltaVista, Google or Lycos all web pages that point to the Winnipeg School Division's home "target" web page will be identified. 

"link:http://www.wsd1.org" (without quotes)

In this case, AltaVista identified 1607, Google recognized 160 and Lycos found 405 backward links to our Divisional web page. 

Alan November demonstrated how researchers could gain a better perspective on web resources using this "link:" search process to determine who and how many web sites pointed at Butz' web site when he entered the command into the AltaVista search engine:

"link:http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/di/intro.html" (without quotes)

Forty-three web sites were identified with backward links to the above web URL. By examining the various web sites that point to this web resource the skilled Internet researcher can learn more about the "target" site. The first five Internet web sites which have links targeting Butz' web site are identified below: Upon examination of these backward links, one cannot help but note that of the first five sites, four of the web resources link to Butz' web site an a source to evaluate in terms of its objectivity. 

• SSU Library (Sonoma State University) Evaluating Web Resources

• Birmingham University Libraries: Evaluating Internet Resources

• Forbidden Books

• Making Connections - Examples of an Unreliable Source

• William Davies School - Web Detective Challenge at: http://www.hamiltonschools.org/davies/wd-challenge.htm

Grade 7 and 8 teachers, who wish to foster the responsible evaluation of web resources, will be particularly impressed with the "Web Detective Challenge" hosted on the William Davies School web site. Students are challenged to "evaluate a specific web asking the Who, When, What, Where, and Why questions and determine if the page would be a good resource." Students in each grade level are requested to evaluate two different web sites and complete an on-line form which asks them to validate the claims made.

The second site for Grade 8 students linked to the Holocaust web site created by Arthur Butz however I was particularly interested in the first site that Grade 7 students were asked to evaluate. It describes Mankato, Minnesota at: 

http://lme.mankato.msus.edu/mankato/mankato.html 

where one can scuba dive to an underwater city dating back to 4000 B.C., whale watch or deep sea fish on the Minnesota River, visit the first pyramid in the western hemisphere or ski Mt. Kroto during Minnesota's 11 months of sub zero weather. This web site is an innovative educational resource which will challenge Grade 7 students to evaluate the claims in a critical fashion. However my only regret was when I did graduate work at Mankato State University in the late '70's, I never had a chance to take advantage of these opportunities or visit any of the wonders described on this web site. (:-)

What is a good search engine for elementary students?
Alan November recommends the Findspot search engine at http://www.findspot.com because it not only offers links to a variety of common search engines but also provides specific search engine tips and the appropriate search syntax to maximize one's acquisition of information.

Where can I learn more about efficient searching?
Have you ever wondered why different search engines present the user with a different list of "hits"? Why do certain web pages get listed near the top while others (which you deem to be more useful) are listed near the bottom of the "hit parade". Educators who want to learn more about search engines and how to harness their power should visit: http://www.searchenginewatch.com  
In addition, make certain to check out the "Web Searching Tips" on this web site at: http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/index.html 

Peruse this article, practice the techniques and pass along these strategies to your students and staff so that all web researchers can become more efficient and more critical of on-line resources.  

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Research Strategy - Use the "link:" search feature 

by Brian Metcalfe - Information Technology

Several years ago, Marg Stimson, a very creative educator from the Assiniboine South School Division, shared with me an interesting way to acquire information from the Internet. When Alan November referred to this "backward linking" process as a way to gain a better perspective on who and to what extent a person's web resource is valued, it reminded me that Marg originally suggested that this search process can also help educators and students find additional relevant sites.

Background
To illustrate this process, I will refer to an article I wrote entitled "A Tessellation Activity for Grade 6 Mathematics Using 'Paintbrush' or 'Paint'" in the October '97 issue of "Bits and Bytes". While searching the world wide web for an activity which I could use to help teach HyperStudio I came across the innovative ideas of Suzanne Alejandre. Her "Tessellation Tutorials" web site provided a step-by-step procedure which HyperStudio users could use to create tessellations. Realizing at the time that only a limited number of educators in our Division had access to HyperStudio, I re-wrote Suzanne's HyperStudio activity so that educators could use the common Windows "Paint/Paintbrush" tool to create tessellations. Once this article was complete, I thought it only right that I should e-mail Suzanne and thank her for creating her innovative tessellation activity. In my thank you e-mail, I shared with her my article which extended the tessellation procedure to users who wished to create them using "Paint/Paintbrush". I was extremely honoured when Suzanne e-mailed me to ask if she could refer to my on-line article with a link off her tessellation activity page. I agreed and over the years I have had e-mail from a variety of educators who have found my Paint/Paintbrush tessellation beneficial.

Backward linking with the "Link:" search
In order to find out which web sites link to a particular address one can use the "link:" command with some search engines. For example, if I wish to find out if any web pages link to my Paint/Paintbrush tessellation activity at:

 http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/9798/bboct97/default.htm#STORY4  

I can enter the address preceded by the "link:" command in a search engine such as AltaVista, Google or Lycos. For example, when the string:

"link: http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/9798/bboct97/default.htm#STORY4" (without quotes)

is entered into the AltaVista search field, links (which I cannot initiate) from the following web sites were pointing to my tessellation activity resource:  

• Math Forum: Tessellation Tutorials by Suzanne Alejandre
  This site was not a surprise since Suzanne asked permission to link to my on-line article
• Stephanie Olson RBL Consultant - Thunder Creek School Division in Saskatchewan
• Favourite Sites - off the Norman Public Schools web page in Norman, Oklahoma
• Junior University 2000 - Fresno, California
• Math Curriculum 1-8 - Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
• Research Sites - Reuther Middle School in Rochester Hills, Michigan
• Cool Stuff - Useful Links - Teachers on the Web from the Aussie School House

One can try the same "link:" search technique in other search engines to see if there are additional backward links to one's page. However, although this may be somewhat ego-gratifying for creators of web resources, how can this tool assist educators who are looking for classroom resources.

Applying the "link:" search to help find resources:
To illustrate this procedure, let's assume that you are looking for activities which might be used with students on their first day of school. 

1. Begin using a search engine in the normal manner. For example, I entered "first day of school" in the Google search engine.
2. Review the various web pages until one finds a real "gem" of a resource. In this case, I chose the lesson planning article entitled "First-Day-of-School 'Icebreakers' Help Students and Teachers Warm Up!" from Education World at: http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson131.shtml 
3. Using this "gem" site as a magnet, use the "link:" command to find other sites, with "first day of school" activities which point to this "gem". For example when

 "link:http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson131.shtml" (without quotes)

is entered into the Google search engine, one finds additional sites like:

• Education World - Special Theme: Back to School
• Blackwell's Best - Back to School
• Going "Back 2 School"
• Start-the-New-Years Ideas for Teachers
• Beginning of School 
  ... as well as six other additional pages of "back-to-school" activities and resources.

Sometimes it might be necessary to use the browser's "Edit/Find ..." menu options to search, in this case, for "first day of school" or related terms on the web pages displayed to find the specific link which targeted the initial gem site.

This same "link: search" strategy was used extremely successfully when I was initially looking for tessellation resources on the web. I chose Suzanne Alejandre's "Tessellation Tutorials" as the gem and entered:

"link:http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/tess.intro.html" (without quotes)

into AltaVista's and Google's search engines. The resulting pages offer a plethora of web page resources dealing with tessellations including such resources as:

• Puzzle Jumpstation - Escher-type tessellations

• SCORE Mathematics collection of resources

• Concept to Classroom: Resources

• My Favorite Projects

• Global Access to Educational Sources - Mathematics

• Student Tessellations

• ... as well as a many additional pages 

Hopefully this research strategy will help readers become more efficient finding additional web resources and "missing links". 

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Freeware Research Tools - "Co-Citer" and "Co-Tracker" 

by Brian Metcalfe - Information Technology

The Internet is an extremely vast resource of text-based information and images. Up until now students and staff, who used the Internet to conduct research, did not have an easy way to document the web sites where text or images were located. Students, who were in the creative mode often did not want to stop and write down web site addresses (URLs) when they were busy acquiring information or graphics that they could use in presentations. Teachers have been stymied to some extent when they have asked students to cite web sources of images or textual information included in PowerPoint or student-crafted web pages posted on their local school's intranet. Projects that have been submitted to Grassroots or to Histor!ca, for example, all must ensure that copyright has been respected and that appropriate permission has been gained for any resources captured off the Internet. Up until now staff and students have struggled whenever it was necessary to back-track to find the original web addresses in order to gain permission to include resources acquired off the Internet several weeks after the initial research was conducted.

Now the task of documenting research becomes amazing simple, thanks to the release of Co-Citer and Co-Tracker, two educational freeware products from Cogitum at: http://www.cogitum.com

Co-Citer Freeware
Co-Citer integrates into one's Internet Explorer 5.0 (or later) browser. Users can now search the Internet and begin examining text on web pages in the traditional fashion. However when the researcher highlights a text passage and right clicks, a "properties menu" displays with Co-Citer's "Grab Selected Text" option. When this selection is chosen, not only is the selected text captured and entered into the Co-Citer database, but also the web page title, an active URL address, and the date of acquisition is included. Equally important is the ability to make custom comments or annotations about the information on each web site. To display the data collected using this citing tool, one simply clicks on the Internet Explorer's "Tools" menu and selects the "Cogitum Co-Citer" option to display the data collected. A sample of two different web citations is illustrated below: 

The previous screen shot illustrates how this Co-Citer freeware allows students and staff to build a personal database of text fragments (citations) and more importantly active URL's which one can click on to return to the original web document. To help organize one's research material,  folders can be created under the "My Citations" area on the left. In addition, Co-Citer allows users to export the database as a file, share it by e-mail and post the information as an HTML web page. Students and teachers will find Co-Citer an indispensable tool when researching the Internet.

Image Co-Tracker Freeware
Co-Tracker, is a tool which integrates into Internet Explorer 5.0 (or later) to help create a database of images acquired off the Internet. When the user right clicks on a web-based image, the "properties menu" displays with Co-Tracker's "Grab Image" option. When this selection is chosen, the image is added to the Co-Tracker visual database along with it's file name (if available). Not only is the active Internet address of the original web page captured but if the selected image acted as a button to another Internet web page, the target address is automatically entered into the database as well. Researchers can organize their image collections into user-defined categories and enter annotations into the "Comments" field as well.

Perhaps at this point, a word of caution might be raised. In the May 2002, Vol. 35 No. 9 issue of "Inklings" the following was stated:

"The Cogitum website promotes a variety of uses for Co-Citer software, some of which may not be wholly compliant with Canadian copyright law."  (p. 15)

I believe that students and staff will continue to research and acquire materials from the Internet. However, if Co-Citer and Co-Tracker are used wisely in classrooms, there will be much more opportunity for researchers to cite and annotate web page sources. Furthermore, teachers may now insist that students complete the next logical step and include all e-mail correspondence sent out to web page creators asking permission to quote and/or use their images in projects. 

Educators are encouraged to download Co-Citer and Co-Tracker freeware, print up each image-enhanced manual and begin helping their students research the Internet in a much more effective and responsible manner. 

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Food for Thought - "The Child Within" 

by Robert Kogan - http://tenderbytes.net/rhymeworld/array/wonder.htm#childwithin

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