For Instructors

This website can be used in an asynchronous or synchronous class to help students learn how to evaluate sources for credibility. There are several resources for students: an explanatory section that walks students through a definition of credibility, a discussion of what makes a source credible, what a credible source can be, and finally, some questions to get students evaluating the content of a source's argument for credibility.

In addition to this introductory material, there are two different activities that you can use either as in-class projects or as homework: a tutorial that walks students through evaluating a source step-by-step, and a skills-testing activity which asks students to compare two different websites and evaluate them for credibility, making a judgment as to which is the most credible source.

The tutorial and the skills-testing activity have links to a blog (also accessible via the Discussion link) where students can post their answers to each question and discuss their answers with their peers. This blog is an excellent way to get students collaborating on their answers and can further enhance their argumentative and evaluative skills as you and they discuss the reasons and rationale behind their answers. The blog also offers a post for students and instructors to post links to credible websites they find; it is hoped that this will provide an archive of credible sources for your students to consult.

Finally, there is a rubric your students can use to assess their performance on the skill-testing activity in evaluating sources for credibility. This rubric is available as a webpage and as a downloadable Word document.

There are also Additional Resources that you and your students can use to help them evaluate source credibility. If you have resources you feel would be beneficial to link here, please email the link to the webmaster.