Jordan+Hoover

//Hello, my name is Jordan Hoover and I am the Technology Director at Community Day School in Pittsburgh, PA. I teach Middle School computer classes and help teachers in my school integrate technology into their classrooms. //


 * Learning to Evaluate Websites as Sources:**

There are a number of tools that you can use to teach your students both how to evaluate a website as a source, and how to properly site it. There are many sites that give good guidelines for evaluation of internet sources, but this list of sites would help you get started:

[] - Guidelines (fairly comprehensive) [] - A quick form you could provide students to help them report on the validity of a source [] - A longer form that can be printed for student use


 * Wordle.net as a Tool:**

Before students can be engaged in using Wordle to evaluate text (or anything) they need to be engaged. An exercise that could be used to demonstrate how it works (so that students can use it for other purposes) would be having students enter the lyrics to some of their favorite songs. They end up with interesting Wordles to share, but also learn how to use the program. They also get a chance to evaluate the music that they listen to as a form of literature (and art).

(Beatles - All You Need is Love)

(Beatles - Let it Be) Or, for a more modern song - (Fun - We are Young)