Cybersafety Course

Not all information found online is credible.  The Internet is full of false data, fake news, biased information, and phony material.  Common Sense Media defines information literacy as, "the ability to identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively."  In part 1 of this module, you will develop skills to locate credible sources of information. 

WHAT CAN A URL TELL YOU ABOUT A SOURCE?

The URL (web address) of a web site can reveal a lot about whether or not the source is credible:

• Is the organization or company reputable?  In other words, is the source a trusted business, college, or research institute?  

• What is the extension at the end of the domain name?  All web addresses end in either two or three letters.  Here are some of the more common extensions:

  • • com = company or commercial business

    • edu = educational institution, like colleges

    • k12 = a school within the U.S.

    • org = usually a non-profit organization

    • gov = government agency

    • net = network

You can normally trust sites and pages maintained by colleges, schools, or governments (.edu, .k12, .gov).  Beware of those operated by businesses or organizations (.com, .org, or .net) because their information can be very skewed or biased.  Remember, most are trying to sell a product.

For example, the URL www.nasa.gov is the web address of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Since NASA is the official space agency of the United States government, it is a trusted institution.  We can also see from the extension (.gov) that it is an official government site, which also gives it credibility.   

It is also important to know how to use and share media properly and to give credit to the creator of the information or product.  In the second part of this module, you will learn about copyright and citing your sources.

The following images from the Noun Project are in use on this page:

• Information by Arthur Shlain 

• electric guitar by Marvdrock