Book Review

Web Literacy for Educators

By Alan November

Published by Corwin Press – A Sage Company (2008)

“But I read it on the Internet-it must be true!” is the perfect lead for Alan November’s book Web Literacy for Educators. With slick, authentic-looking websites and official sounding text, one can easily be misled and misinformed about every topic imaginable found on the Web. This informational guide shows you how to uncover layer after layer until you unveil the truth of the any Web site you are viewing. November states that casting a critical eye at Web information is a fundamental part of Web literacy. He shows you how search engines work and how information is controlled so you will not be duped or waste your valuable time while searching on the Web.

November begins his book with a story that illustrates the dangers of not identifying the source of information you gather online. He tells of one school that almost expelled a student for writing a paper based on false information about the holocaust. The student believed Northwestern University sponsored the information. November explained that if the student only knew what the tilde (~) meant, he would have understood he was only reading a professor’s personal opinion and not a fact. Another student retrieved information from the martinlutherking.org site, which in reality turned out to be a white supremacist site denigrating Dr King’s work. November sprinkles other horror stories throughout the book, which graphically illustrate the need for web users to determine the validity and quality of the information they find before believing everything they read.

The beauty of this book as a learning tool is its powerful simplicity. November takes baby steps leading you through concepts that before were baffling or otherwise scary. With built in exercises, tips and handouts, he lets you explore and practice each concept at your own pace so you can easily build comprehension and Web literacy all on your own. This is essential in order to guide your students effectively in class.

November includes every topic you need to consider when searching the Web. Chapter one includes: what the Internet is, IP Addresses, Domain Names, URLs, World Wide Web, Web Browsers, Home Pages, Links, and Internet Grammar. Other chapters cover how to validate information, look at links, search smart, and understand Blogs, RSS, Podcasts, and Wikis. He concludes with strategies to evaluate what you find while online. This book should automatically come with every computer. While most computer books can put you to sleep, this one is a real eye-opener!

Each chapter follows a straightforward framework. They begin with relevant and interesting stories that relate to the concepts covered in the chapter. Interspersed throughout the chapters are “Try This” boxes, which enable you to practice the concepts first-hand. They also lead readers to teacher resources and cover professional development issues. Intertwining each chapter you find “For Students” boxes, which provide activities that you can use in your classroom, but can actually help develop your own comprehension along the way. The chapters end with a summary, valuable Web resources you will want to explore, formative assessments, and questions for extended thought and discussion. You can use this book to educate yourself so you can design your own age appropriate lessons for your class, or you can use parts of it directly with your students to help them to become Web savvy. This is urgently required as we find technology increasingly seeping into our minds and vying for control of our beliefs.

With their authoritative and sophisticated appearance, Web sites can be very seductive, enticing us to accept everything they claim. While I believed I was pretty well informed, this straightforward book taught me how easy it is to be deceived. Fortunately, it offered tools to conduct “smarter, faster, and more productive” searches that provide valid and accurate information. By the time you get done reading this book, you know you will return to it again and again as it is packed with useful information that invites deeper exploration and examination.