This lesson provides a web-based experience in which students evaluate the credibilty of online sources. Working in pairs, students apply a series of questions to determine the quality of sources of information they find online. Assuming the role of a student researching a science project, students must authenticate the information in an online article about the artificial sweetener, Aspartame. This exercise can be used as a review when beginning major research projects or other informational writing assignments. Teachers may also wish to provide time at the end of the lesson to respond to students' questions and allow time for students to share their insights. (author/ncl)

All career fields require research on a variety of topics. The ability to discern whether online information is accurate and trustworthy is essential. Using the 5 W's of Cyberspace, students will start learning to authenticate websites with a story about Aspertame. They are guided to recognize signs of bias and omission, understand the structure of uniform resource locators (URLs), check multiple sources, and consider authorship, ownership, and accuracy. Since the web page investigated is about a health-related issue, health science students may find it particularly interesting. (author/sec)