Internet research is a fine writing tool, but can you trust the information you find? This presentation by Hope N. Tillman, Director of Libraries at Babson College, gives advice on assessing the quality and credibility of information found on the Internet. Includes links to search engines and research guides, but the most useful aspect of this presentation is the in-depth discussion on assessing these resources.

Make the most of your students' diverse ability levels and experience with a prewriting activity in which they describe an abstract idea using blogging and photographs that they have taken.

How can you create a digital footprint that showcases your purpose? Research shows that happiness in life is less about what you do and more about why you do it. When your actions have purpose, they lead to positive results -- both for you and the world. Help students use the power of the internet to turn their personal passions into positive impact. Approximately 50 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Explain what it means to find your purpose and why it is beneficial. Consider different ways that people have used their digital footprint to make a positive impact on the world and whether you would do something similar. Reflect on what your own purpose might be, including a problem you want to solve and how you might go about solving it.

How does internet advertising contribute to the spread of disinformation? Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks or even to spread disinformation? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers, but they don't benefit readers. Help students recognize and analyze clickbait when they see it. Approximately 45 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Describe how advertisers and publishers make money through online advertising. Describe how clickbait can contribute to the spread of fake news and disinformation. Use the Take a Stand thinking routine to consider different perspectives about whose responsibility it is to fight fake news and disinformation.

This modular ELA collection for grades 6–12 invites students to explore the complexity of identity and develop a sense of agency as they reflect on what it means to grow up in the world today.

The collection includes:
- Back to School Toolkit
- Introductory lesson
- Multi-genre text sets
- Unit Guide for teaching Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming
- Unit Planning Guide for developing a unit on a book of your choice
- Book Club Guide
- Whole School Read Planning Guide

The resources in this collection help you diversify the range of stories that students read and combine reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills with ethical and empathic reflection.

What should the consequences for online hate speech be? While some governments can't regulate hate speech, laws allow private organizations like social media apps and private universities to decide how to deal with hate speech within their spheres. How should these organizations respond to hate speech? What is an appropriate consequence? Pose these questions for students, and help them think through the importance of both respect for others and free speech. Approximately 50 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Reflect on whether hate speech is considered free speech. Identify the reasons for and against regulating online hate speech. Use the Take a Stand thinking routine to consider the potential consequences of online hate speech.

A quick guide to help you determine the relevance and authority of a resource.

Should the government have access to all your social media and cellphone data? Often, the more information we have, the better decisions we're able to make. The power of data can benefit both individuals and governments. But who can be trusted with the responsibility of having all this data? Can governments collect and use it fairly and without violating our privacy? Help students think through this question and become thoughtful influencers of data policy and practice. Approximately 55 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify the pros and cons of schools having access to students' social media. Describe the concerns related to government access to social media and cellphone data, including those related to free speech and privacy. Choose a position for or against government access to social media and cellphone data, and support that position with reasons and examples.

Follow a student reasearch paper from prewriting to drafting to final copy, and read the student tutor's comments along the way. This site provides links through several successive pages.

This lesson discusses the concept of source credibility and goes over how to evaluate a source. This tutorial lesson shares a short screencast with the lesson's content. [7:06]

How can filter bubbles limit the information we're exposed to? When we get news from our social media feeds, it often only tells us part of the story. Our friends -- and the website's algorithms -- tend to feed us perspectives we already agree with. Show students ways to escape the filter bubble and make sure their ideas about the world are being challenged. Approximately 50 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Define "filter bubble" and explain how it occurs. Reflect on the limitations and drawbacks that filter bubbles cause. Identify strategies for escaping their own filter bubbles.

This site provides clear techniques and guidelines on finding secondary and primary research for use in scholarly analysis that involves looking at the evidence and discovering a pattern that makes meaning.

Citing Internet resources can be painless with this user-friendly wizard. Choose the type of Citation Standard (APA, Chicago, CSE, Harvard, or MLA) and fill in your information to create a citation. The 21st Century Information Fluency (21CIF) Portal was developed by the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA).

A great resource for putting together all of a student's possible sources onto note cards for later using in citing.

An excellent tip sheet on how to write and develop a works cited and documentation list for a research paper. Includes in-depth information and examples.

Excellent site outlining each step for Internet research at the middle school and secondary levels. This site focuses on a variety of information literacy topics, from how to research, find and evaluate information, and cite sources. Teacher resources and worksheets are also provided.

Excellent site outlining each step for Internet research for grades 6-12. This site focuses on writing a research paper from selecting a topic through to the final paper. Click on Cite My Sources to get the electronic citation machines. Teacher resources and worksheets are also provided.

Use this "Weed and feed," approach to get only the best resources for your research project.

Extensive examination of the Modern Language Association (MLA) format of writing papers, making reference to the works of others, citations, and notes. W.9-10.8 Sources, L.9-10.3a Standard Format; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources

Extensive information on how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) format for citations. Information is provided on general format, referring to other works, reference list, notes, and examples in the APA format. W.9-10.8 Sources, L.9-10.3a Standard Format. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources