A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the importance of teaching our students about website credibility, This is vital as we move into the information age, where students can access information with the touch of a button (or a simple Google search). I am an avid reader of blog posts, curriculum related textbooks, and journal articles (for my research), and the shift from teacher centered directed learning to student centered learning with an inquiry approach is increasing.
What is missing in this discussion is, how do we ensure that students have access to this quality information and how do we teach them to be 
discriminant and critical learners? We can not assume they will know this, we can not just say go and Google it, we can not just let them commence their inquiries without ensuring that they have reliable information……..
So here is another example for you to use in your classroom. I would like to thank one of my wonderful students who found this clip and told me about it 🙂
This clip was created by the BBC as a April Fools Joke. It is extremely convinvincing.
1. At the start of the lesson show the students the info-graphic concerning website reliability. Ask them to think about some of these things as they watch the clip.
2. After the clip has been shown, you could ask?? How authentic do you think this is? Who is the author? (the BBC who are quite reliable), When was it created? (2008, so it is relatively new) What is the domain name (it is on you tube) is there any online advertising?
3. The last question could be: Can this information be found on another site. Model to the students how to run a quick Google search (or send them away to find out). Come back to discuss what have you found???? Is all the information true, authentic? Were you surprised? Which one of the criteria on the info-graphic was the most useful?
The clip produced by the BBC is below and can be found on You Tube.
The clip below then shows the students how the video was made, using computer generated software. It would be beneficial to then watch this, and discuss.
The BBC has run a whole series of hoaxes which started on 1 April 1957, where the BBC current affairs programm hoaxed the nation with a report about the annual spaghetti harvest. This was shown on TV, the you tube clip, which was upload by My Switzerland is below
This is a clip containing the hoax and also a member of the BBC team talking about it
Since then there has been Smellovison in 1965, where the show interviewed a London professor who claimed he had created a tv which would emit smells. Sniff screen technology was released in 2007 where users were asked to scratch their screens to smell the products. Some of these things would be useful to explore with your students.
