Use the force ...wisely!

It is important to evaluate websites prior to using them in the classroom or for research because one would not want to use an invalid, silly, or inaccurate website when he or she wants to be taken seriously. Websites can be made by any person and when they are made, there are no rules or laws stating that information put up on the website has to be true. This is especially important for research because those viewing your research will not take you seriously and anything you try to report again will not be considered reliable or trustworthy, your credibility will basically go out the window.
I feel that for the most part, people do apply the evaluation techniques when they evaluate websites, whether they are intentionally or consciously evaluating. As intelligent college students with basic common sense and process skills, we are able to pick out the websites by briefly reading and looking at them to decide whether or not it is reliable. Since many of us were brought up with computers and internet access, we have learned through school as well as personal experience to decide if websites are reliable and true.
In my classroom I liked the idea of taking computer lab time, or even a homework assignment of looking at websites, that I provide, and have the students fill out a chart on evaluating that site. This could even be used for assignments and projects, since I will be an elementary school teacher, I would provide a list of websites for research, and maybe even one that is not true and the students will have to figure out that that specific website should not be used. I would only do that after the students had a few months of practice in evaluating websites.
The internet is such a power and useful tool to the majority of lives today, however it must be used correctly or it can be disastrous.