.edu = university or other educational institutions
http://www.csuohio.edu/ohioix.html

.com = business or commercial entities
http://www.learnthenet.com/

.gov = government institution
http://www.ed.gov/

.net = network provider
http://galaxy.einet.net/galaxy/Social-Sciences/Education.html 

.org = non-profit organizations
http://www.pbs4549.org

.mil - military organization
http://www.defenselink.mil

Some URL's also contain country codes.  Note that UK in the URL stands for United Kingdom or England.

Click here to find out if a domain name is registered.

 

The Uniform Resource Locator describes the location of a resource on the Internet. All web sites have URLs. A good analogy is that a URL is to a web site what a telephone number is to a telephone. The URL for this site is http://www.pbs4549.org.

The last section (pbs4549.org) in the above address is its domain name. These domain names combine what a group calls itself and the type of organization that maintains the site. We call ourselves pbs4549 because that's the name of our public television station. The last three letters are given out according to the type of Internet provider hosting the site. These three letters can tell you a lot about the type of information on a web site.

Does the information contained in the site confirm information from other sources? Can you confirm who maintains the site and is the organization reputable? How much confidence do you have in this site?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.net/

Are there grammar or spelling errors that would indicate careless site development? (If the author is careless about spelling, are they careless about accuracy as well?) Are there obvious errors in numbers, dates, or statements?

http://www.badastronomy.com/

http://www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html

This site is promoting a particular point of view. Are there obvious omissions of facts? Are both sides of an issue identified? Does the site have a vested interest in the topic? Are stereotyping or other biases indicated?

http://kkk.com

Does the author have a home page that tells about him/herself? Does the author have any qualifications to present information about the topic? (Other than access to a web authoring program?) Is the author affiliated with a reputable organization. Is the information about the author veritable?

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot
http://www.visi.com/~markg/sagan.html

Rebuttal to Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot
http://www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-264.htm   

How useful are the links? Do links go to resources or to lists of resources? Do the links lead to information about the original web site topic? Do the links add to the overall information about the topic? Do the links help you verify information?

http://www.pbs4549.org/AMAZONE/LINKS.HTM

Does it load quickly? Is it interactive? (Can you input information and receive feedback? Can you practice what is presented?) Is the purpose of the site easily understood? Does it use jargon that is not easily understood? Does the construction of the site aid you in finding what you need?

http://www.pbs4549.org

Is the readability level appropriate? Does it contain inappropriate language? Is there content you wouldn't want your grandmother to see or read?

http://pbskids.org/arthur/

http://www.exploremath.com/activities/index.cfm

Does the site tell you how often it is updated? When was it last revised?  You can often check the bottom of the page to find when material was updated.

http://www.kidlink.org/english/index.html

Is it new information? Is the information useful? Does it compliment other information to which you have access?

Home Town News  (You input your zip and it find local newspapers.)  http://www.hometownnews.com/ 

There aren't any of the traditional "reviews" on the Internet. If you check out a library book, the information has been checked by a publisher and the library has subjected it to a selection process. These professional "filters" are not present on the web so you have to evaluate each web site you use. Some sites do offer reviews of web pages and these sites are a good place to start the evaluative process.

http://www.globalschoolhouse.com/ 

Guides are done by all sorts of organizations and individuals. I've listed two that have good professional criteria for including a list.

Argus Clearing house

WWW Virtual Libraries