Information Assessment Skills - A Pilot Study At Zurich Grammar Schools

Abstract

The article questions how (young) people deal with information found on the WWW. Furthermore, questions are raised such as: what skills do young people have to meaningfully evaluate information found on the internet and, if necessary, to use or discard it? Do WWW users recognise ideologies or interests underlying certain information? Do they know their limits when dealing with elements of knowledge they are unfamiliar with? The authors attempted to find possible answers to these questions within the framework of a pilot study conducted at Zurich grammar schools. In doing so, they also pursue a pragmatic goal: ultimately, they want to show ways in which pupils and students can be supported in building such skills with a teaching aid.