Evaluating media-enhancement and source authority on the internet: the Knowledge Integration Environment

Access to the internet increases variability in media and source authority for students who generally rely on teachers and textbooks. Some internet sources are more credible than others (e.g., a New York Times article on the web vs. a private citizen's homepage). Some sources are impressively produced with graphics and media-enhancements, while others are unadorned text. We explore the question of how source authority and media-enhancement impact students' interpretation of evidence as they conduct a Knowledge Integration Environment project as part of integrated science instruction in a culturally diverse high school.