Navigating the Digital World: Pre‐Service Teachers' Processes and Perspectives on Evaluating Online Information

This descriptive case study examined how undergraduate pre‐service teachers (PSTs) enrolled in a digital literacies course evaluated online information as part of a module digital project. PSTs were tasked with assessing peer‐selected online texts using multiple strategies in an unrestricted web environment. Data were collected from multiple sources, including PSTs' digital projects, which captured their evaluation processes with think‐aloud, oral reflections, and feedback on their peers' evaluation processes. Using illustrative examples, this study identified four tendencies that emerged as PSTs engaged in evaluating online information. It also explored PSTs' insights and experiences related to their own evaluation processes, as well as their observations of their peers' evaluation practices. The online information literacy task helped PSTs link their text knowledge, applied knowledge, and reflections. The findings suggested that applying evaluation strategies requires familiarity with the strategies themselves, the ability to apply a range of evaluation strategies, and a mindset of healthy skepticism toward all online information. Throughout the process, PSTs deepened their understanding of online information evaluation by reviewing and commenting on their peers' evaluation processes. This study has implications for instruction, assessment, and future research on information literacy for PSTs and other learners.