Online Authenticity... What can one trust as reliable?

Students are often challenged when evaluating the credibility and relevance of online information.  Have you ever been fooled by information online?

There are so very many layers to the question of how to discern what is "real, reliable, and relevant" when working online.  Have I ever been fooled by information online?  Oh YES, there was a time several years ago when I received an e-mail from Bank of America.  I was new to online banking and this e-mail asked me to verify certain information.  Being the trusting soul that I am, I gave all the information which was asked for. The next day my spouse noticed the misspelling of the month March in the fine print at the bottom of the web age.  After contacting Bank Of America I learned that I need to be a bit more critical of information I give and take from the web!  Thank God we caught the scam and my bank accounts were not wiped out.

From a teacher/learner perspective there are so many variables to consider in terms of online Reading Comprehension.  All of the articles and videos made me think about the different and yet similar skill sets and inquiry skills needed for both offline and online reading comprehension.  I was amazed and a bit scared by the filtering mentioned by Eli Pariser.  I was impressed by the redirecting done by Ian in his classroom video. The podcast with Julie Coiro  encouraged me to think about all the work I need to do at my school and in my district to help our students learn to focus at the online task at hand.  

Perhaps the most profound piece of information for me professionally was 

Online Reading Comprehension Ability Among 7th Grade Students in Rich & Poor Districts

Donald J. Leu in a research address from the Literacy Research Association conference in 2013. (19:16)

This is an area which I feel is a moral obligation to be addressed.  

I don't think I fully understand the self-monitoring involved in online learning because I am working hard to monitor my own self-distractions.  Ultimately, as I figure that monitoring piece out I will be better able to share it with the other adults and children with whom I learn/teach.