1. What is the author's expertise on the topic?
The author is "Science Bob" Pflugfelder. He “has been a fan
of science since he was just six years old.” He now teaches science to
TV and movie actors from his mobile science van which used to be an ambulance.
He is also an online tutor for AOL. He appears to be popular, as he has been
featured in People, Bop and Nickelodeon Magazines. A search of People Magazine
on EBSCO subscription service yielded this information about his background.
“Pflugfelder graduated from Boston's Emerson College in 1989 with a degree
in TV production. After a stint as a grade-school science instructor in Boston,
he moved to L.A. in 1995 and sold producers on his mobile lab to augment kids'
daily three hours of study."
2. How reliable is the publisher (site) of the web page?
Science Bob is the publisher of his site. His site is good as far as it goes.
It offers information for science experiments and lessons for teachers with
follow-up activities. The biggest benefit I found on his site was the links
to other sites.
3. How reliable are the pages that the author's page link to?
The pages that Science Bob links to are great. Many of them were the ones I
found on ISMA Wizard when I was searching for sites on planets for my lesson
plan.
4. Do other reliable (or unreliable) pages provide links to the author's page?
If you do a search on Goggle, Yahoo or ISMA Wizard for Science Bob they link
to his site, so I feel that he has a valid website and useful information.
5. What information on the topic is available from traditional sources, such
as newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, or library resources?
The information provided on this site can be obtained from any number of sources.
The information on the site is reliable and correct. The only difference with
what Science Bob has to say is how he says it. His site is visually appealing
and kid-friendly. A student could get the same material from any encyclopedia
but it wouldn’t be as cute.
6. How recently was the page published or updated?
The copyright on this site is 2003. There appears to be no way to assess the
exact date of publication and there is no mention of updating.
7. Assess the accuracy of the information in the document.
The web site is very attractive. It is easy to maneuver and its obvious great
care was taken to make it fun to navigate. The site has simple, friendly icons
that can move the user back and forth with ease. There does not appear to be
any spelling or typographical errors. One of the follow-up activities in the
Teacher Zone is not a live link, so the purpose for it being there is somewhat
of a mystery. All of the scientific information given can be easily verified.
8. Does the page show signs of bias in its perspective or presentation?
There appears to be no bias in the information given. It is straight scientific
fact. The presentation is designed to show just how smart Science Bob is and
the wonderful things he can do in regular classrooms, just like he does for
young TV and movie stars. While giving none of his academic background, he is
certainly not shy about naming his famous students and even presents pictures
of them working with his materials.
9. What evidence is provided to support opinions and conclusions expressed
in the document?
The scientific facts presented here are easily checked in any number of ways.
Validating how much his famous students love him would involve a letter writing
campaign to studios and publicists and might prove to be quite time-consuming
and possibly difficult.
10. Can you contact someone with expertise in the area to validate the opinions
or conclusions expressed in the document?
If I were looking to bring Science Bob to my school, I would pursue some endorsements
other than his own, about the success of his programs. Ignoring the self-promotion,
http://www.Sciencebob.com
is really quite a good website because of the care he’s taken to create
worthwhile, indexed, links. For that reason, I do recommend checking out http://www.Sciencebob.com
to find science related activities and information aimed at students in grades
3-8.