The Art and Science of Searching for Information on the Internet

 

Google.com searches from over 3 billion documents on the Internet.  Obviously, the use of search engines has replaced many of the traditional ways we seek information.  The purpose of this web page is to examine the various characteristics and types of Internet search tools, explore various ways to increase search productivity, address the issues associated with Internet searching, and construct a list of Internet searching tips and guidelines for their students. 

Your Mission  (25 points):

1. Create a web page and save as search.html

2. Make a list of ten search techniques that you would give to your students to help them conduct effective Internet searches.  Be sure to identify the grade level and if applicable (secondary), the subject area.

3. List 5 search tools (search engines, directories, or metacrawlers) that you would recommend for your students.   Give a short description of the distinguishing qualities of each search engine site.  Be sure to identify the following:

• Name or site
• Address of Site
• Distinguishing Qualities of Site

Although you may want to take notes during this class, do not begin to build this page until we perform the activities on this web page.

SearchEngineWatch.com
http://searchenginewatch.com
A recommended link for your hotlist!  This excellent site is the primary resource of information on this page.

One

What is a search engine?

How do search engines work?
What is the difference between a crawler, directory, and hybrid?
What are the part of a crawler-based search engine?
Provide examples for the class to search!

How Search Engines work
http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2168031

Two

What is a metacrawler?

What is an all-in-one search engine?
Provide examples for the class to search!

Metacrawlers and Metasearch Engines
http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156241

Three

What are the major search engines and directories? List their characteristics.
 

Major Search Engines and Directories
http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156221
 

Four
 

How can search engines be safely used with children?

What are kid's search engines?
Provide examples for the class to search!

Kid's Search Engines (from SearchEngineWatch.com)

http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156191

Five
 

What is the new domain for kids?
Why does it exists?
How does it work?
How much is a domain name?
What are the restrictions if you own a kids.us domain name?
http://www.kids.us

Six

What are search engine issues associated with each of the following topics?

Access

Safety

Productivity

Credibility of Resources

What is your opinion of the following scenario?
What steps could have been taken, if any, to prevent this problem?

For Discussion:
Ms. Newcomb gave her 9th graders a homework assignment to look up the most recent earthquake activity using the Internet.  She provided the links to help students find the information.  The next morning, Andre's parents were in the Principal's office because they found pornographic pictures in his room that were printed from the Internet.  Andre's parents did not have a computer in their home and learned that the pictures were discovered while he was doing a "required" Internet assignment at a friend's house.  The parents were upset with Ms. Newcomb's assignment. 

Seven

When and how should Search engines be used in the classroom?
Should other sources of information be used?
Make a list of other possible resources for gathering information.

What are search guidelines for teachers?

NetSmartz.org
http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx

Eight

What are effective search techniques? 

Search Engine Features as

http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/article.php/2155981

Web Search Tutorial - 13 Advanced Searching Tips
http://searchenginez.com/tutorial.html

About.com: Websearch
http://websearch.about.com

Nine

What are some of the caveats of searching?
Do you agree with the statements in the following article?

The Ten Commandments of Internet Searching
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2159351

Google Advice for Basic Searching
Summarized from http://www.google.com/help/basics.html

Put Google on your web site!
http://www.google.com/searchcode.html#standard

• Make keywords as specific as possible.
• There is no need to include "and" between terms.
• Google ignores common words and characters such as "where" and "how."  If a common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can conduct a phrase search with quotes.
• Keep in mind that the order in which the terms are typed will affect the search results.
• Google searches are NOT case sensitive.
• Google uses stemming technology. When appropriate, it will search not only for your search terms, but also for words that are similar to some or all of those terms.
• Use the Google Web Directory (directory.google.com) if you are not exactly sure which search keywords to use.

Advanced Search Tips from Google
http://www.google.com/help/refinesearch.html
 

Google's Web Search Features
http://www.google.com/help/features.html

Google Services and Google Tools
http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

Hershey Workshop

Real Sites

Additional Information

©Raymond S. Pastore, Ph.D.
Professor of Education
Teacherworld.com
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