Searching Tools

Searching with Search Engines:

Tips on when students should use a search engine like Google

1.  When the information can easily be found

2.  To get an overview of the information

3.  To survey what websites are available on their topic

4.  When students have the skills to wade through the "wheat and chaff" of sites

Tips on when a student should use a database or other site:

1.  When doing more in-depth research

2.  To use sources that are bias free

3.  When needing magazine, newspaper or journal sources

4.  When needing to narrow down a topic

5.  When searching for key statistics

6.  When searching for broadcasts

7.  When searching historical "back issues" of newspapers or magazines

Share this Voice Thread with students exploring "Google versus Databases"  and how to choose best tool

Video:  Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals

Strategies for using Google, Yahoo, and other search sites more effectively:

1.   Students need to be able to evaluate websites for quality and bias.

Example:  MLK  example;   CATS example

       a.   Is the website an authority?  What are the credentials?

       b.   What is the copyright date of the website?  Is it current?

       c.   Was the website created by an organization?  What does this organization do?

       d.  Have they confirmed the facts in another source?

       e.  Is the website unbiased--does it have a neutral point of view?

Video on authority of websites:

Some aids to teaching this:

Kathy Schrock provides several web evaluation guides for students at different grade levels.

She also provides link to other web evaluation guides, and lastly, links to "misleading" websites to use with students.

List of helpful search sites:

Google   (also use the advanced search, or Google Scholar)

Yahoo

Clusty

Ask.com 

Assignment ideas:

1.  Ask students to do the same search in two/three different search engines, and list their first five results for each.  Each search engine performs the search differently and may find different sites.  

2.  Ask students to choose the site of their choice and run a search.   Then ask them to rank the top three sites that they found during that class period, print the first page of each, and write a paragraph explaining how they selected those three sites.

3.  Ask students to find a particular magazine article from ten years ago using Google, then have them try it in a database.

4.  In teams, ask students to create their own list of what makes a website trustworthy.

5.  Ask students to print the pages from one website and highlight the evaluative clues--like the date, author, key facts, authority, etc.

Databases available in our schools

Texshare/DKC databases

Ebsco

Newsbank

Britannica

World Book online

Other databases:

LexisNexis statistics

Facts on File

Facts.com

Gale Opposing Viewpoints

Gale Literary Criticism