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Searching the Web with your class |
My favorite web search tool(s)My personal favorite for educator use is http://www.google.com. It has worked very well for me in conducting a number of searches on a variety of topics for the last couple of years. The interface is clean, it loads quickly, and I find that the search engine allows me to enter a collection of words or "phrases in quotes." The results that come back are usually just what I am looking for, often in the first couple of items.I learned just how to do effective Google searches by clicking on "About Google" and reading the section called "How to Google." If you have never read this before, you should do so to better prepare yourself for finding the best resources possible for your classroom. Tutorials: Where can I go to learn more about effective Internet searches?If this brief introduction to searching the web isn't adequate for your needs, see Four NETS for Better searching, part of the WebQuest page. Read and do all of this thoughtfully prepared tutorial that uses Google and then try applying its principles to your own searches. A very valuable link at the end of the NETS page is one that links to a very exhaustive list of specialized search engines that greatly expands on the list of educator-specific sites that I listed above.For a more systematic look with greater background about the different subject directories and search engines, try the University of California at Berkeley's tutorial "Search the Internet: A Graduated Approach in 3 Steps". Evaluating the quality of websites What
makes a good website? One whose information is reliable. Determining
this is one of the "new information literacies" that many in the field
of library science discuss. Further exploration: Link to Pacific University's Research Coach and its concise and straightforward discussion of the criteria for good websites and good print resources. Internet Resource Assignment Select a topic that you might teach to your targeted grade and develop a list of Internet resources that would be helpful in supporting student learning in your classroom. Option 1: Use any word processing program (e.g. MS Word) or a web authoring tool (e.g. N/Vu--free download for Mac, Win, or Unix computers, Adobe GoLive, MS FrontPage, or DreamWeaver) to create your list. Conduct a search of the World Wide Web using keywords and other strategies discussed above. Select sites that meet high standards for organization, content, and are age-appropriate as described. Select a minimum of 5 independent sites, not a cluster of interlinked pages. Include annotations and/or questions for your students for each site. Some examples include:
Bring your completed resource page to class on the due date as a digital file (e.g. an MS Word document that is in your student folder). During class we will post your page on Pacific University's "myweb" server (where you have personal webpage space reserved as a Pacific student) similar to the examples linked above. Make sure that your links all work before you bring it to class!
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Last Updated 9/2008 Copyright Dr. Mike Charles © Pacific University, all educational uses encouraged Direct comments or questions to charlesm@pacificu.edu |