Saturday, March 3, 2018

Thing 9: Search Tools Ninja

As I stated in my first blog post I was feeling a bit overwhelmed as the year started, but now that I am getting into the groove, I am overwhelmed, but it a different way!  I am like a kid in a candy shop, which "Thing" to do next?  How do I  choose?  I settled on Search Tools Ninja as my second post because I always feel as if I am a fraud when it comes to internet searching.  Is there some magic tool out there I am missing?  Am I teaching my students the right way to search?  Am I teaching them all that I can?  And let's not even talk about evaluating sources!  So...Thing 9 to the rescue.  I spent hours going through all these tools!  Yikes.

As part of our freshmen research project we do a unit on internet evaluation.  I realize now, that this is good, but it doesn't go far enough.  We need to include a section on internet searching...and maybe we start with some basic power searches for freshmen, but then build on this  each year with the more sophisticated search techniques.  As part of this unit I also have lately tried to engage students in a conversation about the importance of being informed members of a democratic society...and the role fake news can have in society, and in an election.  So, there were many features on this cool tool that I plan to use.  Paul Horner's site had some good information, I especially liked the News Examiner and the article, "5 Ways Fake News Websites are Evolving."  The confusion between fake and real news and the impact this has readers was fascinating.  I thought the Advanced Google Search Cheat Sheet was wonderful...and hope to use a version of this in my library.  I envision having students doing a  "think, pair, share" activity using a chart that has them exploring various search results from different search engines, or using different search strategies.  I have been doing this myself and the results are fascinating.

I am planning to share the benefits of the "Way Back Machine" with my teachers...lots of great applications for this tool!  And Twitter Analytics as well...and then there are the tips on how to verify photos and videos!  As I tell my students, borrowing from Spiderman, with "great power comes great responsibility."

1 comment:

  1. I'm hearing from others that they also spent a lot of time on this lesson! :) There's just so many interesting search tips and tricks, it's hard to stop! Looks like you found some really useful strategies. And I love your point about teaching search techniques vs evaluation - two very different but related skills indeed!

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