Every Friday, I share a website (or app) that I’ve heard about, checked into, and become excited to use. This one is tools available for teachers to help their students maneuver the often-tricky machinations of the internet.
Age:
5th Grade+ (or precocious youngers)
Topic:
research, internet
Address:
Review:
With so much of the world’s content online, it is critical students understand how to effectively search the web for quality sources. To answer that need (and as an obligation that goes along with their status as one of the top search options for students) Google launched a new website aimed at educators who want to teach online search strategies. It includes a series of lessons to guide students in meaningful searches to assist with schoolwork and beyond. Lessons are divided into three groups: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced with five lessons in each category. Each lesson includes detailed step-by-step directions, Internet links and screen shots, options to adapt lessons to each teacher’s unique student population, and suggestions for differentiation of instruction. And, if your school follows Common Core Standards, it notes which standards are met with each lesson (I like that). Lessons are written using the popular ‘backward design’ tenets promulgated by Wiggins and McTighe.
The series of lessons cover the following topics:
- Picking the right search terms
- Understanding search results
- Searching for evidence for research tasks
- Narrowing a search to get the best results
- Evaluating the credibility of sources
Here’s an example, via YouTube:
Want Google’s overview? Watch this:
Anyone try it? I’d love to hear from you.
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
