Do Your Students Know How To Search? The Connected Student Series: There is a new digital divide on the horizon. It is not based around who has devices and who does not, but instead the new digital divide will be based around students who know how to effectively find and curate information and those who do not. Helene Blowers has come up with seven ideas about the new digital divide – four of them, the ones I felt related to searching, are listed below. The New Digital Divide: In an age of information abundance learning to effectively search is one of the most important skills most teachers are NOT teaching.
They assume students know how to conduct a search, and set them free on the internet to find information. They assume that students have the skills to critically think their way through the searching and the web. Teachers – especially in the elementary grades -need to develop a shared vocabulary around the skill of searching. Here are some of the searching skills and vocabulary we should be teaching students :
Four Helpful Web Search Strategy Tutorials. Word Order Matters (1MM #8) Febuary 22, 2013. Search Education – Google. Search Strategy Worksheet - HSU Library. Before searching indexes and catalogs you should clarify the information you are seeking by developing a search strategy. This worksheet presents a four-step process for creating a search strategy and gives tips for entering your search in indexes or catalogs. These resources are listed under Articles and Databases and Books on the HSU Library webpage.
Further information on some of the ideas presented -- free text keywords, controlled vocabulary, word truncation, boolean operators, nesting -- is found in the Research Roadmap tutorials on Topics and Searching. Creating a Search Strategy Clearly state your topic in one or two sentences. Underline or number the main concepts represented in the topic summary completed above. In the Your Search Topic section below, create a list of words or phrases which describes each of your numbered concepts identified in Step 2.
This list of keywords is dynamic. Sample Search Topic: Your Search Topic: Tips for Entering Your Search Strategy. Search Smart. Ten Steps to Better Web Research. In June 2013, Dulcinea Media will release Teaching Web Research Skills, a research-based multimedia experience that greatly expands upon these Ten Steps. Read this blog post for more information. Educators and parents, please view our presentation on Teaching the Ten Steps. It includes a discussion of research studies and educator advice that informed these Ten Steps. Step 1: The Internet Is Not Always the Best Place to Start Should you start this research project by using the Internet?
Many schools offer access to remarkable databases that may be a much better place for you to begin your research. Sure, they may be a little inconvenient, but they may help you find the credible information you need more quickly than any search engine will. As Joyce Valenza, librarian at Springfield Township High School in Pennsylvania, says, “students must be aware of the full research toolkit available to them.
Furthermore, when you do use the Internet, a search engine may not be the best place to start. FindingDulcinea | Online Guides | Internet Library | Web Resources.