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Links for K-12 Teachers | Assessment Assistance | On-Line Practice Modules | Daily Dose of the Web
Page edited & links verified 1/25/08
The camera icon
indicates which search engines have image search capability.
The PowerPointicon indicates a search engine which can list .ppt files on the results page
Search Strategies | Search Advice
Search Engines
claims that you can "find it all" using their service. Caution:
This search site is blocked by the Tennessee content filter. allows searches
for documents in a specific language and provides a topical index.
is a search engine powered by Excite.
The premier visual search engine. If you are searching for an image, you will
probably find it here. searches
by accessing several search engines. If you have been using the search engine
MetaFind, you are now automatically routed to Dogpile.
ranks the quality of sites based on the quality of sites that link to it. allows you
to define the search, narrow the search by time (items posted within the last...),
or by domain (.com, .net, .edu...).
The Mother of All Search Engines - When you enter a query at the Mamma.com web
site, Mamma's powerful proprietary technology simultaneously queries 10 of the
major Search Engines and properly formats the words and syntax for each source
being probed. Mamma then creates a virtual database, organizes the results into
a uniform format and presents them by relevance and source. search for
a word or a phrase - makes many of Google's features
easier to use has a clean
new look. No ads, No Banners, No Pop-Ups.
features a topical
index as well as a search function. The topical index provides pre-defined search
results.
It has always been my recommendation that teachers should search for Internet resources they want their students to use and design lessons/projects/units so that the Internet sites to be used are clearly defined. However, if you plan to send your students searching, use one of the Kid-Safe search engines below:
Ask for Kids - Just type in a question and click Ask! Actually a word or two works just as well as a whole question.
CyberSleuth Kids - an Internet guide for K-12 kids (warn your students about the ads) Kids Click: A web guide and search tool for kids put together by librarians. Fifteen major categories each with several subcategories, this site has a look similar to Yahoo.
ithaki.net - a powerful internet metasearch engine developed for kids (age group targeted, kids above 10)
Kids.Net - Search Engine Just for kids & children - Searching safe & clean sites. Kids' Search Tools - Search here for words, information or web sites with this all-inclusive page that includes a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedias, kid safe search engines and more. Super Kids - Super Cool Guide to Finding Stuff on the Web
Search
strategies for finding resources to support a classroom unit
see
a list of search engines
Take a look at the list provided by Debbie Abilock titled "Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need." For example, you might "have a broad academic subject and need pointers to quality sites." If so, Debbie suggests that you go to Librarians' Index to the Internet or Infomine. On the other hand, if you need to see relationships among ideas, she suggests that you use KartOO or Web Brain. This is a great site, check it out!
Step 1. Choose a few search engines, and learn how they work
Find 3 - 4 search engines that you are comfortable using and do most of your searches with them. This tutorial will use Vivisimo, which sends search queries to several search engines and then clusters the results. I have found that Vivisimo consistently gives me good results. If you wish to use a different search engine check out the list at the top of this page. There is also a list of Kid Safe Search Engines above.
Tip: Do not search with the
button. Go to a search engine's homepage, not where the browser sends you.
Open another browser window so you can switch back and forth from the Vivisimo window to this window. If you are using a Macintosh click here and hold the mouse button down until a pop up menu appears. Choose "New Window With This Link". If you are using a Windows computer click here with the button on the right side of the mouse. Choose "Open Link in New Browser Window." The URL for Vivisimo is http://www.Vivisimo.com/. An easy way to get there is to click on the Open button, type vivisimo and press the return or enter key. Sites in the .com domain can be found by entering only the server name, in this case "vivisimo."
To see how Vivisimo behaves we will search for the same topic. I want to find science lesson plans. Go to the Vivisimo search page. At the top of the page you will find the word Search the Web to the right of a white block. Click in the empty block and enter the phrase science lesson plan. No capitals, no quotation marks, no plus or minus; just the words science lesson plan. Click on the button labeled Cluster.
Vivisimo displayed the top 201 results of at least 1,760,000 pages that contained one of the words science lesson plan. Now it is very possible that one of the first 10 pages will have what I wanted to find. As you scroll down on the search results page you will find the first 10 of the pages. Before the first entry and after the last entry you will be given a choice to see the next 10 searches. If you are new to searching you may not know that you need to scroll down to see the search results.
Bookmark this search result, we will use it in step 7.
One of the reasons that there were so many results in the first search was that some of the pages may have only one of the words in the search. For the next search we want to make sure that all three words are found in every page of the search results. Go back to Vivisimo click in the block to start a new search and enter "science lesson plan". (Format: use the same three words, but enclose them in quotation marks.)
This time Vivisimo showed me the top 162 results of at least 26,300 retrieved for the query "science lesson plans". Some of the pages on the list of the first 10 are the same. By enclosing the phrase in quotation marks, I asked Vivisimo to look only for pages with all three words together.
Step 5. Another way to refine the search
Let's try to further refine the search. Go back to Vivisimo and look at the list of sub directories on the left side of the page. That is why this is called a clustering search engine. As you look through the names of the sub directories you will often find words or phrases related to your search topic that you had not thought of. Refine your search by using one of those words or phrases.
Step 6. Some things to avoid when searching
Watch your spelling. I did a search for "sceince lesson plan." Vivisimo is quite forgiving when it comes to spelling errors. At the top of the search results Vivisimo asked me "Did you mean science lesson plans? The correct spelling was a link to a revised search. I got similar results when I searched for SCIENCE LESSON PLANS. However, I would still recommend that you avoid doing searches for phrases in all caps. Exceptions to this would be a phrase that is usually spelled in all caps, CD-ROM for example. For most searches use all lowercase letters.
Step 7. Another feature of Vivisimo, follow a link to see a sister page (Clusty)
Clusty is quite a bit like Vivisimo, with a cleaner looking interface. The one problem that I sometimes find is that the Tennessee filter blocks this search engine for some reason.
Step 8. Searching for pictures
Ditto calls itself the premier visual search engine. If you are searching for an image, you will probably find it here. Several search engines offer graphics search capability. In the list above they are identified by the camera icon -
Internet4Classrooms has a collection of graphics links with a section on picture collections found on the Internet.
Step 9. Search for sounds on the Internet
FindSounds.com is a search engine for finding sound effects on the Web. Search the Web for sound effects and sample sounds. Take a look at the types of sounds you can find. This is a partial list. Many more sounds are available. You may also find a large number of sound files of all types at Partners in Rhyme.
Step 10. Learn from seeing how others search the Internet
There are "voyeur" applications that allow you to see samples of what others are searching for on the Internet. By seeing samples of what others are searching for you may refine your search strategies. Be aware however, that these are samples from real time or recent searches. Some of what you see will be inappropriate search techniques, and some will be just plain inappropriate. Searchenginewatch.com gives a listing of what people are searching for.
Step 11. Let the purpose of your search determine the search engine to be used.
Take a look at the list provided by Debbie Abilock titled "Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need." For example, you might "have a broad academic subject and need pointers to quality sites." If so, Debbie suggests that you go to Librarians' Index to the Internet or Infomine. On the other hand, if you need to see relationships among ideas, she suggests that you use KartOO or Web Brain. This is a great site, check it out!
Step 12. If you feel comfortable as an Internet sleuth, move on to discover how to evaluate web sites.
The University of California, Berkeley has an exercise in evaluating web sites. Essentially a WebQuest on evaluating sites, this activity is used to show UC Berkeley students why it is important to evaluate the source of information on the web. Try the activity yourself.
Step 13. Teach your students to think as they search the Internet.
Alan November asks, "Is your high school teaching students to access the Internet for research?" If so, he points out that "it is essential that students also learn how to validate the information. The Internet is a place where you can find 'proof" of essentially any belief system that you can imagine. And, for too many students, 'If it is on the Internet, it is true.' " Read his entire article, titled Teaching Zach to Think [Note: this link opens on a new page]. Alan wrote this for the September 1998 issue of High School Principal Magazine.
Step 14. Learn to use Boolean Logic in your searching
"Boolean searching is named after George Boole, a British mathematician (1815-1864), who wrote about logical ways to formulate precise queries using true-false connectors or "operators" between concepts. The true-false nature of Boolean logic, as this system is commonly called, makes it compatible with binary logic used in digital computers. It has become the conventional basis for searching most computerized systems." Quoted from Joe Barker (jbarker@library.berkeley.edu) from “Best Stuff on the Web” – Copyright 2002 The Teaching Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA. See a two-page .pdf document about using the primary operators.
Step 15. Use four Nets for better searching
Dr. Bernie Dodge, co-developer of the WebQuest concept, suggests using NETS as an acronym for remembering a way to improve your search results. The NETS acronym comes from his suggestion to: "start narrow, use exact phrases, trim the URL, and seek similar pages." For a more complete explanation of this suggestion, see his page posted on the San Diego State University domain.
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