CEP 806INQUIRY PROJECT 1

Do my 8th grade science students know how to search the internet

to find accurate information?

Motivation for my Inquiry I have questions!

Do students have any prior education or training when it comes to searching the internet? Have they learned

this important skill earlier in their education?

Motivation for my Inquiry Why do students

search certain sites? Do students go to

certain search engines because they are convenient and quick?

Will they search for information in more than one way?

Motivation for my Inquiry Do they know the

difference between a creditable site versus a site with false information? Do students know

not to trust everything that is on the web?

Will they question the information?

Motivation for my Inquiry

What is the most popular way that students search for information?

My Predictions I think the students will have little prior

knowledge when it comes to searching the internet. I don’t believe there is any curriculum plan

when it comes to this issue. With the students being in 8th grade they

haven’t had many large research projects yet.

I think many students will use one popular search engine when looking for information. Quick and easy!

My Predictions I think many students

will have a hard time determining what sites will provide accurate information. Lack of experience.

I believe Google will by far be the most common search engine. Just “Google” it!

My Inquiry Plans Students will be asked to research a

disease. They will have the opportunity to pick the

disease. Once they have pick a disease they will

answer the following: List the sites that you went to.

How did you get the sites? Find and list 3 articles that relate to your

disease. How did you find them?

Why do you think these are reputable sites?

My Inquiry Plan

When the students are done searching I will ask them to talk as a group to share what they found, how they found, and why they used the information.

After the group discussion: As a class we will discus

how to search the internet affectively.

Patterns in my Data I was lucky enough

to have a very small class of 15 students in my 1st hour class.

This is the class that I conducted my inquiry with.

The students in the class range from high to low learning skills.

Patterns and DataHow did they search? Every single student used Google as a search

engine. I many of the kids said that this is the most familiar

way to them of how to search for things. Many of the kids typed in their disease into Google

and went to the first 10 sites that came up. Others branched out to difference search engines. I was also pleasantly surprised students searching

medical websites. Many of the kids went to Wikipedia to search for

information.

Patterns and Data Creditable Sites?

Many of the kids did list creditable sites. They could tell the difference between a blog

and a “professional” looking site. The told me that if the information was on a

medical site that they believed it was good information.

The census was also that if the site ended in .edu or .gov then the information should be trusted. They were unsure of .com.

Many said that there needed to be an author attached to the information in order to trust it.

Patterns and Data How did they find the articles?

They all found their articles in one of two ways.

1. They either typed the word “article” in the search engine with the information they were looking for.

2. They went through the list of sites that came up from a search until they came to something that looked like an article.

I was surprised that none went to specific news sites to look for articles.

Patterns and Data Any prior

experience? Many of the

students said that they “learned” how to search for information by “messing around”.

None of them said they had been taught how to search for information.

Patterns and Data What do you type

when searching? The overwhelming

majority of the students typed in the disease name when searching for information.

A few of the students were more specific with their searches. Example – Typhoid

symptoms

Patterns with Other CEP806 Students

Google crazy!

We found that the majority of students will initially search for information by using Google.

We concluded that this is due to the popularity of the site and it’s commercial use.

“Google it” has become a normal phrase.

Favorite Student Quote “Mr. Meyers, I found

a site that describes the symptoms of my disease. I think I have these things. Do I have it!”

This is another reason it is important for students to find medical information from a reputable site.

Reflextion Students have a basic understanding of

how to use the internet but still need more experience and guidance when it comes to advanced searches.

Many of the students went to what was the most familiar to them. They were a little weary to travel outside of their comfort zone.

Reflextion I thought the kids

would be more aware of the dangers of Wikipedia. Many of them considered this a great source for creditable information.

The majority of the students thought that they were able to tell good from bad information.

Reflection

Overall, I think I underestimated the kids ability to search for information. I was very pleased with what they knew.

Reflextion The internet is

becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. It is important that we educate our students in order to use this valuable tool in a safe and productive manor.