safe and successful searching literacy through technology
DESCRIPTION
Agenda: Safe & Successful Searching Discuss benefits and pitfalls of online searches. Learn safer and effective searching strategies Develop a hotlist for your topicTRANSCRIPT
Safe and Successful Safe and Successful SearchingSearching
Literacy Through TechnologyLiteracy Through Technology
Welcome!• While folks arrive, please go to
ed1stop.net and log in as my student.• Username: TheresaNierlich_stu• Password: nierlich• Check out the links in the bookmarks
under Literacy Through Technology
Agenda: Safe & Successful Searching
• Discuss benefits and pitfalls of online searches.
• Learn safer and effective searching strategies
• Develop a hotlist for your topic
Review• Students need to develop deep
questions: – more than a one word or sentence
answer; – require multiple sources; – Motivating or interesting to the
students
Model Big Question: What led to the similarities and differences
between Native American tribes?
• Create smaller, researchable questions ->
• What resources were available in different areas?
• What landforms surrounded the tribes?
• What was the climate in different areas?
Identify Key Search Terms• What resources were available in
different areas? (NA food, NA resources)
• What landforms surrounded the tribes? (geography, landforms)
• What was the climate in different areas? (climate, weather)
Identify Problem Words• What words might throw off the
search?-What resources were available in
different areas? (American, links)-What landforms surrounded the
tribes? (maps)- What was the climate in different
areas? (today’s weather report)
What can go right?• More information than we can
provide in class or at school• More interactive and interesting• Requires thinking and analysis
(when done well)
What can go wrong?• End up at “bad sites.”• Can’t find any information• Believe everything they find- no
evaluation of material• Can’t read what they find
What are the options?
•Hotlists•Indexes and Directories•Search Engines
Hotlists: A list of websites selected by the teacher and
linked to the Internet• Advantages
– Safe (usually- Van Gogh example)
– No problem with typing errors
– Free– Saves time for
students
• Disadvantages– Takes time to
develop– Limits what’s
available– Need to keep
updated to avoid broken links
Places to Create Hotlists
• Filamentality- http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil
• Ed1stop.com- student page under bookmarks
• Scholastic Teacher Homepage Builder
• Word Document with links
Indexes and Directories
• Screened and organized sites
• Focused
• Advantages- someone else did the searching; likely to be appropriate
• Disadvantage- limited scope
Indexes and Directories• KidsClick!- screened by librarians;
search by reading level; info about pictures
• Yahooligans- kid-friendly, organized
• Librarians’ Index to the Internet- screened by librarians, organized
Library Databases• Most libraries have an online,
searchable database you can access using your library card
• Ed1stop.com has a link to the Contra Costa County Library system
Activity• Using the indexes and directories
listed, search for websites that pertain to your Big Question. Find the sites at the ed1stop.com site.
• When you find a site, copy and paste the address into a Word document.
• 10 minutes
Search Engines: Google & Yahoo & Altavista, oh my!
• Advantages– Access to a wide
range of information
– Can be refined to find what you actually need
• Disadvantages– Not screened– Not organized– Will find
ANYTHING even remotely related if not defined well
– Anyone can post anything they want on the Web
Searching Strategies• Four NETS for Better Searching
– Start Narrow– Find Exact Phrases– Trim back the URL– Look for Similar Pages
Good Google Searching• Go to google.com• Click on Advanced Search• Search using Boolean logic
– “with ALL of the words”– “with the exact phrase”– “with at least one of the words”– “without the words”
Good Google Searching• Search by language• Search by date• Search by domain type• Find similar sites• Find sites that link to the original
Evaluating Websites:Can you trust this site?
• Check the ending– .gov- from the government, usually safe– .edu- from an educational institution,
usually safe, but there are some odd professors out there!
– .org- from a non-profit organization, think about the motives of the group
– .net and .com- anyone can have one
Evaluating Websites:Can you trust this site?• Guidelines for evaluating a site• Site to use with your students
Activity: Create a Hotlist
• Use the tips and sites we discussed to create a hotlist for the topic of your choice.
• Filamentality directions are in your handout.
• Scholastic.com• Ed1stop.com- add bookmarks to
student page
Next Time• Empowering Readers
– Making text accessible to readers at many levels
– Making sense of the text