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Science and Math Technology
Learnshop for Instructors of Pre-Service Education
Majors
Spring 2002
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mcli : learnshops : Science and Math : materials : web searching
Science and Math Technology Learnshop for Instructors of Pre-Service Education
Majors
May 20-23, 2002
Web Searching Strategies
Alan Levine, Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction
This section will introduce you to some of the useful techniques for finding information on the web. Keep in mind that finding information in this realm is both an Art and a Science. Furthermore, there is no single best and accurate way to go about it. And leave room for finding by the way of serendipity.
The starting point is our online tutorial, "How to Be a WebHound. Here you will learn a strategy, a method for doing an effective search-- You will see how it is more than just dashing off some keywords into a magic machine known as a "search engine". (Note that we are doing only a portion of this complete workshop).
Google-ing
We will review in more detail how to get the most of the most powerful search tool, Google.
- Go Google-ing
- Basic Google-ing (Searching)
- Advanced Google-ing:
- Use quotes on search strings for phrase matches, people searches:
"Volcano Monitoring Data" [try it]
"Rene Descartes" [try it]
- Use "+" signs to for inclusion and "-" for exclusion:
Find all sites with information on the Inverse Square Law in Chemistry but not in Physics
"inverse square law" +chemistry -physics [try it]
Find all sites with information on the Inverse Square Law in Physics but not in Chemistry
"inverse square law" +physics -chemistry [try it]
- Google-ing for Images
Find photos of an African Antelope:
"african antelope" [try it]
- Google-ing for Maps (enter a street address)
Found out how to get to any address
108 North 40th Street Phoenix Arizona 85034
[try it]
Google Tools
Get even more out of Google by installing Google Tools in your web browser. The Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer adds a search field to your web browser, remembers your recent searches for later returns, tools for searching any web site your are visiting, and more to make you a "Power Googler"
Other browsers can still use the Google buttons that allow you to do a one-click search on any highlighted chunk of text in a web page.
"Pre Google-ing"
You may notice that in the above examples, we have built links that perform a specific Google Search. This is a valuable tool for teachers to use to create a collection of resource links for students:
- You are not dependent on a single web site for content (sites disappear, they move, or go down when you need them most.
- You are providing your students a more focussed set of links rather than just sending them to a search engine web site, and they are not spending time figuring out the mechanics of search tools.
- Your links will include newer, relevant sites that may not have been there when you first looked.
- Students are given the responsibility of evaluating content, and are encouraged to explore and think about multiple sources of information.
- Students who are search savvy can modify search criteria to refine a result.
The method is simple. As an instructor, spend some time creating a Google search that includes a reasonable number of results in the first 10 items. The web address needed to return to that link is in the URL: field of your web browser- this can be copy/pasted to an email message, a discussion board, or to whatever software you use to create web content.
Example: As a biology teacher, I would like my students to review some animation examples that demonstrating the process of cell mitosis. After a few attempts at some Google searches, the following keywords produce a reasonable number of sites with good animations:
"cell mitosis" +animation
I copy the URL from the top of the Google page:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22cell+mitosis%22+%2Banimation
and I can use that in my assignment web page or as a message in my course bulletin board.
Finding Lost Pages
What do you do when you return to a previously visited page only to be greeted by the dreaded "404 Not Found" screen? (For more on 404, see the 404 Research Lab). Do not give up so quickly! Here are some things to try:
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