Seven: Information Literacy

Now, that you have figured out how to create your very own custom search engine, let's look at some ways that you can refine your searches without creating the CSE!

With the explosion of information that exists today, the only thing that could be more important to your teaching than being information literate is being able to teach your students to be information literate! In the last decade, accessibility to "non peer reviewed information" has presented a new problem. Previously, students (and teachers) relied on authentic and reliable information found in enclyclopedias, journals, books, etc. Today, much research is done via the internet. Who can post on the Internet? ANYONE! This means that the information may, or may not, be peer reviewed. Therefore, we all must learn to use a critical eye when doing research on the internet. Take a look at this web page: The Earth Is Flat. At first glance, this might look like an authentic web page, published by Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania. However, if you know that a tilde (~) located within a web address indicates a personal web page, you would have reason to doubt the information on the page. This just one small example of why it is so VERY important to be able to to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need and locate those sources.

The Internet is growing exponentially and will continue to do so! As an educator, you will need to know the tricks for finding information in this never-ending volume. Yes, we can all type some words into a search engine and hope for the best, but how do we intentionally find what we really want. There are basic search tricks and there are advanced search tricks. Since you probably have your basic search skills in place, let's skip to advanced.

Assignment ~ Activity One: Vist this site Four Nets for Searching Better. Read the introduction and then work through the four NETS activities (listed under the N E T S near the bottom). This will give you some guidelines for narrowing your searches and getting the information you really want.


 1.  On this page, Google Search Operators, there is a list of search operators that can be used to refine your Google searches.


2. This page Google Search Help, is straight from Google.  Take some time to read the following sections listed on the left: 

Operators and more search help

Search results options and tools

Assignment ~ Activity Two: Choose a search topic. Then use some of the search operators from the above mentioned documents to try to find the desired information. Each one will bring different results. Use the same topic for all of the operators so that you are able to see the difference in results as you change search criteria.

Once you are finished, you will have better idea of how to find the information you really want!

Post to your blog about your experience and how, specifically, a few of the operators changed your results.Google also has some other tricks for getting at that information.

Six: Google Custom Search Engine

Ever wish you could create a customized search engine that searches only across sites that you specify and displays results that you know will be appropriate for you or your students? Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) allows you do do just that. All you need to do is choose the websites and pages you'd like to search, then follow a few simple steps to create a CSE. Think of it as putting the power of Google web search to work for you.
Let's say you're a teacher and you want your students to access only school-safe sites. (Ones that won't be blocked!) Using Google's Custom Search tool, you can pre-select the sites, list them in the settings of your new search engine, and then let your students use it -- knowing that they're searching the web safely. And because you choose the sites to search, they'll get a limited number of highly relevant search results, making the time they spend online more efficient and rewarding.

With Google Custom Search Engine, you can:

• Create a CSE at any time and Google will give you unique URL for easy access by you and your students.
• Control the look and feel of your CSE.
• Invite friends and colleagues to collaborate and contribute to your search engine, enhancing its usefulness to your community.
• Easily add more sites to your search engine's index as you surf the web.
  

What will your CSE look like? If you choose to have Google host it, it will look something like this Revolutionary Times CSE made for elementary school students:  This Revolutionary Times CSE contains approximately 180 web sites.

Try searching this site using one of the following: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Betsy Ross, revolutionary weapons....or anything else that you can think of that has to do with the American Revolution.

So, you use the CSE and think, so what? Looks like it is just searching the web! But, remember, when you search using a CSE you are ONLY searching the sites that were included in the creation of that CSE. This translates to safer searching for students and also better, more narrowed results. For students learning to do web research and navigate the internet, this allows them to be in a controlled environment while gaining the skills needed to become information literate.

ASSIGNMENT:

Now it's your turn...

1. First, watch this video about creating a Google CSE:



2. Now, come up with a varied topic that would be applicable to what you teach or hope to teach. (For example, if you hope to teach physical education, your topic might be sports. If you hope to teach elementary school, your topic might be Virginia Studies.) The varied topic will allow you to encompass a large number of sites within one CSE.

3. Next, spend some time finding some sites that fit your chosen topic. You can always add more later.

4. To get started creating your CSE you can:

• Click here to begin on your own.

OR

• Use the Google Custom Search Engine Tutorial. This page walks you through the creation of your first custom search engine and gives you a tour of the control panel.

Since this is a Google application, you can use your Google account information to log in and create your CSE.
5. You should include at least 25 sites in your CSE. Keep in mind, however, when creating a CSE, that QUALITY is just as important as QUANTITY!

Visit the Google Custom Search Help Center   for answers to FAQ.6. Once you are finished, be sure to post the URL (web address) and the title of your search engine on your blog page.


**The Google CSE has the potential to be a very useful and powerful tool. Its potential goes far beyond what is covered in this assignment. It can also be used collaboratively and /or integrated into a personal / business web page. If you'd like to know more, spend some time exploring the Google CSE site!

Five: Online Productivity Tools ~ MORE GOOGLE!!!

THIS ASSIGNMENT IS DUE MARCH 16!

The availability and use of online productivity web-based applications (think word processing and spreadsheets) has exploded over the past several years! These powerful applications provide users with the ability to create and share documents over the internet without the need for installed desktop applications. Some experts speculate that this emerging trend may mean the death of Microsoft Office and other software-based productivity tools, while others think web-based applications have their place. No matter which side of the office suite platform you side with, you can't argue the benefits of these tools!

One large benefit to web-based applications is that they eliminate the need to worry about different software versions or file types as you email documents or move from PC to PC. Another bonus is that they easily accommodate collaboration by allowing multiple users to edit the same file and provide users the ability to easily save and convert documents as multiple file types (including HTML and pdf). You can even use many of these tools to author and publish posts to your blog.

It’s this type of integration with other web 2.0 tools that also makes web-based apps so appealing. For this assignment, you will take a look at a web-based word processing tool called Google Docs.

Google Docs is an easy-to-use online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor that enables you and your students to create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time. You can create new documents from scratch or upload existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. There's no software to download, and all your work is stored safely online and can be accessed from any computer.
Take a look at this:



Google Docs in Plain English

Other Google Docs Resources:

Overview for Educators (Made use Google Docs presentation tool)
Google Docs: The Basics
Google Docs: Tips and Tricks

How Students and Teachers can use Google Docs

Google Docs sharing features enable you and your students to decide exactly who can access and edit documents. You'll find that Google Docs helps promote group work and peer editing skills, and that it helps to fulfill the stated goal of The National Council of Teachers of English, which espouses writing as a process and encourages multiple revisions and peer editing.

Teachers are using Google Docs both to publish announcements about upcoming assignments and to monitor student progress via an interactive process which allows you to give guidance when it might be of maximum benefit – while your student is still working on an assignment. Through the revisions history, you can see clearly who contributed to what assignment and when; if a student says he or she worked on a given project over the last two weeks, it will be documented (no more "dog ate my homework" excuses)

Students will find that Google Docs can help them stay organized and keep on top of their assignments. They never have to remember to save their work; it happens automatically. It's easy to collaborate online with fellow students, even when they aren't in the same place, and they can get feedback easily from teachers, parents, relatives and tutors, and enter updates anytime from anywhere. And kids can go back to the revisions history to see how their assignment has evolved, and who has helped.





Teachers and Principals Talk about Google Docs



Assignment: Now that you know a little about Google Docs, let's do some collaborating. You received an email from me inviting you to collaborate with me via Goolge Docs. As a class, we are going to write an article and create a presentation about Web 2.0 tools. So, here are your directions:



1. Visit this site to discover some fun web 2.0 tools: Web 2.0 Award Winners . Explore a few that you think are interesting. (Scroll down to see categories...and even further to see a description of each site, by category.)



2. Now, visit the Google Docs link(s) that you were sent via email.(You will have to use your Google log in information.) Take a look at what your classmates have written and created. I have written the opening paragraph and created the opening slide.




3. Then, choose one of the web 2.0 tools you explored and:

• Add a paragraph or more to the article about that particular tool. ( *It does NOT have to be related to education but please choose one that has not already been written about.) In your paragraph(s), explain what it is, why you like it and how it would be used. Remember that none of us may have heard of it before...so be sure to make your description clear...make us want to visit the site.
• Add a slide to the presentation document about the Web 2.0 tool you selected. Keep it simple. Here's a link to a Google Docs: Presentation Help page if you need it: Presentation Help You will notice in the Presentation tool that you can add links, video, images, etc, so be creative!
  
• Look at what others have written and created. Make changes as you feel necessary.

When we are finished, we will have an article and a presentation which describes nine Web 2.o tools! All of this....without ever seeing one another! Have fun with it..can't wait to see the finished products.

DON'T FORGET TO POST TO YOUR BLOG AND THE CLASS BLOG ABOUT GOOGLE DOCS!