Journal One- "Your Google Guide"

By Doug Johnson

This article provides numerous suggestions for teachers to improve their Google search skills along with those of their students. Doug Johnson believes one of the most important things when searching for information on Google is to know what you are looking for. Many people, places, or things have the same name. In order to ensure that you are receiving information about the intended topic, it is important to know at least three or four facts about the desired topic. The author suggests another way to improve your search results on Google and to increase the probability of getting results for the desired topic. Instead of using only one word in a search, the author suggests forming a question because it will increase the number of search terms and further refine one's search. Finally, when a search is conducted, it is important for teachers and students to be able to interpret the results with the summaries provided instead of browsing every website provided. Descriptions and metags are provided to show the searcher how the search terms are provided in the website. This helps to ensure teachers that their students are not accidentally encountering inappropriate information.

Questions

1. 
   
   Create an example of a lesson plan educators can do to teach their students about finding information on the Internet using a search engine like google.


2. 
   
   The author of the article, Doug Johnson, states that when using a search engine, it is important for student to know more facts about what they are searching for because it is likely that search results will produce websites with the search term requested however it might not but it might not be what they intended to find. How can educators prevent this situation?

Answers

1. 
   
   There are many lesson plans that allow students to search on google. For example, a teacher could give their students a list of countries and have the student type them into the search engine to find what continent they are located in. They could also type in a question like, "What is the population of..." to find information about the country.


2. 
   
   To ensure that student get the correct results when using a search engine like google, I would suggest the teacher provide information to the students. For example, if the students wish to find information on a famous person, it would help them to know important dates in the persons life. Knowing the birthday or year of the person will ensure they are learning information about the correct person.