Google+Search+Techniques


 * "G o o g l e" Search Techniques **
 * To learn Internet search techniques that will help you more efficiently and effectively sift out the most valuable results**

In this Age of Digital Information, finding what you need can be a frustrating process. You can search databases, you can search Wikipedia, you can use various search engines (bing, SweetSearch, Yahoo!), along with many more possibilities. Too many possibilities, really. There is even Google. ( Isn't it interesting how the word //Google// has grown to become synonymous with the word //search//? "I don't know. Just Google it.") Well, twenty-three million search results to find information is at least twenty-two million, nine-hundred and ninety-five thousand tooooooo many. So, how can you narrow your search results to find what you really need? Go through the following activities to learn how!

Introduction to Searching on the Internet //(5 Minutes) // **1. Watch this video, produced by CommonCraft:** Web Search Strategies in Plain English (Students at school, use this link: Educational Video Library)

** On your Tech Day Log, write the answers to the following questions: ** a. How does a basic search engine figure out which websites to list first in the results? b. How do you search for words that appear together (i.e. a quote or phrase)? c. How do you make sure your search for Tiger does not include results about Tiger Woods? //(answers at bottom of page)//

Google Search Tips & Tricks // (10-15 Minutes) // a. What is one search tip that is new to you? b. What is one search tip you will use in the future? c. What search tip did you find interesting and why?
 * 2. **** There are many different places on the Internet to search for information. Just look at the lists on Kathy Shrock's eXtreme searching page and Internet4Classrooms' Search Engines page for examples. Some search strategies are general and work across most engines and databases. Other strategies are particular to the source you are using. Google is one of the more popular search engines. The people at Google have developed a complex system of formulas and algorithms to pull and rank relevant results from "the index." Go to How Search Works and scroll down to read the information (This is much cooler on a laptop or desktop. On a netbook, read through some of the information on Crawling & Indexing, Algorithms, and Fighting Spam.) Now, go to Search Tips & Tricks. Read about and try at least five. **
 * On your Tech Day Log, answer the following questions from your time looking at Search Tips & Tricks: **

Google Advanced Search // (10 Minutes) //
 * 3. Google also has an Advanced Search feature. Read this brief summary of Google Advanced Search. Now, visit the Advanced Search page. //Last update// and //file type// are two advanced search options that are particularly helpful. Try a regular Google Search and glance at the results. Now, go into the Advanced Search and change the //last update// option. (Some to try: North Korea, Food Pyramid, Pluto) Glance through the results from that search. How did your results change? **
 * On your Tech Day Log, jot down what you searched and which advanced search options you tried. **

Google Search Stories (for fun) // (10 or more Minutes) //
 * 4. Google, though no longer supporting its own Video Creator for the purpose, features a section called Search Stories. Search Stories started out as little stories told through search terms and results. View a couple. (Students at school, please access through the Educational Video Library links.) **
 * Lenghth || YouTube || Educational Video Library ||
 * 0:30 || Potholes || Potholes ||
 * 0:54 || Brother and Sister || Brother and Sister ||
 * 1:00 || Dog || Dog ||
 * 0:53 || Parisian Love || Parisian Love ||
 * 1:00 || Toy Story || Toy Story ||


 * Search Stories has moved beyond this format and is now becoming a collection of stories showing how people solve real world problems with the help of Google applications and search techniques. You can find them at Search Stories. View a couple. (Students at school, please access through the Educational Video Library links.) **
 * Lenghth || YouTube || Educational Video Library ||
 * 2:13 || Learning Independence || Learning Independence ||
 * 1:31 || Tofino Riders (surfing) || Tofino Riders (surfing) ||
 * 2:34 || Ancient Ruins || Ancient Ruins ||
 * 2:01 || Epic Storms || Epic Storms ||
 * 2:01 || Growing Knowledge || Growing Knowledge ||


 * What are you searching for? **
 * On your Tech Day Log, jot down something you might enjoy creating a Search Story about--whether something fun, like the first set of videos, or something more serious, like the second set. **

__**Alternate Activities:**__ 1. Read The Search Process (Lora K. Kaisler, 2003), a "MicroModule" from 21st Century Information Fluency. There are 2 content pages to read. The third is an activity for you do. Think of a research question/problem, then follow the directions given on the page. (Question ideas: Which video game console is the best? What should I do on my trip to Italy? What environmental factors in Fort Dodge are affecting my asthma? How do I make Baked Alaska?) Remember, this is The Search //Process//. It is OK to go back and revise answers. When you are finished, file this in your memory bank as a relevant process to use and think through when searching for information. 2. Watch one or two of the following videos, and know that the rest of the series (lessons) is available on YouTube. 3. Read through some of the information on Google Guide Here you will learn about suggested strategies that will enhance the quality of results you get from searches. A good place to start is Selecting Search Terms. As you read through the information, you will notice that this site is interactive. Participate and try some of the exercises to assist in your understanding of the material.
 * Topic || YouTube ||
 * Filtering Image Results by Color || Power Searching With Google Lesson 1.2 ||
 * Keyword Search || Power Searching With Google Lesson 1.4 ||
 * Word Order || Power Searching With Google Lesson 1.5 ||

Answers to questions in 1. a. //They have lots of other web pages linked to them//.( The more web pages that are linked to a site, the higher it is on the results list.) b. //Put quotes around the words//. c. //Place a hyphen (minus sign) in front of Tiger//. (When you place a hyphen just in front of the word you want to exclude, the result list will eliminate those pages.)