week9a

=Week 9A: WWW Search Strategies=

__Gaining Students' Attention__
Start with this great information literacy quiz from Alan November (http://novemberlearning.com). It seems like it would work well with clickers:

Powerpoint slides:


 * 1. List 4 major search engines and a major directory.**

We won’t attempt to list them all here. For a list of search engines, directories, meta-search engines and all their functions, check http://searchenginewatch.com/links/ or http://searchenginewatch.com/2156161 Specialized Search Tools: http://www.searchengineguide.com/searchengines.html http://www.allsearchengines.com/

If you are looking for “kidcentric” type search tools, try NoodleTools: NoodleQuest Search Strategies Wizard: **http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest** and Tekmom: **http://www.tekmom.com/search/**

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__


 * Try to find a subject specific database in your area of expertise.
 * Give students sample research problems from which they access NoodleTools to help them select appropriate search tools.

2. What is a blog?

Blog is short for weblog – it is literally a log of the Web.

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

To see some blogs in action go to:


 * November Learning Communities: **http://nlcommunities.com/communities**
 * Mrs. Trudeau’s classroom: **http://blog109.org/communities/atrudeau/default.aspx**
 * This blog started as a literary discussion forum on “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd (she even joined in the discussion!) **http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/bees/**

3. Why might you use quotation marks when conducting a search?

Use “quotation marks” to ensure your keywords appear in your search results in the order you have specified. You would use them if you wanted to research a given phrase. For example, if you conduct a search for global warming, a search WITHOUT quotation marks would find sites that include the words “global” AND “warming” – the words do not have to appear together and you will get more hits than you probably want.

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

Have students use a search engine such as Teoma: www.teoma.com and search for a phrase, such as renewable resources without quotation marks, then with quotation marks. Have them note the differences in the number of results.


 * 4. URL is an acronym for…**

Uniform Resource Locator


 * 5. Identify three Boolean search terms.**

AND, OR, NOT

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

Have students create example search queries using Boolean Operators.


 * 6. How do you find the owner or publisher of a Web site?**

Go to **[|www.easywhois.com]** and enter the URL of the site you would like to research.

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

Have students find owner information for the site **[|www.harrypotter.com]

7. Identify these extensions and what they represent:**

.org - organization

.com - company

.sch – school (used outside of US)

.k12 – most US school sites

.edu – US higher ed

.gov – US government (add country code for outside US)

.ac – higher ed outside of US usually used with country code, example, “.ac.uk”

.net - network

.mil – US military

.co – Company (if paired with a country code, example “.co.uk,” the state of Colorado or the country, Columbia)

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

It’s really important that students are familiar with these extensions. Create a match game or have them identify the extension within sample URLs.


 * 8. How do you find out who is linked to your school’s Web site?**

Go to Alta Vista: **[|www.altavista.com]** and do a link: command search. In the search box type link:your school’s address.

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

This is called searching for external links. You can search for the external links on any Website with the link command. Consider using some of the bogus Web sites. Look for a list on our Information Literacy page.


 * 9. What clues in a Web address might indicate you are on a personal Web site?**

Look for a tilde “~” or the “%” sign or a personal name “jdoe” or the word “user” after the domain name and the first forward slash “/“


 * 10. How would you conduct a search for the following: a list of Web sites of all the academic institutions in South Africa? (Hint: South Africa’s country code is .za)**

Go to Alta Vista: **[|www.altavista.com]** and type host:ac.za in the search box

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

Have students search for subject specific resources around the world using extensions and country codes. For a full list go to Computer User High-Tech Dictionary: **http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/noframes/nf.domains.html**


 * 11. How do you find the history of any given Web site?**

Use the Wayback Machine. Go to **[|www.archive.org]** and type the URL of the web site you would like to research into the search box.

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

Have students look at the history of the Harry Potter site: www.harrypotter.com. Why has it changed so much over the years?


 * 12. How would you conduct a search for the following: US higher education Web sites that contain the word turtle.**

Go to Alta Vista: **[|www.altavista.com]** and type “host:edu + turtle” in the search box.

__Follow-up Activities for Teachers and Students:__

Have students search for school web sites in a particular subject area.


 * 13. How do sites get to the top of a results' list in Google?**

One factor Google uses to rank sites is popularity. It counts the number of links from sites all around the Web. For example, if a large number of sites has a specific keyword somewhere on their Web site along with a link to a particular site, Google counts the number of times the keyword appears along with the number of links to a particular site. The higher number of links to a site, the higher Google will rank that site on a list of results. There are several additional factors as well, including but not limited to the title of the site, the site’s meta information and the actual content of the site.

Additional Information: [] This website provides a quick reference for all the different search shortcuts available such as the ~ and the other common methods. As a note of caution, the //cache:// search operator will bypass most internet filters since the front page is cached and being rendered through google. Might want to use with caution. Todd B

__Objectives and NETS-T Standards Addressed__

 * **3.** || **Model Digital-Age Work and Learning** ||
 * || **Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:** ||
 * **a.** || **demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.** ||  ||   ||
 * **b.** || **collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.** ||
 * **c.** || **communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.** ||  ||

__Presentation of Material__

 * 1)** Tell the story of Zack in the attached handout (p. 10). [[file:Alan_infolit_search_materials.pdf]]


 * 2)** Reading a URL. (domain name, extension, personal pages) Information in the URL can give you clues to the quality of information.

Resources: (Todd G.) [|Improve your Google searches]

[|Wikipedia Story - Michael Jackson's death roils Wikipedia] 

__Discovery Learning and Performance__
1) Judging the content of a site. Take students to some of the following sites: If you teach anything about exploration, this site is a must. It's smart, slick and cleverly done, plus has a host of great activities.
 * All About Explorers: [|http://www.allaboutexplorers.com]**

Did you know about the Velcro shortage in California? Use this fun site to help students separate fact from fiction on the web.
 * California's Velcro Crop Under Challenge: http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html**

Who knew water could be so hazardous. A good site to use with middle school students. Have them click through the forward links on the site. Does the web site reference any other authors?
 * Dihydrogen Monoxide: [|http://www.dhmo.org]**

A puppy dog paradise. Great site for all ages.
 * Dog Island Free Forever: [|http://www.thedogisland.com]**

A fun site to use when teaching kids how to validate web resources. Science teachers take note! This site pokes fun at the scientific method.
 * Feline Reactions to Bearded Men: http://improbable.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html**

This seemingly innocent web site address calls for the abolition of Martin Luther King Day and promotes White Pride. Content is inappropriate for all ages.
 * Martin Luther King: [|http://www.martinlutherking.org]**

The publishers of this site also host the Martin Luther King site. It may be blocked by an Internet filter.
 * Stormfront: [|http://www.stormfront.org]**

Does the Octopus really exist? A great site to use with all ages. Have students click through the links and read web addresses carefully.
 * The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html**

A great site to use with all ages. It has even stumped historians. Have students truncate the web address so they are just left with the domain name, www.bigredhair.com. This will give them some insight into the validity of this site.
 * Victorian Robots: http://www.bigredhair.com/robots/index.html**


 * 2)** Some of those sites seem incredibly valid -- the explorer site in particular! How can you be sure what you're reading on the web is valid?! First, find out who published the site in question. Go to [|http://easywhois.com]. Input a URL to see who the publisher actually is. You can also check the history of a particular website at [|http://archive.org]. Next, let's see who has links to this particular site: Go to [|http://altavista.com], type in the search bar "link:[|http://edtech.okstate.edu]" (or whatever URL you're looking into. For more of this type of searching, use the attached Google Guide: [[file:adv_google_search.pdf]]


 * 3)** Developing a Search Strategy. Believe it or not, there is a much better way to search for information than just going straight to Google, Yahoo!, or Dog Pile and typing in one or a few words. This site will walk you through finding the best tool(s) for your information needs: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html

__Assignments and Assessment__
Assignment 1: Internet Scavenger Hunt Complete this [|Internet Scvenger Hunt worksheet] and submit the Word document in this Dropbox folder. This is an in-class activity.

Assignment 2: **Social Bookmarking Assignment** (Gungoll: This assignment is listed this week and next. I think that it would go better in the next one, the Distant Learning week.) In your annotation/comment explain how you can use this resource in your teaching. Submit the link to your Diigo account in a Word document in this Dropbox folder. Your account link will look like this: http://www.diigo.com/user/pasha77 where the last part of the URL will be your username. Post your link to Discussion Board.
 * You need to register an account on [|Diigo.com], a bookmarks sharing website, create a list called something like 3123 links, and post to that list at least __one bookmark and one meaningful annotation__ to the following:**
 * A relevant blog
 * A relevant podcast
 * 3 other relevant WWW resources (websites)

Assignment 3: **Chapter 7 Quiz**

Reading Assigned for Next Week: **Chapter 8** Please bring your own headphones to class next meeting!!! **

__Retention/Transference__
Creating a Custom Search Engine for a classroom is a great activity. Here are instructions:

__Additional Items For Online Sections__
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