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ERIC Number: EJ795360
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-May-1
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0362-8930
EISSN: N/A
Return of the Google Game: More Fun Ideas to Transform Students into Skilled Researchers
Watkins, Katrine
School Library Journal, v54 n5 p46-48 May 2008
Teens are impatient and unsophisticated online researchers who are often limited by their poor reading skills. Because they are attracted to clean and simple Web interfaces, they often turn to Google--and now Wikipedia--to help meet their research needs. The Google Game, co-authored by this author, teaches kids that there is a well-thought-out online research process that includes using quotation marks to search for certain words in their exact order (for example, "Pittsburgh Penguins" or "Subaru Outback"); using a minus sign to exclude a word from a search (say, penguins -Pittsburgh, outback -Subaru); and, most importantly, using the site operator to limit a search to certain credible sites--such as an educational institution or a governmental site--which increases the probability of finding reliable information (for example, site:edu, site:org, or site:gov). Certainly, more experienced Web searchers have command of more sophisticated search strategies, but the Google Game is strictly meant to teach teens the fundamentals of efficient searching. As though adding beads to a string, players create a search by entering one search term at a time, separated by a space, but in no particular order. Even though these lessons are geared toward ninth graders, they can easily be modified to suit students in grades seven through 10.
Reed Business Information. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Tel: 646-746-6759; Fax: 646-746-6689; e-mail: slj@reedbusiness.com; Web site: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Grade 10; Grade 7; Grade 9; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: Media Staff
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A