Searching Again

......as information has become increasingly digital and networked, its nature as a consumable has changed because its geography has practically disappeared as a limiting factor, and its availability has exploded because shelf space is no longer an issue. As a result, we are no longer limited to only the content that the media industry has decided to bring to us, and we are increasingly delving into the open, enormous, and rapidly growing content that knows almost no limits.....
D Warlick

One of the real challenges we face as educators is helping children make sense of the information they have at their fingertips. At the very least we should be teaching them that finding information is part of a process which will engage their thinking skills. It isn't rushing to Google with the first keyword they cn think of.
Consider this:

Type kiwiana into Google - 118,000 hits
Type kiwiana icons into Google - 10,700 hits
Type "kiwiana icons" into Google - 211 hits

This is pretty basic keyword procedure - working with the keywords before searching. Do we model this to children?
Try using Google Advanced Search for similar results. Or learn how to use Boolean Logic. More Google search hints here!

Jamie McKenzie covers a similar theme in his October newsletter. The article Managing the Poverty of Abundance is well worth a read.


FutureLab in the UK are running an enquiring minds project. As part of this they have listed digital tools which may be useful for learners in carrying out an enquiry. These tools are here, sorted into aims and objectives.





More pavement art!


Tags: information search