I am a Googler. This is my first port of call if I have to reseach any topic. When asked a question by my son that I do not know the answer to, my reply to him will be " go on the computer and Google it". Google is now part of everyday Australian vocabulary.I find this tool to be fast, efficient and effective.
What then does Google offer us as users of this search engine :-
Over 1 million UseNet postings
Maps generated by Google Maps Selected articles from online news sources
Selected telephone directories
Book content available via Google Book Search
Selected academic content available via Google Scholar and many many more.
Ensuring the content of websites before showing to students is a must for all teachers. Before being permitted to search Google, students must understand how and what to search. Students must also understand the importance of gathering research material from primary resources and official websites. All of these steps ensure the safety of children's innocence, and the safety of the equipment. Adequate firewalls and virus detectors must be in place before entering any search engine.
As with all good teaching lessons, scaffolding must take place in the classroom, so that each step in discovering more information about the world in which we live will be safe and virus free
What then does Google offer us as users of this search engine :-
Up to 8 billion Web pages.
Approximately 2 billion images Over 1 million UseNet postings
Maps generated by Google Maps Selected telephone directories
Book content available via Google Book Search
Selected academic content available via Google Scholar and many many more.
Ensuring the content of websites before showing to students is a must for all teachers. Before being permitted to search Google, students must understand how and what to search. Students must also understand the importance of gathering research material from primary resources and official websites. All of these steps ensure the safety of children's innocence, and the safety of the equipment. Adequate firewalls and virus detectors must be in place before entering any search engine.
As with all good teaching lessons, scaffolding must take place in the classroom, so that each step in discovering more information about the world in which we live will be safe and virus free
Where would we be without Google? I think Google is an excellent resource to use in all year levels. I agree with the point you made about scaffolding student's use of this tool to ensure safe and effective research. To ensure students are able to locate reliable, useful information they need to learn about the importance of identifying key words and evaluating the validity of sources on the internet. Although Google itself is fairly simple to use, effective use of this tool, in the classroom, would require explicit scaffolding.
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