I am adding another search engine to my search toolkit. Quixey has been around since 2009, but it’s new to me. The search was designed to solve a problem – millions of apps were being created, but there was no simple way to find them. App discovery was limited to categories, top ten lists, directories [...]
When I watched Google’s recent video on the Evolution of Search, I found myself looking back nostalgically. But not in the way I was supposed to. I realized that my goals for student inquiry and information seeking are different from Google’s goals for user question answering. That we see our end user’s needs differently. And [...]
This month Clive Thompson addressed Why Johnny Can’t Search in November’s Wired. He also pointed to the importance of librarians teaching Johnny critical search skills. Thompson reported on research conducted by College of Charleston business professor Bing Pan, designed to assess college students’ search skills. Pan and his team found that the students generally relied on [...]
Truth, Lies and the Internet, a just-published report from the British think-tank Demos, shares that, despite their feelings of efficacy, young people are not careful, discerning users of the Internet. Researchers Jamie Bartlett and Carl Miller reviewed current literature and conducted an online survey of 509 primary and secondary school teachers in England and Wales [...]
I hope to introduce a variety of curating tools to classes and individual students this year. While this is an exciting way for learners to discover how to manage their information worlds, not everyone actually needs or wants to curate every single time they begin research. Students and teachers can exploit the curation efforts already [...]
The reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. With Stacks–a kind of fusion of bookmarking, microblogging, curating, and sharing–Delicious beefs up and prettifies its popular bookmarking service. What’s a Stack? The site explains that these playlists for the web are collections of links: built around a common theme. To get started, visit the stack tab [...]
My kiddos are true JSTOR junkies. They rely on the scholarly database for their research in many areas, but particularly in history and lit crit. Alas, not every high school can squeeze this subscription into their budgets. But cheer up, young historians and scholars . . . Earlier this week, JSTOR announced that they are [...]
While many of us weren’t watching, ERIC, the granddaddy of education research, has grown a lot more social. As we prepare for a fall filled with professional development, it might be a good idea to share some of ERIC’s new coolness with the faculty. In case you never had the pleasure . . . Sponsored [...]
It’s been around since February, but I just discovered Google’s Search Education Evangelism site, a space dedicated to improving the skills of searchers from middle school through adult. For teachers librarians, it’s a rich source of instructional content for use with young learners and with colleagues in professional development. Lessons fit into four categories: General [...]
During my presentations I always try to provide a little update on the world of search. And folks often ask, how did you discover that? One of several things that separates TLs from other techie types in our buildings is our interest in things searchy. I want to function as a scout in that arena. [...]
Recent Comments