What to ask to get to the answer - every search engine has its own method
On the heels of sending out tips for "getting the search results you want" I came across a great article in the New York Times ... talk about esp.
"Helping Children Find What They Need on the Internet" by Sefanie Olsen (NYT 12/26/09)
It's tough enough for adults to get the search results they are looking for, imagine what kids could produce when they start writing questions in search boxes, long or short. Rather than developing a stand-alone child-proof search product, Google and other companies have decided to enlist kids to make existing search tools more kid-friendly, effective and I hope safer for children AND adults.
Bing uses more imagery than other search engines (incl. Google) leading to faster search results - very popular among young people. Bing's use by Internet searchers age 2 (!) to 17 has increased by 76% since May '09. 2-Year olds searching - this just blows my mind!
Google's "Wonder Wheel", launched in May '09, is a graphical search tool designed to make browsing easier. You can find it under "show options" on the search results page.
A 13-year old, self-proclaimed power searcher who participated in a children's web search research project a couple of years ago, has come up with his own idea. "I think there should be a program where Google asks kids questions about what they're searching for," he says, "like a Google robot."
Google et al, get it?
Thanks for sharing the article on searching. Up until now I have been ignoring Bing - guess I will have to check it out. I had also forgotten about Google's Wonder Wheel - will have to share that with some of the kids. I find if you show something to a couple kids and it is something worthwhile - it spreads pretty quickly through their social network!
ReplyDeleteGinger
Hi Janny,
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving me a comment on my blog post in Room 10. I am now in Room 11 and year 4. I made my animations using kidpix. My favourite pancakes that I like to eat is from McDonalds. We call them hot cakes. I use the syrup to put on my pancakes too. I think you're a great teacher at leaving comments.
From James