As teachers, it is your goal for your students to learn specific content. You teach, you review, you assess, and hopefully...the students retain that knowledge. But our brains can only hold so much information, and sometimes...the lyrics to that sweet Mariah Carey song from 1995* are more important than the year the Civil War started (sorry History teachers!)
I pride myself on my ability to find information quickly and effectively online when I need it. It is absolutely a life skill that I have developed over my career as students and teachers have continued to ask me questions that I don't know the answer to. (I say...I don't know, but I can find out!) You don't have to be a computer teacher to teach the importance of online searching skills.
The following is a list of Google search operators - basically, things you can add to your search to make the results more relevant to you. You can use them individually or you can combine them all for REALLY accurate search results!
Search Within a Site:
Use "site:" followed by either a specific website such as nasa.gov or just an extension such as .edu
In this example, I will only see results about dogs from websites that end in .edu.
Search For a Specific File Type:
Use "filetype:" followed by the extension of the file you are looking for. For example, doc, pdf, ppt, jpg, png
In this example, I will only see pdf files related to dogs.
Search For a Specific Phrase:
Use quotation marks to search for a full phrase rather than the individual words
In this example, I will only see results about that specific breed of dog.
Search For Multiple Options:
Use "OR" to search for either one term/phrase or the other
In this example, I will see results for both dogs and penguins.
Eliminate Words From Search:
Use "-" if you want to remove results that include a particular word
In this example, I will not see any results about the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team.
Find Similar Websites:
Use "related:" to find websites similar to one you already know
In this example, I will see websites that are related to space and flight.
Search Even With Missing Words:
Use the asterisk * to act as a "wildcard" in your search
In this example, I will see results related to the Baja Men hit song from 2000.
There are plenty of other search tips and tricks, but these should get you off to a good start. Happy searching!
*I'm referring to Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", and yes, I did know it came out in 1995 without looking it up. I also knew that "Who Let the Dogs Out" came out in 2000. These are not things I want in my brain...and yet...
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