NetsQuest:
A WebQuest About Searching on the Internet
Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
Introduction
Draw the students
into the activity by interesting and fun tactics in describing their project:
The Internet is a whirlpool of
information available to you if you know how to find it. Although the Internet is not new to you, it
may be overwhelming when you begin searching for your topic. Learning a few basic rules will help you
become a savvy searcher! Your mission today
will require using a few of the major search engines, recognizing the
differences from one to the next, and discovering ways to locate the hidden
resources of the Web.
Task
You will be divided into 4
groups. Your job will be to test all
the search engines with a variety of phrases.
Enter your best phrase that will yield the most usable results for the
search engine contest. Justify your
reasons for choosing a particular search engine in a two-minute news
interview. The remainder of the class
will judge and determine the best group.
Resources
Based on your assigned group, test
your phrase in each of the following search engines, web directory, or
Invisible Websites.
Your group of 3 or 4 students will
create a news interview for the best search tool. Upon evaluating how the search tool operates, record important
information in your organizer. Notice
the number of results, search tips, and special services.
Group 1
Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
www.yahoo.com www.google.com www.ixquick.com www.altavista.com
www.lii.org http://memory.loc.gov
www.isleuth.com/ www.alltheweb.com/
www.invisibleweb.com http://searchenginewatch.com/ www.webtaxi.com/
http://infomine.ucr.edu/
1. Use each search tool site to uncover the
features of the main page.
2.
What type of search tool are you using? A subject directory, search
engine, meta-search engine, or invisible web site.
3.
Record any help or tips about the page.
What helps you use the search tool effectively?
4.
Examine and evaluate the best and worst features of the search tool.
5.
Are there advanced search and limiting options?
6.
Are there any other special features? Video or image searching?
Translation? Similar pages to?
7.
Do the results include summaries, annotations, or keywords?
8.
Does the search tool rank the results according to relevance? How many hits are listed on the first page?
9.
Test your search tool.
Use the example: I would like a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
N: Start narrow. If you are looking for information on the
lost continent of Atlantis, enter the following information in the search box:
with all: Atlantis continent
without: shuttle film movie
E: Find an exact phrase.
Use the entire phrase “San Diego State
University” if you need information from that university.
Try: stamping out Urban legends
T: Trim back the URL.
If you want more webquests from this
site, trim the URL.
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/education/projects/webquests/Shakespeare
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/education/projects/webquests/
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/education/projects
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/education
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics
S: Look for similar pages.
If you want pages like Tapped
In-Online Community of Educators, look for a search engine that will let you
search for similar pages to or pages linked to.
10.
Write your 2-minute news interview justifying the best qualities of your
search tool. Use interviewing tactics
and assign one person to be the moderator and another to be the
interviewee.
11.
Present the finished product to your group demonstrating the best
features of your search tool.
12.
Rank the results.
Evaluation
Your evaluation will be based on the
group work, your organizer, and the presentation of your news interview. Look at the rubric for the evaluation criteria.
Conclusion
Use the results of this NetsQuest to
choose your search tools. Use a variety
of search tools to perform the different types of searches.
Teachers
Here is an
additional all inclusive search engine tool that will further develop your
students’ skills.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/ToolsTables.html
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