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June 1, 1997
Learning to Surf the Internet Effectively
by Joanne Troutner
The Internet is a treasure-trove of
information for educators and students. However, this
treasure-trove can serve to waste a great deal of time
for the user if not searched wisely. Consider these two
scenarios.
Susan is looking for information about
apartheid for an English final project. She has come to
the library media center and immediately heads to the
Internet to find information. She begins by heading to
the CNN Interactive site. This is the last thing she can
remember having used on the Internet in a social studies
class. Finding nothing at this site’s opening page
and not searching the archives, Susan spends the next 15
minutes randomly visiting sites she remembers from other
Internet sessions.
Samatha, on the other hand, decides to
also access the Internet for information. But her
information searching strategies are much more
sophisticated. Samatha begins by accessing MetaCrawler, a
combined search engine, which accesses six search engines
at once. Samatha uses three minutes of search time and
prints the first 50 sites listed by MetaCrawler. She then
takes time to look at the printout, circles the first
five sites she wants to visit, and then begins to access
them. Of the five sites, three prove very useful and
Samatha gathers pertinent up-to-date information about
South Africa, Nelson Mandela, and the current South
African government.
Both Susan and Samatha are accessing
the Internet to gather information, but they have vastly
different results. What has caused these directly
opposite approaches to using the Internet? Susan has not
been exposed to a session co-taught by the classroom
teacher and the library media specialist on using the
Internet. Samatha has been a member of such a session.
This simple activity, which took one class session and
was jointly planned by the two professionals, has caused
Samatha to be a more literate and wise Internet user.
The joint Internet session was a
straightforward lesson on using the vast array of search
engines available. The content of the session was
developed by the classroom teacher. The search strategy
and search engine information was developed by the
library media specialist. Both teachers consulted these
sites which provide information on search engines and
doing research.
The session began with a simple
introduction to a number of search engines using "Search Strategies, Hints
and Addresses" for other
ideas. Of course, the pop favorite, Yahoo, was included.
This overview could be conducted with a single computer
and a projection device or in a lab with multiple
connections. However, it can also be done with printouts
from various search engines.
Whichever method fits your situation,
provide the students with a look at three to six search
engines. Point out the various features such as scoring,
similar pages, related terms, descriptions, site
addresses, and help features. Then ask the students to
rank order these search engines according to usefulness.
They can create a chart that contains the following
categories:
- Search Engine
- Score
- Addresses Included
- Summary
- Related
Words/Sites
- Size of Homepage
- Date of Update
- Comments.
Encourage the students to discuss the
criteria they use to make the selections.
The next step is to provide printouts
from two search engines on the topic developed by the
classroom teacher. Again, have the students decide which
search engine to use first. Have them discuss what
features the search engine of choice has that makes it
better. Invite further discussion about what features the
students would like to add to their first choice by using
the two printouts to ask the questions:
- Which search engine would you use
first?
- Why did you think it was better?
Give details.
Searching for Information
The classroom teacher can add questions
which provoke thinking about which search engine provides
better content information and what content clues can be
gleaned from the summaries of the Internet sites. Then
have the students answer the questions:
- What is your topic?
- What is your research question?
- What search terms (words) will you
use? Brainstorm a list and select one or two for
your first attempt.
Finally, the students should do their
first search.
This investment of a class period will
pay multiple dividends. First, students become much
better Internet consumers. They learn to maximize their
Internet time, to hone their research skills, and to
watch experience what can happen when two professional
educators plan and collaborate. Second, the classroom
teacher and the library media specialist have the
experience of crafting a successful joint venture and
working as a team to help students gather skills needed
for learning throughout their lives.
Email: Joanne
Troutner
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