Searching for Information
Module Fourteen
Question: How do we use indexes and search engines to find information efficiently on the Web?Search engines find Web pages which contain certain keywords. Wise combinations of words can create better results.
Let's say you were looking for information on ways to protect the salmon harvest. Try two different search strategies with HotBot. First search for the single word "salmon." How useful were the first ten "hits?" Next try the three words "salmon endangered species" Did your results improve? Why?
Search with HotBot
Open the menu above and to the right of the search box which says "all the words" by clicking on the dark arrow. How would those choices influence your search results? If you select "the phrase" and use "Endangered Species Act" what will happen? Now try "salmon endangered species" with Alta Vista. Check out the different features of this search engine.
You may also look for information on an index such as Yahoo where you will look for information using categories. Where would you look for information on endangered species?
When you have tried all three, join your partner in writing down several sentences describing the pros and cons of search engines and indexes. Which type works better for you? Why?
"Searching the Web requires devising a strategy" : an excellent article by school librarian Joyce Valenza in the Tech.Life section of the online Philadelphia Inquirer.
Return to Literacy Module List
Copyright Notice Copyright, 1999, 1996, Bellingham Public Schools. All rights reserved. These lessons may be copied by non-profit, public learning institutions only for use with their own staff. All other purposes are expressly prohibited without explicit permission. .
Revised 4/1/99