Reflection #1 Web Searching

I have completed a similar assignment in another course, but the focus was on finding good websites rather than different search engines. This is a good exercise to focus more on the content and attractability of a website. I learned a lot about different search engines. I had no idea there were so many! I usually use Google to search for everything, but I will incorporate some variety in my personal and professional searches. This aspect of the assignment is very important to my job. I do a lot of searching on the Internet and have difficulties finding some things, so this assignment will really help me. This would be a great assignment for students in junior high and up. Students are not taught how to actually search for things on the Internet and this would certainly help them tremendously for the rest of their life. I have had to use the Internet, search engines, and all manner of web sites throughout all of my college and my children have used it throughout all of their schooling from 3rd grade on. Searching and accessing the content on websites are skills that can be taught and cultivated. There are obvious deficiencies in students’ skills in researching. Having students learn to search for web sites and determine if it is good and why makes them think on a higher level, which is the goal. This would be a great assignment for any course, but especially in English when writing an essay or research paper. Before the teacher has students write the essay or research paper, the teacher could demonstrate the various search engines. The teacher could then have students access various websites using a mixture of search engines and practice assessing the usefulness of the content, its visual appeal, and the sites’ interactivity. Variations could also include students presenting their findings on their blog, giving an oral presentation about the differences in search engine results, or creating a PowerPoint presentation about the pros and cons of two websites – one good and one bad. My future learning goals for this area are to learn more about different search engines and try looking at websites a little differently to see what is attractive and what my future students might like so that I can continue to get better at creating websites. To access this assignment click here, search for it, or scroll down and find it in my blog!