Topic 2-Researching

7/6/2013

This week’s topic is on researching. I think this is an area where students could use some further instruction. I remember being in one of my practicums and the students were to search information on the Internet. It surprised me greatly when the students did not really know what they were doing or how to conduct a search for information. I thought that this would be easy for them, but boy was I wrong. I know myself before I came to university I did not know that much about researching topics or all the different techniques to effectively find information on the Internet. After writing many research papers I thought that I had a solid understanding of this but after reading the Topic 2 information I feel like I have only brushed the surface. There are so many different search engines that I did not even know about. I usually use Google or the University Library website to find scholarly work. I did not know tools such as InstaGrok or meta-search engines. I used to search through pages and pages of results to find exactly what information I required. I would not even think to change my search words or use an advanced search. By conducting my Internet searches in this manner I wasted a great deal of time and was very inefficient. It is shocking to me that in today’s age of technology we are not teaching our students about Internet search strategies. I only learned how to properly do this in my education degree at university.

Lawless and Kulikowich (1998) discuss that there are three different types of learners on the Internet including knowledge seekers, feature seekers and apathetic hypertext users. Knowledge seekers are those self-motivated individuals who seek out knowledge and strive to expand their understanding. Feature seekers are drawn to websites because of their video, sound or animations. They do not necessarily read information on these sites, but investigate the features of them. Apathetic hypertext users will browse sites but do not actively read the content. They usually miss chunks of information because they only skim the surface.

When I conduct searches on the Internet I am definitely more of an apathetic hypertext user. I usually find searches time consuming and need to browse many sites. I try to skim content in order to save myself time and weed out irrelevant information. This is not the best way to conduct searches. It would be beneficial to use advanced searches or mega-search engines.

I think there are many ways to expose students to Internet search strategies that will provide them with helpful hints that they will apply on their own. When the teacher models proper search methods it encourages the students to do the same. As a teacher it is important to expose students to information regarding search strategies. When there are activities that students will utilize the Internet and search engines to complete, the teacher should spend time having students explore the different tools and learn how to conduct proper searches. In some instances it may be better to instruct students to go to specific websites. InstaGrok would be a great website to direct students to when they need to find specific information about any given topic. I found this site very resourceful. I searched field hockey and was
provided with websites, images, key facts and more. I think it is very simplistic and students would be able to easily learn subject matter. Google Earth is also a fantastic tool to utilize in the classroom. Students would find it interesting to see actual images and explore the earth on their own. I think Science lessons could be greatly enhanced with students exploring oceans and forests. Students would be motivated to learn and find the technology very intriguing.

Lawless, K. A., and Kulikowich, J. M., (1998). Domain Knowledge, Interest, and Hypertext Navigation: A study of individual differences, Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 7(1), 51-69

Significant Comments:
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4 Comments

Aaron Becking

7/7/2013 05:19:48 am

Hey Meagan,

I really enjoyed your post and agree with a lot of the points that you make. I had a similar experience in PSII with students having no idea how to use basic search strategies. I find that students are familiar with Google, and if they can't find they information on Google then they have no idea where else to look, essentially giving up. Like you mentioned, I also believe that it is important for teachers to model proper search methods and educate their students on some more advanced methods. My question to you is how do we as teachers emphasize the importance of using advance search methods to find specific information? Students often prefer to take the easy way, but is that always beneficial to them? What steps can we take to ensure they get the information they need? This is not an easy thing to do, but is important for students as they get to higher levels of education. Excellent insights Meagan, great work!

-Aaron

Meagan Craig

7/7/2013 03:22:23 pm

Hey Aaron,

Thanks for your comments. I definitely have found what you stated regarding students searching on Google and being stumped when they cannot find what they need. It is definitely worth taking class time to show students how to effectively conduct internet searches. To answer your question, I think in order to teach students the importance of using advanced search methods they need to experience how time consuming and frustrating it is when they do not utilize them. When I took a computer course at university this was actually a lab activity that we did. There are various stages that students can work through and they learn how various key word searches will get them different results even though they are essentially inputting the same words. Along with doing an activity similar to this, I would have a poster in the room that displays how to properly conduct internet searches. I know personally myself I can understand how to use advanced searches one day and then completely forget the strategies when I need them. I agree that this is definitely not an easy thing to do but it is well worth the time to assist students in fully understanding. Thanks again for your comment.

-Meagan-

Dan Oryschak

7/7/2013 08:06:34 am

Hey Meagan,

Well said! I find that many students coming out of high school have very little to no researching skills. I find that many times they are not required to write research papers in the areas that require them and those subjects that do require papers are usually opinion pieces that require little to no research. I think as teachers our mentality (especially in the core areas) should be to place some emphasis on research. This is a skill set that everyone should have (to seek knowledge), but at the same time to find meaningful knowledge. Do you think the complexities of the Internet and its overwhelming amount of information is what turns most people off from research? You hinted at this in your post. Also, you mention that teachers need to model appropriate research techniques. Could it be argued that the reason teachers don't teach research to their students because their research skills are sub-par, or could it merely be a simple case of too much time? I found that, even in my case, research skills are only really explored in University in which they become the essential tool for a student. It's hard to start a new skill set that late in the game. Your insights into research were well received and I think it will be a focus of my PSIII.

Best Regards,
Dan

Meagan Craig

7/7/2013 03:35:33 pm

Hey Dan,

Thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you regarding students’ preparedness to write research papers. When I was in high school we never had to research anything for our papers. Information that was written in our papers was simply from the textbook or other classroom materials. It was quite a shock when I got to university and had to learn everything that, in my opinion, should have been introduced earlier in my education. I do think that many people are turned away from the internet because they perceive it as complex and having a great deal of information that can be hard to navigate through. Again, by teaching the next generation how to maneuver through information and properly conduct searches, I think it can go a long way to phasing out this perception and reluctance. Your second point regarding the teaching of these skills is also very accurate. I think it is the case that many teachers do not feel comfortable or fully understand internet search strategies and this is a reason students are not being taught them. Technology is always advancing and it can be difficult to keep up. I think this is why we as teachers need to work towards staying up to date in order to prepare our students for the future.

Thanks again for your comment and insight on the matter.

-Meagan-

Topic 2-Researching

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