Effective Search Strategies

1
Effective Search Strategies

• Presented by Pamela Skelly
• EASTCONN

2
Internet Basics

• The Browser Hand points when there is a link.
• Only click once. (Double clicks are for shortcuts
  or special features.)
• The Address bar is where you enter the web site
  address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Click
  in this text box to enter an address and press
  Enter to link.

3
Internet Basics (continued)

• Hold the Forward and Back buttons to jump to a
  web page.
• Select file, then New Window to display more than
  one web page.
• Use ctrlc to copy and ctrlv to paste.
• Create favorites when a page looks interesting.
  Favorites can be organized and deleted later.

4
Attitude Strategies

• Searching for information is a process.
• If the search terms dont work, look at the
  results and modify them sensibly.
• Try a different search engine.
• Browse the directories.
• Set aside enough time and setup a good learning
  environment.
• Have treats on hand and take breaks.

5
Search Engines

• Yahoo
• Google
• Noodle Tools Advice
• Search Engines for Kids
• Yahooligans
• Kids Search Tools
• One Key The Kid Safe Search Engine
• KidsClick! web search for kids by librarians
• Ivys Search Engines for Kids

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Effective Searching

• Think of relevant keywords or terms for your
  topic. Check your spelling.
• Use quotes around a phrase to narrow your search.
• Use the to include a term and - to exclude
  it.
• For example, K-2 search engine resulted in a long
  list with many advertisements. Whereas, kid
  search engine resulted in a list with good
  choices at the top.
• Use the Help sections.

7
Boolean Logic

• Named after George Boole, a 19th century
  mathematician, it refers to the logical operators
  such as and, or and not.
• Use and when you want to make sure both or all
  the terms are included.
• Use or when either term or any of the terms are
  acceptable.
• Use not similarly to the - to exclude a term.
• These and other methods of searching can be used
  together.

8
Create a Hotlist of Web Sites in Word

• Create a new Word document and give it a title.
  Save frequently.
• Open Internet Explorer.
• Highlight the address you want and copy it with
  ctrlc.
• Go to your Word document.
• Write a title or description of the web site,
  press Enter, and paste the address with ctrlv.
• Go to Internet Explorer and continue searching.

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Another Method to Format the Hotlist of Web Sites

• Instead of just pasting the web site address
  directly on the page, you can just link the
  title.
• Write the title.
• Highlight the title.
• Click on the world with chain links icon in the
  toolbar to hyperlink or select Hyperlink under
  the Insert menu.
• In the Link to text box, paste the address with
  ctrlv.

10
MarcoPolo Sites

• MarcoPolo
• EDSITEment History and Social Studies
• If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail
• EconEdLink
• Dog Gone Job
• Xpeditions
• Can We Keep the Lake Clean?