Do my 8 th grade science students know how to search the internet to find accurate information?

 I have questions!  Do students have any prior education or training when it comes to searching the internet?  Have they learned this important skill earlier in their education?

 Why do students search certain sites?  Do students go to certain search engines because they are convenient and quick?  Will they search for information in more than one way?

 Do they know the difference between a creditable site versus a site with false information?  Do students know not to trust everything that is on the web?  Will they question the information?

 What is the most popular way that students search for information?

 I think the students will have little prior knowledge when it comes to searching the internet.  I don’t believe there is any curriculum plan when it comes to this issue.  With the students being in 8 th grade they haven’t had many large research projects yet.  I think many students will use one popular search engine when looking for information.  Quick and easy!

 I think many students will have a hard time determining what sites will provide accurate information.  Lack of experience.  I believe Google will by far be the most common search engine.  Just “Google” it!

 Students will be asked to research a disease.  They will have the opportunity to pick the disease.  Once they have pick a disease they will answer the following:  List the sites that you went to.  How did you get the sites?  Find and list 3 articles that relate to your disease.  How did you find them?  Why do you think these are reputable sites?

 When the students are done searching I will ask them to talk as a group to share what they found, how they found, and why they used the information.  After the group discussion:  As a class we will discus how to search the internet affectively.

 I was lucky enough to have a very small class of 15 students in my 1 st hour class.  This is the class that I conducted my inquiry with.  The students in the class range from high to low learning skills.

How did they search?  Every single student used Google as a search engine.  I many of the kids said that this is the most familiar way to them of how to search for things.  Many of the kids typed in their disease into Google and went to the first 10 sites that came up.  Others branched out to difference search engines.  I was also pleasantly surprised students searching medical websites.  Many of the kids went to Wikipedia to search for information.

 Creditable Sites?  Many of the kids did list creditable sites.  They could tell the difference between a blog and a “professional” looking site.  The told me that if the information was on a medical site that they believed it was good information.  The census was also that if the site ended in.edu or.gov then the information should be trusted. They were unsure of.com.  Many said that there needed to be an author attached to the information in order to trust it.

 How did they find the articles?  They all found their articles in one of two ways.  1. They either typed the word “article” in the search engine with the information they were looking for.  2. They went through the list of sites that came up from a search until they came to something that looked like an article.  I was surprised that none went to specific news sites to look for articles.

 Any prior experience?  Many of the students said that they “learned” how to search for information by “messing around”.  None of them said they had been taught how to search for information.

 What do you type when searching?  The overwhelming majority of the students typed in the disease name when searching for information.  A few of the students were more specific with their searches.  Example – Typhoid symptoms

 Google crazy!  We found that the majority of students will initially search for information by using Google.  We concluded that this is due to the popularity of the site and it’s commercial use.  “Google it” has become a normal phrase.

 “Mr. Meyers, I found a site that describes the symptoms of my disease. I think I have these things. Do I have it!”  This is another reason it is important for students to find medical information from a reputable site.

 Students have a basic understanding of how to use the internet but still need more experience and guidance when it comes to advanced searches.  Many of the students went to what was the most familiar to them. They were a little weary to travel outside of their comfort zone.

 I thought the kids would be more aware of the dangers of Wikipedia. Many of them considered this a great source for creditable information.  The majority of the students thought that they were able to tell good from bad information.

 Overall, I think I underestimated the kids ability to search for information. I was very pleased with what they knew.

 The internet is becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. It is important that we educate our students in order to use this valuable tool in a safe and productive manor.