1. Searching Engines

2. Instructions Fill out the Search Engine worksheet while going through this presentation You need to have a web browser open. Slide 2

3. Different Types of Search Engines You use Search Engines to search for keywords on the Internet when you don’t know the web sites address. Do a search to find out how search engines work. Slide 3 Search Engines

4. Task 1: Perform a query for “Search Engines”. a)How many results are there? b)List 3 search engines you’ve never heard of. (type your answers on the worksheet) Task 1: Perform a query for “Search Engines”. a)How many results are there? b)List 3 search engines you’ve never heard of. (type your answers on the worksheet) There are LOTS of search engines. Different search engines use different search methods. Slide 4

5. Regular Search Engines Regular Search Engines search the Internet based on a given search term.  For example, typing “Penguins” into Google gives you 15,400,000 sites. Type the same term into Yahoo!, and you come up with 80,600,000 hits!  Why the difference in results? They use different search techniques. Task 2: Perform a query for “pancakes” in both Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com).www.google.comwww.yahoo.com Which search engine has more results? Task 2: Perform a query for “pancakes” in both Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com).www.google.comwww.yahoo.com Which search engine has more results? Slide 5 Regular Search Engines

6. Meta Search Engines Metasearch Engines search several search engines at once. This can save you time and increase your search results. Slide 6 Metasearch Engines

7. Meta Search Engines Yippy groups search results by category. Task 3: Go to www.yippy.com and do a query for “snowboarding”.www.yippy.com Notice the categories listed in the left task pane. You can use these categories to narrow your information. List the categories that came up for snowboarding on the answer sheet. Task 3: Go to www.yippy.com and do a query for “snowboarding”.www.yippy.com Notice the categories listed in the left task pane. You can use these categories to narrow your information. List the categories that came up for snowboarding on the answer sheet. Slide 7

8. Online Encyclopedias Online encyclopedias are a great resource for research that are underutilized. Their information has been checked by experts so it is reliable and valid.

9. Online Encyclopedias Try the encyclopedias below and see what you think: http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/home http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia Task 5: Do a query for ‘Volcano’ with both online encyclopedias. Which encyclopedia has the most search results? Task 5: Do a query for ‘Volcano’ with both online encyclopedias. Which encyclopedia has the most search results? Slide 9

10. Online Libraries Online Libraries are another place to find lots of useful information. Take a look at this site: www.libraryspot.com Task 6: Look around libraryspot.com. What information can you find? Task 6: Look around libraryspot.com. What information can you find? Slide 10

11. Indexes/Directories A Web directory organizes Web sites by subject and is usually maintained by humans instead of software. Items on the directory can be reviewed before being added to the directory. Task 7: Best of the Web is a directory. http://botw.org Choose a category then choose a category within that category. List the first 2 results. Task 7: Best of the Web is a directory. http://botw.org Choose a category then choose a category within that category. List the first 2 results.