1. Science Portfolio Using the Internet Safely & Efficiently When Doing Research By Rebecca Fast, Science Staff Developer – Buffalo Public Schools Presentation based on information found in: November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 1

2. Part 1: Search Engines 2

3. In the 21st Century research is mostly accomplished via the Internet. 3

4. How can you maximize the time you have in the classroom for student research? 4

5. 5 Use a search engine that matches the specific needs of the project!

8. It just wastes time! 9

9. What makes a good search engine? (click the picture below) UC Berkeley Library. Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/SearchEngines.html 10

10. What search engines might be best for portfolio projects? 11

11. Click Each picture below to compare a search for “Energy” on that search engine. Dogpile.com Hotbot.com Altavista.com HowStuffWorks.com Webcrawler.com Google.com 12

12. 13 *The following search engine will allow your students to identify the specific parameters of the type of information they are looking for and will bring up other search engines to help them target their search. www.noodletools.com/noodlequest

13. 14 *The following search engine will allow your students to identify the specific parameters of the type of information they are looking for and will bring up other search engines to help them target their search. www.noodletools.com/noodlequest TRY IY OUT!

14. Search Engine for Multimedia Presentations… If you are looking for a picture of an atom it is much easier to use a search engine specific to finding pictures Click on the below picture of an atom to find the source of the below graphic. 15

15. Search Engine for Multimedia Presentations… www.picsearch.com can be a great source of visuals to be used royalty free for various class projects. 16

16. Search Engine WARNING! Even school filters do not always catch inappropriate information. Example: The search engine www.cantufind.com is considered a “family friendly” website. Click the graphic below to see what sites are listed from this search engine for the topic “Energy”. 17

17. Search Engine WARNING! Results: With 12 of the first 25 websites listed on www.cantufind.comare sites for psychics and clairvoyance Students will need the below skills to research topics with multiple meanings: Use a search engine that allows you to eliminate certain words like alltheweb.com Be more specific in their initial keyword search (e.g. solar energy) 18

18. Search Engine WARNING! 19 Search engines are BIG BUSINESS! “You can bid on any keyword search term you wish at a search marketing company, such as Yahoo!...the person who bids the price has to pay if someone clicks on their site.” (November, 2008. p.21) (Click the graphic below – look at the sponsored links on the right)

19. Search Engine WARNING! According to November in his book, Web Literacy for Educators, “It is important for students NOT to research academic information from sponsored links or sponsored matches because: 20

20. Search Engine WARNING! According to November in his book, Web Literacy for Educators, “It is important for students NOT to research academic information from sponsored links or sponsored matches because: Information from those pages are subject to bias. 21

21. Search Engine WARNING! According to November in his book, Web Literacy for Educators, “It is important for students NOT to research academic information from sponsored links or sponsored matches because: Information from those pages are subject to bias. Just because a site has paid to be at the top of the results list doesn’t mean it has the best information. 22

22. Search Engine WARNING! According to November in his book, Web Literacy for Educators, “It is important for students NOT to research academic information from sponsored links or sponsored matches because: Information from those pages are subject to bias. Just because a site has paid to be at the top of the results list doesn’t mean it has the best information. Many of these types of sites are trying to sell you something.” (p. 26) 23

23. Part 2: Validating Websites 24

24. Now that we have a list of websites…how do we know they are valid sources? 25

25. 26 Get “REAL”

26. 27 “GET REAL” (November, p.31) Website example: http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm Step 1: Read the URL R

27. 28 “GET REAL” (November, p.31) Website example: http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm There are some important things to note in the above web address. R Step 1: Read the URL

28. 29 “GET REAL” (November, p.31-32) Name of a particular university (North Dakota State University) http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm

29. 30 “GET REAL” (November, p.31-32) Confirms that it is an institution of higher learning. Name of a particular university (North Dakota State University) http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm

30. 31 “GET REAL” (November, p.31-32) Confirms that it is an institution of higher learning. Name of a particular university (North Dakota State University) http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm Clue that it is personal page on a public site.

31. 32 “GET REAL” (November, p.31-32) Confirms that it is an institution of higher learning. Name of a particular university (North Dakota State University) http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm Clue that it is personal page on a public site. More clues that this is a personal website.

32. 33 “GET REAL” (November, p.35) Step 2: Examine the content. E R Step 1: Read the URL

34. “They are fun and beautifully done, but their facts are questionable at best.”

35. “Such websites are great tools for teachers [to help students think critically about content].”E R Step 2: Examine the content. Step 1: Read the URL

36. 35 Website example: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

37. 36 “GET REAL” (November, p.37) A Step 3: “Ask about the author and the owner of the website.” E R Step 2: Examine the content. Step 1: Read the URL

38. 37 “GET REAL” (November, p.37) A How do we find out about the author or owner? E Step 3: “Ask about the author and the owner of the website.” R Step 2: Examine the content. Step 1: Read the URL

39. 1. Is the author’s name provided? 2. Is there a contact person or name provided? 3. Is there biographical information provided about the author? 4. Does the author seem knowledgeable? 5. What kind of results do you see when you do a search on the author’s name?” (November, p.38) 38 “When looking up sites answer the following questions:

40. 39 “GET REAL” (November, p.31) Step 3 Website example #1: http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cawiley/Fargo_daytrips/student%20ideas.htm The first website indicates that it is merely a site for possible field trip ideas for students who attend North Dakota State University – very interesting if you are a new student in North Dakota and quite harmless.

41. 40 “GET REAL” (November, p.31) Step 3 Website example #2: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ This second website seems like a great conservation website. However, even though the author puts his name on the bottom and is open to comments, the website could be quite misleading to students who might not have enough savvy to realize as they are reading that this is am elaborate hoax.

42. 41 “GET REAL” (November, p.43) L A Step 4: Look at the Links! E Step 3: “Ask about the author and the owner of the website.” R Step 2: Examine the content. Step 1: Read the URL

43. “Who is linked to the website? Look to see what other groups or individuals have linked to it. 42 Step 4 Questions to ask: (November, p. 52-53)

44. “Who is linked to the website? Look to see what other groups or individuals have linked to it. Why are they linked? What is the purpose of the link? Why have groups or individuals chosen to create a link to this site? 43 Step 4 Questions to ask: (November, p. 52-53)

45. “Who is linked to the website? Look to see what other groups or individuals have linked to it. Why are they linked? What is the purpose of the link? Why have groups or individuals chosen to create a link to this site? What do other sites say about the material on the site? Gain perspective about a site by reading what another site says about it. Cross reference information and look for hidden bias.” 44 Step 4 Questions to ask: (November, p. 52-53)

46. This was a quick introduction to helping you make the most of your time and energy in the classroom when allowing your students to do research for their portfolio projects. 45 Conclusion:

47. This was a quick introduction to helping you make the most of your time and energy in the classroom when allowing your students to do research for their portfolio projects. For a more in-depth understanding read the book “Web Literacy for Educators”, by Alan November, published by Corwin Press. 46 Conclusion:

48. 47 THANK YOU!!!! HAVE FUN EXPLORING!