Ever wondered how to refine a search so that you do not have to look through thousands of pages to find specific information? In the book Web Literacy for Educators, the author, Alan November, gives great information as to how to refine a search using the Internet. On this page, I will post different search engines that can help you, your student or child "surf" the mighty Internet. As I learn more, I will add to this list. Make sure to check back for new additions.
Search Engines
Noodle Tools – wide selection of search tools specific to certain needs and prompts users to focus a research query. Prompts such as “I need to see relationships among ideas, or “I need a subject hub prepared by an expert” help direct students to the right place and get them thinking critically about what they are trying to achieve.
NoodleTools (http://www.noodletools.com)
NoodleQuest (http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest/)
Kid-Centric
These two search engines are perfect to use with younger students.
TEK Mom’s Search Tools for Students (http://www.tekmom.com/search/)
Ivy’s Search Engine Resources for Kids(http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html)
Higher-Level Scholarly Material
Google Scholar (http://www.scholar.google.com/)
Electronic Textbooks
NASAKids (http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/)
Sea World Animal Information Database (http://www.seaworld.org/Search/query.htm)
Meta-Searching
Meta-search engines collect and correlate top results from other search engines. They basically search several major search engines all at once.
Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com) and Web Crawler (http://www.webcrawler.com)
Blog Searches
These search engines search for information contained in blogs. However. Searching through blogs may not be a wise choice for students looking for academic information. Blogs are mostly personal accounts and subject to bias.
Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/) and Google Blog Search (http://blogsearch.google.com/)
Podcasts
Audio or video content that can be downloaded
Podscope (http://www.podscope.com/)
Blinkx (http://www.blinkx.com/)
Everyzing (http://www.everyzing.com/)
iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/
