Getting your Google Search on

Let's start the 2016-2017 school year by teaching our students how to search. Let's not simply ask them to search. Let's teach them HOW. Being able to search, find, and evaluate information are critical skills. Think about how many times a day you use them. However, it's often assumed students just know how to search, find, and evaluate. On something this critical, it's not beneficial to students to just assume.

So, I've prepared some of my favorite search, find, and evaluate strategies built into Google in one presentation: Become a Search Ninja. Know of more? Share with me!

Check out fennovation.org for all things Google.

Becoming a search ninja

Knowing how to search and evaluate are two of the most critical skills. I search and evaluate sources multiple times every hour - not to mention each day. They are not only critical; they are often the most used.

However, it's something we take for granted that students - and other adults - know how to do effectively. This is typically far from the reality. When would students have had to the chance to learn these skills? When do we allow for it in the curriculum?

As a former English teacher, I can vouch for the fact that these tasks are often given to the English/language arts teachers. But, they are everyone's jobs. They are not unique to any teacher or subject.

With that in mind, I've compiled some of my favorite Google searching tips and tricks to transform you and your students into search ninjas. I've also begun adding some of my favorite sources for teaching Web evaluation to the list.

See slide 65 for new updates

Enjoy! Check out fennovation.org for more literacy resources.

Become a Google Search Ninja!

Searching is what took me down this career path. As a high school English teacher, I found myself frustrated by my students' lack of searching skills. These skills were placed on the backs of English teachers, but they were life skills. Somewhere along the way, the searching skill-set got dropped.

So, I vowed to make a difference in this area.

Google has made strides in making searching easier, safer, more efficient, and beneficial.

Over the past two years, I have compiled my favorite Google searching tips into one presentation. So, enjoy! Share any tips I missed, too.

You can find all things Googlicious at fennovation.org.

Today's update: Google Fortunetelling - used as a way to bring awareness to causes Google cares about.

Become a #google #search ninja

Google started off as search engine so, today, we bring it back to its roots. Searching is one of the - if not the most - important skills. Without the ability to search, find, and evaluate information, we are only swimming in a sea of information. Searching gives us the ability to navigate it. I'd love to see searching as a fundamental skill in all schools. Think about how often you search - probably multiple times a day. It's a key component to modern living.

To aid in that dream, I'm compiled some of my favorite searching shortcuts & tools built inside Google as well as a few other great tips and tricks! Check out this presentation for more details as well as fennvoation.org for all of your Google goodness.

Search like a ninja!

Searching like a ninja is my favorite skill. It's also a pet peeve of mine. When you can't search, it's hard to be productive, efficient, or to advance. If you can't find quality information, you can't learn from it and you can't move forward.

Finding valid information is critical today. It is a basic, fundamental skill.

With that, I've been compiling my favorite Google search tips into one presentation. Though we teach students a variety of engines to use when searching, Google is the one they use when they go home. It is usually the one they use when they are on their own. So, why not teach them how to be proficient in it. How is your proficiency?

Today's updates:

• Do a Google search for "fun facts." It will provide you with a random array of questions and their answers...a quick way to learn trivia.

Read more at fennovation.org!

Become a Google Search Ninja - updates! #googleedu #gafe #gafechat

As we start back the school year, I feel the urge to remind others how important searching is as a life skill. As educators and adults, we expect that students can search. We start research projects and we expect students to be able to find valuable and critical sources online - without any or much training. This is a travesty to me.

When they leave school each day, one of the first things they will do with electronic devices is search. Rather than figure out the answer themselves or ask someone, many will search. And with millions of search results to sort through, that task is enormous.

So, to help with that and to encourage teachers to incorporate basic search lessons into their classroom, I have compiled some of my favorite Google search resources into one presentation.

Updates include:

• Searching graphs of various functions
• View the text version of large numbers

You can view for information on fennovation.org. In the meantime, enjoy and search!

#google search like a ninja #gafechat

Searching and searching effectively are two of my favorite topics. In fact, I think they are critical life skills. So, I've started compiling all of Google's best resources for searching. Check them out and share those I may have missed.

Check out Fennovation.org for more details!

Google Ninja #search tips & more including how to find your phone

Just when you thought Google search could not get any more awesome, it does! Below are some of the recent tips to aid in Google searching. These are all part of a series in Becoming a Google Search Ninja on Fennovation.org.

Enjoy!

Find your phone

Send directions to your phone

The History of Search Engines

Check out Bryan Clark’s article.

Archie (1990): first search engine Excite (1993): search engine with statistical analysis (1994): Search engine boom Google (1998): Starts citation notation theory

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If you want more search tips, check out Becoming a Search Ninja, available on Fennovation.org.

Searching like a Ninja Continued

Just when you thought Google search could not get any more awesome, it does! Below are some of the tools I like to use to aid me in searching. These are all part of a series in Becoming a Google Search Ninja on Fennovation.org.

Enjoy!

My Flights

*This only searches flight information in YOUR Gmail account.*

My Purchases

*This only searches purchase information in YOUR Gmail account.*

Google Scholar Extension

Play PAC-MAN

Cite your Sources

Becoming a Search Ninja - Part 1

Just when you thought Google search could not get any more awesome, it does! Below are some of the tools I like to use to aid me in searching. These are all part of a series in Becoming a Google Search Ninja.

Enjoy!

A Google A Day

Google Feud

Search Creative Commons Photos

Highlight to Search Extension

Search Similar Pages Extension

Personal Blocklist Extension

Web of Trust Extension

Apps Searching from your Omnibox

Add a Google Calendar event from your Omnibar Search Google Drive Search Gmail Search Google Sites

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If you want more search tips, check out Becoming a Search Ninja, available on Fennovation.org.