Indeed the Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our lives and the way our society functions. The Internet itself is a “global network of computers that contain information on a multitude of subjects” (Shelly, Gunter, & Gunter, 2010, p. 4). Among the tools which has maximized its usefulness and growth—in a way that it has now penetrated in most aspects of our private and public lives—is the advent of search tools.
Search tools, in general, “enable users to locate information found at Web sites all over the world,” and search engines—as its most popular type—assist users to find “Web sites, Web pages, and Internet files that match one or more [entered] keywords” (Shelly et al., 2010, p.83). Given the emphasis on areas of interest (rather than using specific keywords), e.g., entertainments, education, sports, or business, users may use subject directory tools, as another type of search tools (Shelly et al., 2010, p.83). Subject directories provide categorized list of links which are arranged by subject, going from general to specific (Shelly et al., 2010).
Indeed, “Google” and “MSN” have been the most popular and widely used search engine and subject directory tools—in addition to “Yahoo” as a popular search engine. Shelly et al. (2010) suggest that successful searching involves two key steps: 1) Briefly describing the required information in the search tool, and 2) using the display links to access the desired information. In addition, maximizing the efficiency of the search will be achieved by refining the description of keywords in the search tool.
It is recommended that using the following operators, commands, and special characters—in describing the required information in the search tool—will enable the user to achieve such efficiency: Using “+” (“requiring both words to be in the page”), “OR” (“requiring one of the words to be the page”), “-“(“excluding pages with the following the “-“ sign"), “ “ (“requiring the exact phrase within the quotation”), etc. (Shelly et al., 2010, p. 131). Moreover, guidelines such as, using “nouns as keyword,” using “*” to “find variations of words,” typing “keyword in lower case, and limiting “the search by language,” among others, are recommended for successful searching (Shelly et al., 2010, p. 131).
There are numerous search engine and subject directory tools in the field of education which I am very interested and extensively involved. Among them “Education World” (www.education-world.com, to identify educational website), “Google for Educators” (www.google.com/educators, to explore among many teaching resources), “Sites for Teachers” (www.sitesforteachers.com, to access links to teacher resources and educational materials), and “Awesome Library” (www.awesomemlibrary.org, to access reviewed links useful for teachers, students, etc.) (Shelly et al., 2010) are my favorites.
Although some of the information and links contained in above and similar Web sites do overlap, the wealth of information included in them is immeasurable. Nonetheless, there are many other resources specific to individuals’ needs and preference which may easily be searched—using either search engine or subject directory tools—in the Internet. In such searches, the above recommendations for successful searching will be very useful and productive.
Reference
Shelly, G. B., Gunter, G. A., Gunter, R. E. (2010). Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom. (6th ed.). Boston: Course Technology.
