The last time I worked as a substitute teacher, filling in for the school librarian and computer teacher, I had the seventh graders in the computer room to work on a history project. Their assignment was to find 5 interesting facts about two or three different signers of the Declaration of Independence.
I didn't think that this was going to be a very difficult job, though some of the signers are definitely more obscure than others. People who were assigned Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson had no problem finding more information than they needed.
I found, though, that while the kids knew how to go to Google, they didn't know how to refine their search when they got there. As I walked around the room answering questions and making sure everyone stayed on task, I saw that many of the students were conducting their research by typing into the search box:
5 interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson
That's not the most efficient way to go about doing research. When I suggested that they try searching:
Thomas Jefferson biography
they found a lot more information that was useful--and usable.
An informal survey of my younger two children revealed that both of them use search engines in the same way that their schoolmates do. While I'm not at all against using the Internet as a research tool, I firmly believe that kids who are using the Internet need instruction and guidance on how to search efficiently and effectively.
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