Advocate for smart searching (or how I learned to stop worrying and love Google)

Google has won; it's not going away. Sometimes it is an appropriate K-12 research tool, but most of the time it is not.

K-12 students have grown up with Google. It's not only where they go, but what they do. Most experienced Google searchers can find information, but many lack the ability to evaluate the results of searches, identify what is important, and discard what is not.

Our job is to show how the DLC Library databases can save students and teachers time and provide better answers to their information problems.

What Works

Our English department requires students to cite at least three different types of sources in their assignments: print, databases, websites, or magazine articles. Otherwise, students will use nothing but Google.

— Eileen Ray, Toppenish High School

Google is everywhere in our school. Teachers are using it all the time and so are students. One strategy I've found useful with students is to give them concrete reasons why Google isn't always the best option, such as it takes longer to find the really good resources, and it isn't an acceptable search strategy in college.

— Rhonda Christian, Jenkins High School

Google is easy, but searching the DLC databases is just as easy and sometimes it's faster. I don't necessarily discourage students from using Google, but I do show them the alternatives. Students will quickly realize they are getting a more concentrated collection of high-quality results by using the DLC databases.

— Debbie Arthur, West Seattle High School

Working together with several teachers at my school, we developed a website evaluation form that students are required to fill out if they use open web resources in a report. No one likes filling out forms, so this has actually been a very successful technique for driving students to more appropriate database resources.

— Kathy Kugler, Foster High School

I show students and staff fraud websites like www.martinlutherking.org. It looks like a quality resource about Martin Luther King, but a closer look reveals it was built by the KKK. This is a powerful reminder of the kind of resources students will find by simply searching Google.

— Paul Christensen, North Kitsap High School

I like the DLC's new search tool. It gives students and teachers a simple 'Google-like' search box but only returns results from DLC Library resources. It has been very popular with my students.

— Nancy Kuta, Juanita High School

Articles & Resources

"SIRS vs. Google"
(Word Document)

"Once More with Feeling: What Does Information Literacy Look Like in the Google World?"
Stephen Abram. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. Medford: May/Jun 2005.Vol.12, Iss. 3; pg. 18, 3 pgs (Proquest)

"Internet Users Overly Confident, but Naïve"
Kathy Ishizuka. School Library Journal. New York: Mar 2005.Vol.51, Iss. 3; pg. 19 (Proquest)

"Eliminate 'Wobbly' Research with the Information Resource Tripod"
Ken Vesey. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Feb 2005. Vol.32, Iss. 3, pg. 35, 3 pgs (Proquest)