SearchQuest: A WebQuest About Search Tools

Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

Web pages number in the billions! Finding exactly what you are looking for is a gamble, unless, of course, you know the tricks to fix the odds in your favor. One important trick is becoming familiar with the variety of search tools and using each one strategically. Each of the search tools has its own special way of doing things and its own language, or syntax. Each offers different special features. Today you will be responsible for making sure our class develops a fully stocked toolkit of search choices. 

The Task

A major contest, The Searchies, is underway to determine the best search tools. Your group will become expert in one search tool and demonstrate it for the group by creating a commercial "selling" its best features. After all, these tools are products. They are in competition with each other for the attention of information consumers. Following all the "commercial" presentations, the class will rank the search tools and award them specific honors, or Searchie Awards.

Resources

You will be exploring one of the following search tools. Note that these are not all "search engines."

If you need help the vocabulary of Web searching, please consult our glossary

The Process

Your group of 3 or 4 students will develop a commercial for the search tool you are assigned. As you examine the search tool, record any relevant information in your organizer. You may wish to divide your group into specialties to cover ground more efficiently. (result list, search tips, special services) Please use the glossary if you are unfamiliar with any terms.

1. Visit the search tool site and carefully examine the features on its front page;
2. Determine what type of search tool you are working with. Is it a subject directory, search engine or meta-search engine, searching utility?
3. Visit the help or tips or about page. What are the "secrets" of the search tool?
4. Carefully examine and evaluate the search tool so that you know its best and worst features;
5. Is there a place for expert searchers? What special features does it offer?
6. Are there any other special features? (image searching? translation? subject trees?)
7. How are results organized and displayed? Are there summaries? Annotations? Keywords?
8. Are the first two or three pages of results highly relevant?
9. Try at least two searches to "road test" your search tool.

After the "road test" create a commercial!

• Use your organizer to help you design a 2-minute commercial to sell your search tool to the group. Decide how you will present. Remember to use advertising language. Remember to include those slightly negative features consumers need to know, as "small print," at the end of your presentation. Remember also your presentation must address: What are the five major selling points for this search tool?
• Present your commercial to the group. To be effective, you should actually demonstrate the search tool's features by giving the class an actual tour with examples.
• Following the presentations, the class will rank and decide on awards for the search tools using the Award Organizer.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated on your group work, your completed organizer, and the effectiveness of your commercial. The criteria for evaluation of your work is listed on the SearchQuest rubric.

Conclusion

Try to remember the tools we evaluated in this unit and remember why some of them won Searchies. Searching is a skill you will be using throughout your lifetime. You will find that you will want to use a variety of tools as you search and that you may use each for different types of searches.