Teaching Kids To Be Savvy Researchers
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - When you want to look up something, the natural inclination is go to the web, click Google, type in a word and assume that the information is accurate.
Finding flawed material on students’ work, has prompted more teachers to teach online research skills according to an article in Education Week. In fact, the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project found that 80% of teachers are teaching kids how to assess the reliability of online information.
Start by using precise words, not Kennedy, but John F. Kennedy, finding the right database or search engine and accessing the invisible web, databases for which schools and libraries pay.
Searchasaurus, Grolier Online, Google Scholar, Google Books are for young users. One teacher suggested typing in the word ‘kid’ after google for results. Another suggests students should ask themselves who wrote the material, what’s its perspective, is it commercial?