year7tute

Probably every person who has used the internet has at some point searched for something on Google. Generally you type in a word or a group of words you will find a site that has information that you need. However most people don't use Google as effectively as they should and often will settle for the first few sites they come across rather than use some of the search modifiers that are available. This tutorial will take you through some of the simple ways that you can refine your search on Google so that you can search more specifically and effectively.

To complete this task **Follow these instructions to add this task to your wikifolio.**
 * 1) Open a new window in Internet Explorer (ctrl N) so that you can have two windows open in IE. One window will allow you to follow these instructions and the second window will allow you to work in your wikifolio.
 * 2) Log into your wikifolio.
 * 3) Go to your Subject then English page.
 * 4) On your English page create a new page called **Learning about Searching** by:
 * typing in the words Learning About Searching on the page
 * click and drag on the text
 * click on the Insert link button
 * create a new page
 * Save
 * Go to the new page called Learning About Searching.
 * Copy and paste all of the text below these instructions from the words Searching with Google to the bottom of the page.
 * use the instructions to learn more about ways to narrow your Google searches.
 * //**use colour and/or size to distinguish between your answers and number of hits you find.**//

 [|Searching with Google:]

//Let's say we want to search for information about the life of Egyptians in Ancient Egypt.// 1. Type in the word egypt and see how many hits you get. Jot down the number. How effective do you think this was?  //The more words you add to the search, the more relevant hits you will get.// 2. Try putting in the words. ancient egypt (just type in the words) How many hits did you get?

//Using quotation marks, " ", around a phrase or a set of words in a particular order will give you results that only search for that particular phrase or group of words.// 3. Try typing in "ancient egypt" and see how many hits did you get.?

//What if you specifically want to find information about how the pyramids were built in Ancient Egypt?// 4. Type in "how were the pyramids built" (don't forget to use the quotation marks) Write down the number of hits. What do the first few sites tell you?

//But this still does not necessarily get you the links that you need so lets see if we can narrow the search even more.// //Lets say that we want to find sites that are easier to read and have information that isn't too complicated. //

5. Type in the words **"ancient egypt" kids.** How many hits do you get? You will see that you actually get more hits than the last search. Why do you think that is? What do you notice about the types of sites that now appear? Are they more suitable for students? How do you know?

//Now think about something specific that you need to search for.// 5. Try typing in up to 10 words that are related to the topic. e.g egypt pyramids building slaves ancient How does that change the search results?

Write a paragraph about what you have discovered so far about Google Searching. What have you learnt so far? How will this change the way you search using Google? Be specific about the strategies you will use.
 * Finally:**