Thing 8: Research and Inquiry

For this post, I am supposed to choose 1 research tool to discuss. I like two of the tools so much, that I am going to talk about both of them.

First, I would like to talk about the search engine NetTrekker, which is a paid subscription. I love NetTrekker and have used it for years. It is a search engine that uses websites that have been reviewed by educators and students. Teachers can save their custom search list for students to use. NetTrekker has many tools for students and teachers to utilize. These tools include specific resources for 21st Century Skills, ELL (English Language Learners), references, timeline feature, image search, and famous person search. Students can also use the Read Aloud and Dictionary features, which are fantastic features for struggling students.

Users can choose one of 3 levels for content level searching: elementary, middle, and high school levels. They can also refine their searches using the following search parameters: multimedia, learning aids, readability levels, language, and featured content. Users can also sort their search results by using the following parameters: a-z, z-a, readability level, rating, and student or teacher recommendations.

I really like using NetTrekker for its many tools and features. I constantly make lists and share them with my teachers to use during the year focusing on their current curriculum.

Secondly, I would like to talk about Google Custom Search. This is a feature of Google Docs. Teachers can make a "hot list" of websites for students to use during research projects. Unlike a normal "hot list", which is a long list of websites for students to choose from, the list is hidden. Students open the link and see a pseudo Google search screen. This search screen only searches the websites that are in the "hot list" the teacher created. Students type in their topic and Google searches through all of the websites in the list and produces a list of websites that meet their search term. Here is a Google Custom Search that I created on the American Industrial Revolution https://www.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=009556751981641859010:4amgdsdlzk0