Learning to (re)search the cool way !
11th January 2014
4.00 P.M IST
Today,I would like to share something which amuses me a lot .It is regarding our children's obsession with google or any other search engine for that matter.I think it's definitely for all of us- parents and teachers alike - ' a pain in the neck' and 'a bane' too (although we too,often reap the benefits of using it).
The reason for my amusement is -the moment any project work requiring research/finding out things is given as a task, the very volume of information spewed out by any search engine has our so called tech savvy,reliant only on technology children lose patience and decide copying from somebody a better way to go.Thus defying the very purpose of giving such work .
Well, I would like to join hands with all educators(parents and teachers) and re,re.....iterate, that yes, we too can 'google it' as you call it but 'can you children - all ages' collect,sift ,select the relevant information and present it in a concise manner as required in minimum possible time?
Jokes apart, rather in this case I think the joke is on us, as we have not been able to convey correctly that technology is just a 'tool' requiring mastery of usage to attain our goal,which is, developing comprehension and research skills in this case and not a solution in itself.
I can understand the dilemma faced by parents regarding, how to initiate a child into research and can we ensure safe browsing?(forgive me for addressing only mothers in my previous posts- I am all for both parents playing an equal role).
Here is one of the solutions to SAFE SEARCHING - www.kidrex.org is one google powered kid safe search engine which can be used.
Regarding research, let's see, first of all we want the child to be able go through certain amount of information and shortlist the relevant facts and then go through the process again and again till the desired is reached.The process involves searching and smart searching too! Since we are talking here of technology so I will stick strictly to internet research ,though surprisingly for our kids we have all researched prior to the google age too!
Well, there are many ways to go about it (and let's leave the technical ones for more formal settings).You can try something what I have tried and it has worked for me.One of the initiation activities is something called a net treasure hunt /a net scavenger hunt. I have given below a link to one such web page which provides scavenger hunts.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/Internet-Scavenger-Hunt/Makar-Sankranti.shtml
Tomorrow and day after being the days the festivals of Lohri and Makar Sankranti are celebrated in
India ,the above activity page I have chosen is about Makar Sankranti.
Will be back with my next post regarding some of the tips on smart searching that I have compiled. Happy Lohri and Makar Sankranti to all.
4.00 P.M IST
Today,I would like to share something which amuses me a lot .It is regarding our children's obsession with google or any other search engine for that matter.I think it's definitely for all of us- parents and teachers alike - ' a pain in the neck' and 'a bane' too (although we too,often reap the benefits of using it).
The reason for my amusement is -the moment any project work requiring research/finding out things is given as a task, the very volume of information spewed out by any search engine has our so called tech savvy,reliant only on technology children lose patience and decide copying from somebody a better way to go.Thus defying the very purpose of giving such work .
Well, I would like to join hands with all educators(parents and teachers) and re,re.....iterate, that yes, we too can 'google it' as you call it but 'can you children - all ages' collect,sift ,select the relevant information and present it in a concise manner as required in minimum possible time?
Jokes apart, rather in this case I think the joke is on us, as we have not been able to convey correctly that technology is just a 'tool' requiring mastery of usage to attain our goal,which is, developing comprehension and research skills in this case and not a solution in itself.
I can understand the dilemma faced by parents regarding, how to initiate a child into research and can we ensure safe browsing?(forgive me for addressing only mothers in my previous posts- I am all for both parents playing an equal role).
Here is one of the solutions to SAFE SEARCHING - www.kidrex.org is one google powered kid safe search engine which can be used.
Regarding research, let's see, first of all we want the child to be able go through certain amount of information and shortlist the relevant facts and then go through the process again and again till the desired is reached.The process involves searching and smart searching too! Since we are talking here of technology so I will stick strictly to internet research ,though surprisingly for our kids we have all researched prior to the google age too!
Well, there are many ways to go about it (and let's leave the technical ones for more formal settings).You can try something what I have tried and it has worked for me.One of the initiation activities is something called a net treasure hunt /a net scavenger hunt. I have given below a link to one such web page which provides scavenger hunts.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/Internet-Scavenger-Hunt/Makar-Sankranti.shtml
Tomorrow and day after being the days the festivals of Lohri and Makar Sankranti are celebrated in
India ,the above activity page I have chosen is about Makar Sankranti.
Note: The activity mentioned is just an example .The author takes no responsibility regarding the accuracy of facts.
Will be back with my next post regarding some of the tips on smart searching that I have compiled. Happy Lohri and Makar Sankranti to all.
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