1. This is an example of "a reflection which discusses your search strategy"

I decided to choose working in a one-computer classroom as my second internet search. Like the previous search, I used Google’s search engine and tried many different strings before I found a group of websites that I was happy with. First, I entered “working in a one-computer classroom” (using parenthesis so that my search would return sites containing the entire phrase) and received only 10 hits. While I was happy that the number of hits was not overwhelming, the websites provided did not include information that I was looking for. Instead, the sites were mostly examples of syllabi for university level courses. Next, I changed my search to “one-computer classroom” +k12 and received 3,360 hits. I decided to refine my search to lessen the amount of hits I was receiving and added +lessons -syllabus to the previous string. This still resulted in a large number of hits (1,230), so I refined my search even further by entering “one-computer classroom” +k12 +lessons +ideas –syllabus +20 students in the Google search box. Although this search resulted in 380 hits, I was very pleased with the websites that were included and kept this search because it provided me with a great deal of valuable and applicable information.

 

Another example of "a reflection which discusses your search strategy"

I wanted to search for lesson plans that had been developed to meet California standards regarding multi-cultural issues. First, I typed in “multicultural issues” using the Google search engine. I received 599,000 hits. To narrow the search down to something closer to what we’re studying, I added “+k12” to the string. The new search resulted in 661 hits. I further narrowed the search by adding “+California” to the string. Now I was down to 159 websites to choose from and the results were varied. Some were syllabi for courses and others were magazines or projects. I changed “+California” to “+California standards.” Now I have about 100 sites that will help me. This was still too many. I added quotes around California standards. This gave me 53 very helpful sites that will help me see examples and ideas of what other teachers have done in their lesson plans using multicultural issues that meet California standards. I redid the whole search using “lesson plan” +”California standards” +k12 and got initially better results. One of the top links was http://marcopolo.k12.ca.us/index.php. In this site, there were many lesson plans available to borrow.

2. This is an example of "a reflection which discusses your search strategy"

For assignment #5, I decided to look for websites pertaining to science projects on frogs that kids could do. I was particularly interested in frog dissections. I clicked on the Netscape icon. When the Search prompt came up, I then indicated Yahoo.com. Once on this search engine, I clicked on the blank search line. I typed, "science experiments" frogs. It took a little while, but then about 200 headings for websites offering frog science appeared. Looking at the first few, I realized that they were for high school and above so I went back and adjusted my search. In the box I put "science experiments" frogs +k12. I got better results with that. I tried one more search putting in the words "science experiments" "frog dissection" and got much more interactive sights. On that lead I put in "science experiments frog dissection interactive" and got what I wanted. I ended up at http://www.froguts.com a sight where kids can actually dissect a frog online, with real images.

 

3. This is another example of "a reflection which discusses your search strategy"

Assignment #5: Searching for Unit Resources I am planning a unit on Animals for this Spring. The overall unit is one that I already teach about the five classes of vertebrates and their basic characteristics. For this class I am adding the newsletter, Kid Pix multimedia presentation, and web quest. So, I looked on line for information about reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, and fish.

I started with Google. First I typed in

reptiles +“k12 projects”

and got back one match. The match was called Best Sites in Science, but the URL could not be found on my server. Next I typed in a search for


mammals +“k12 projects”

and no matches were found. I tried a search for reptiles, but found 713,000 matches. Then I read my notes that said “try not to use one word for a search.” So then I tried


animals +“k12 projects”


and found 13 matches. Of these matches, two that seemed useful could not be found. Three other sites looked very useful. One of them was called Fisher Scotties Starting Points, which listed other links about animals such as: Frogland (Allaboutfrogs.org); Electronic Zoo (netvet.wustl.edu/e-zoo.htm), which in turn led to even more specific links; and National Geographic for kids, which was not able to be found.

The second link that looked useful was called Educational Resources. It was a list of a bunch of sites and links for lesson plans by subject area, Scholastic Online activities, and Discovery Channel online.

The third useful link was called Recommended Links and contained a link to Discovery School Clipart Gallery (school.discovery.com/clipart/index.html).

This was a good assignment to do because it motivated me to keep checking for information and goodies to use in my unit. I need to find out more about what the animal classes typically eat. I also need to know more about animal teeth – what the shapes are and what they are used for. I am already getting ideas about what words to use in my search.

4. This is another example of "a reflection which discusses your search strategy"

To begin, I decided to look into California geography as a possible unit. I started by going to Google and typed in California geography. This led me to 413,000 web sites. I think I got lucky on my first try because I found an amazing web site with tons of information about California. It had a printable map and links to the US census where I could get a lot more information. Next, I typed in “California geography” and was led to 1,400 sites. I found some good sites but most of them were not really geared towards kids. I then typed “California geography” +kids. Here I found 127 sites and another great one which had interesting facts about California including a timeline, explorers, hunters and gathers, the Gold Rush, etc… This site was great for history (possibly an introduction to my unit) but I wanted a more activity-based site. I typed in “California geography” +kids +activities where I found 52 sites that had worksheets, quizzes and other fun things for kids to do. I wanted to integrate technology into my unit so I started looking for virtual tours. At first it seemed pointless. I typed in multiple combinations of “California geography” +kids +activities +virtual tours (“California geography” +kids +virtual tours; “California geography +virtual tour” +kids; “California geography virtual tour” +kids; “virtual tour California geography”). It wasn’t until I typed “virtual tour of California geography” that I found some web sites that dealt with missions and California faults. These weren’t kid friendly so I typed “virtual tour of California geography” +kids and found 11 useful web sites.