As for what type of researcher I am i find that I am more of a feature person only because I am really into technology and I will often see something and then want to know if I could incorporate that into what I am doing to entice my students or audience like that feature enticed me. Overall I feel like once I have gotten over the feature I am a full knowledge seeker.
My favourite search engine to use is by far Google. I like the interface of it, and I find that it loads very quickly because it is minimalistic. On my computer at work it is defaulted to Bing and so I was using that but I find that it gets bogged down sometimes when it is loading and the websites do not come up as fast or as nicely as on Google. This could just be because I am so used to Google, or because I am a creature of habit and I have always used Google. I also enjoy the advanced search as it really narrows down your search and can often bring up great articles when you use Google Scholar. Using Google in conjunction with the U of L databases is a great way to get access to paid articles that are only available by subscription.
The InstaGrok search engine was amazing! I think that is a great way to visually show students how a topic is connected and the journalling option is wicked!! That is the issue I personally always have is keeping my information straight once I am done researching and now writing, but it does the work for you and that is one feature that has sold me!
The deep web search sites were something that was new to me and I never realized how much information was behind closed doors so to say. For the most part I believe what ever I am looking for is out there, but then you start to wonder if there isn't something that would suit just that much better for your needs!
Google Earth and Google Maps are two tools that I have used many a time to find my way around a foreign area. Last summer I went along with my boyfriend on his Rodeo circuit and I was tasked with navigating to and from all the rodeo grounds. They don't usually put out the best directions so Google maps was my saving grace. I even used Google Earth a few times to get a good look at the arena to compare sizes to prep him on the lay out. Google earth would be a great tool to use in conjunction with a geography/social studies project on a certain city or country. The students can actually explore many major cities and famous spots without having to travel and this could help students better understand the culture they are studying.
In my classroom I often encourage students to use search engines to answer questions for them selves. In a classroom where students may not be familiar with this style of finding their own answers I would go through a sort of research project to show the students at the beginning of the year how to use a search engine because I believe that it is important for students to know, even when they are not in a classroom which uses computers all the time. I think that this is also the best way that a teacher can be a content curator to teach the students how to look for, find, decipher and then analyze the content that they come across, This process will benefit the students for the rest of their lives as the internet becomes more of an every day use for answers.
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