Google Custom Search

In my previous post I blathered on about how I feel children (at some age) need to learn how to search Google (or whatever is the predominant search tool) in all of its massiveness. Google has created a tool that may provide a nice bridge for instructors that are trying to do just that. A good teacher builds bridges for children from the content they know to the content they don't. Google allows us to do that. They allow users to build custom search engines. http://www.google.com/coop/cse/ With the custom search engine a teacher could pre-search for children finding 10, 20, 30 or even more sites that they think are useful and/or safe for children. The teacher doesn't create a list of sites that they child may use like the old link page on our websites. Rather the student still uses Google to do their searching but the search is limited to the data contained on just those predefined websites. Pretty cool use of their technology and bravo for Google on making another tool available to its users for FREE.

Web Filters

Our school district connects to the Internet through a filter. I do not have a problem with some filtering of the web as long as an adult can override a block for themselves or child when it becomes necessary because although today's filters are pretty good they aren't fool proof. That means some sites that should be blocked will be accessible and other sites that are safe for children won't be blocked.

Some schools are starting to purchase products which are basically a much smaller subset of the internet....that means all the sites have been screened and approved by someone "responsible" for the safety of children. So instead of having the opportunity to search Google and learn about limiting searches to find effective information the children are required to do as much thinking during the search process. I totally understand that approach....but also believe that at some point the children need to learn this skill of finding the right information for themselves and effectively become their own filter....not just in terms of appropriate content but the also the most meaningful content. What age this is I am not sure. Certainly by the age of 9 or 10 children need to know how to search without the "training wheels". I would credit the author of the below post if I knew who it was but I don't. It sums up how I feel about searching with "training wheels".

Filter a website, and you protect a student for a day. Educate students about online safety in a real world environment, and you protect your child for a lifetime.