Search Engines: Finding What You Need?

In this poll, I asked visitors which search engine they use first to find information on the Internet, and it wasn't surprising to see that Google came in first. This has been due, in part, to Google's simple design and efficiency. However, after showing many students and teachers other search engines with specialized features, they are surprised to discover that these engines often give better focused results that are not determined by link-popularity alone. In fact, websites like vivisimo.com group search results by clusters to help users brainstorm new ideas, and www.ask.com presents information of all types in your search results. Try searching something like "China" in both of these search engines and see what results you get. Share your ideas on the topic. Students and teachers can benefit from learning how to search the Internet more effectively.

Randall