Web Search Engines, Mine and Prior Experiences



Report 1: Generational Curriculum and Cyberspace
Report 2: Developmental Patterns for Learning the Internet
Back to Report 3: What are Search Engines?
Report 4: Getting hold of Cyber-psychology
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Web Search Engines to Me

I'm sure almost all of you have gone to the library and used the computer terminals to find a certain book or books relating to a certain subject. Search engines seem to serve the same function. My definition of a search engine would be that of an index. When a certain word or words are typed in the space provided, the search engine will find all material with that certain word or words and give you a list of them.

But just like the terminals at the library, this process can sometimes be fustrating. The list of references the search engine digs up for you may not all be useful. Some, in fact, may only contain your specified word in the title and no where else on the page itself.

My Experience

I only use search engines when I'm looking for material related to a specific topic. In the past, I used it to find pictures of my favorite Sanrio character, Pochacco. I also used in to find material to put into my reports for this particular class. Other than that, I hardly, myself, use search engines.

Search engines are actually not as complicated as it may sound. I feel that it's like using the terminals at the library to locate material that you need. At times, I may not find exactly what I'm looking for. It may be either I'm searching the wrong word or there really is nothing out there on my subject, which is rarely the case.

I usually just type in one word and the search engine will search the net for me. But in most cases, a list of like 6,000 will appear. I usually then type in another word (along with the first word) and search again.

I think the main thing to remember when working with search engines is to have at least a couple of index words in mind to search. The material or information you are looking for may be indexed under a different word or words other than that you have in mind. Do some exploring in other related word topics.

Report 1: Generational Curriculum and Cyberspace
Report 2: Developmental Patterns for Learning the Internet
Back to Report 3: What are Search Engines?
Report 4: Getting hold of Cyber-psychology
Instructor's Homepage
Back to Home Page