See your search differently
Google has given educators a number of tools for use in the classroom, but their main purpose is still to find information through their search engine. They can find information for us in seconds, but so many times that information is spread across so many different sites that deciphering it becomes the real challenge. Google Squared (http://squared.google.com) is an attempt to make those search results a little more usable. When doing a search in Google Squared, the search term pulls specific information that it sees as relevant and puts it into a grid with categories to organize the information. Here is an example of one I did on British poets.
If you visit the site, you’ll see that the search has pulled the name, picture, description, date of birth, etc. into a grid allowing students to compare the poets in a meaningful way without have to visit site after site. They can then use their critical thinking skills to decide what information is important and what is not. They can even change the categories, share their “squares” or export them to a separate spreadsheet program. Finally, these “squares” can be saved as a webpage, exported to a spreadsheet program or simply save it for future use. It uses Google’s searching techniques, but organizes the information differently. We still need to help students learn how to search for relevant information, but the layout of Google Squared lets students sort that information in a different, and possibly more meaningful, way.
Google Squared
British Poets Save Square
Filmmakers Square
Cross posted on Northeast Middle School Friday Flyer

