Effective Google Search For Middle School Students: A Self-Instructional Web-Based Module To Teach Internet Searching Skills

Abstract

Searching on the Internet is a common daily task for most students. Students often spend time searching for personal information or doing research for class assignments with little guidance on how to effectively search on the Internet. Younger middle school students frequently search by means of trial and error. They seldom reflect on why certain search queries yield a positive result while others do not. This can lead to wasted time and frustration (Henry, 2005). The objective of this web-based instructional module is to provide an interactive Internet search tutorial with practice problems and immediate feedback to teach students how to improve their Internet search skills. Results from the pretest, posttest, qualitative comments, and learning module evaluation survey indicate that the instructional module helped students improve their Internet search skills, and the interactive components were effective in promoting student engagement. Students appreciated learning about how Google search works.