With a simple keyboard and Internet access, students and teachers can find the answers to any questions they have using search engines. Some term paper writers, however, may not realize that the ever-popular Google isn’t always the right resource, even when it is used properly.

Kelly Maher, mathematics and technology teacher and technology coordinator at Partick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy near New Orleans offers teachers advice on teaching students “the right way to Google” in an article on eschoolnews.com.

“Print resources undoubtedly still have a place at the table, but it would be futile to deny that the ability to locate and evaluate online sources is an equally valuable skill,” Maher said. “Do your students know how to find and refine effective search terms? Do they know how to filter results using advanced search options? To that end, Google’s Search Education site offers a plethora of beginner, intermediate, and advanced search lesson plans related to picking the right terms, understanding results, narrowing a search, searching for evidence for research tasks, and evaluating the credibility of sources.”

In addition to using Google’s Search Education, “Google also offers a free Massive Open Online Course [MOOC] titled: ‘Power Searching with Google,” the article said.

“If you have limited time, you may find the Power Searching Quick Reference useful, and the explainer video emporium Common Craft also offers a short video on web search strategies, which students might find easy to digest,” she said.

Afterwards, Maher said, "test your student’s search skills, [or your own], with a Google a Day, a web puzzle that poses a question answerable via some targeted Googling."

"The terms and keywords are up to you, but, as the site notes, there’s only right answer," she said. "If you don’t find these challenges difficult enough, try Google’s Advanced Power Searching Course, where you will find complex search challenges and solve them along with others from around the globe."

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Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor