Google+Custom+Search+Engine

=[|Google Custom Search Engine] = A custom search engine allows you to chose the sites that are searched and/or avoided in a search query.

Anecdotal Account: "I just created my very own search engine and have used it several times and even created several more. This is a great tool to use for students when having them research a certain topic. I even created one for the University of Florida so that I could search the UF sights quickly and easily. It might even be a fun activity for students to learn about good websites if you had them create their own search engine!"

Resources:
[|Getting Started] [|Google Custom Search Engine for Educators] [|Google Custom Search Engine Starter Guide] [|Directory of Custom Search Engines] Google Custom Search Blog: http://googlecustomsearch.blogspot.com/2009/03/google-services-for-websites-includes.html (S. Newman) Guide to Custom Search Engine: http://www.customsearchguide.com/ (S. Newman) [|Create Google Search Engine YouTube Video] (BE 11/1/09)

=SWOT Analysis =

Strengths

 * Free
 * Easy to use
 * Ad-free for educators
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Allows the teacher to help students navigate chosen sites
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Makes searching for information easy for students
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Allows teachers to choose to only include the entered sites or give priority to the the entered sites
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">No long URLs to for students to type in
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Search engines can be public or private
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Able to include specific pages, domains, or key words
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Teachers can help their students focus on relevant points of a unit by creating a customized search engine keeping them on target.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Can be used for a variety of purposes, including calculation, conversion tool, and dictionary
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Can create search engines for the class and they are not surfing the web
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Enhance learning with technology; allow users to interact with direct customization of web tools and provide a means to share and collaborate ideas across the web (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The essence of technology and enhancing student learning begins with the study and interaction of the tools that facilitate information on the web, the greater access and faster students reach information, the more likely they will continue the inevitable search for knowledge with various links and resources. (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The ability to design a customized engine offers both students and teachers a more direct route to information based on subject matter useful in their discipline of study within the realm of education and technology. (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Teachers can build on search engines started by other educators. (LM 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Allows students to search safe sites in some controversial issues, because the teacher has set up the sites that will be searched. (R. Ellinger)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Has a very informative help page which walks you through totally customizing your search engine including getting started, refining your search engine Specifications, changing your ranking results and making money using your CSE, just to name a few. (R. Ellinger)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Allows you to choose credible sites
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You can customize the page and make it creative when your users access it.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You can update it and add more sites as you come across them

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Weaknesses

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Must have a Google account
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Takes time to set-up
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sometimes difficult to think of all possible “search words” to include in the customized search.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Creators are limited to the amount of “search words” they are allowed to include in the customized search engine.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Teachers must take the time to review all websites to be included in the customized search engine in order to make sure they are appropriate for students.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Some websites added to the search might be appropriate but still blocked by school districts (S. Newman)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Must make sure sites are safe for students
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Learning to block adult content and malaware requires another tutorial on search topics (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Privacy and copyright issues may be an important factor for sharing articles on the engine and other electronic intellectual property (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">No real security from online predators (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The search engine can provide broad information

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Opportunities

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Share search engines and links between classrooms, schools, and online communities
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Search engines can be modified by a single user or a community of users
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Can be used to add a search feature to any website, for example classroom blogs, websites, and wikis
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Can be used to exclude certain sites as well, this would be particularly useful for older students where you do not want to limit their search to a set of predefined sites
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Provides students with a safe opportunity to practice searching for information regarding a particular topic.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Teachers learn about these websites by reviewing them before adding them to the search engine (S. Newman)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Search engines are easier to use for students with special needs (S. Newman)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Children can use after you have set up sites
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students decide which search engine to use
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Develop a scavenger hunt teaching literacy to students by learning words with digital imagery in a Google search engine (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use a custom search engine with students showing links to other Google tools and sites like Netvibes, blogger and twitter to get students initiated about educational networking and information gathering (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This can be a means of an initial search; students search the sites available for content, then move outside of the custom search engine to the whole internet to check accurancy of information. This allows the first search to be sure to bring back correct information and then students can check other sources for secondary information. (R. Ellinger)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Threats

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">May give students a false sense of searching for information on the internet
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Teachers need to make sure they are only including valid websites on their search engine. In order to do this they must know about using REAL to check for reliable websites: Read the URL, Examine the content of the website, Ask about the author or owner, and Look at the links.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students need to learn about Alan November's REAL process. If they use a customized Google search engine then they might not be able to practice the four steps in the REAL process.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Custom search engines require upkeep and maintenance to remain free of broken and outdated links by the search engine creator (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Security to the websites may be an issue if the search engine does not account for all safety parameters (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Privacy and other valuable information may be traced on any search engine or typed words (BE 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">If search engines are too narrow, they may reflect a biased view of the topic. (LM 11/1/09)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the same way that this can provide students with a sense of security when checking for reliable information, it can also give them a false sense of security. Searching in a custom search engine avoids all of the negative things "out there". Students need to be taught along with this tool, how to search carefully with personal safety and for correct content. (R. Ellinger)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Ideas for the Classroom

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Create custom search engines for different units
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students can create their own search engines to share
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students are able to gather information regarding particular topics and/or units and organize this information in a creative way that meets their specific needs.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Differentiated Instruction--teachers can create search engines for each individual students based on their needs
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students create a search engine containing their 10 favorite websites in an educational topic, such as evolution, and discuss the theories of Darwin and how we continue to evolve today in a short reflective essay (BE 11/1/09)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Examples of Uses in the Classroom

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|A 70-site custom search engine for high school chemistry students]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|A search engine for kindergartners learning about our Solar System]:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A custom search engine for 5th grade teachers and students on [|puberty]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Social Sciences Search Engine for Secondary Students:]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Need Help Finding Websites for Your Search Engine?
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">To help you create a good search engine you can use [|AltaVista] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This web page makes finding valid websites easier. For instance, if a teacher was creating a search engine about the moon they could search for a particular host like .gov or .nasa // In order to do this type in Host: .gov " the moon" or Host: .nasa "the moon"