Year 6

Tips and Tricks to have better Online Research

With the current situation where students are required to study at home, it’s becoming inevitable that students will have to conduct online research to support their assignments. However, it is very easy for students to get distracted when they are doing online research by more exciting things the internet has to offer, such as social media, online games, etc. In this situation, it’s up to us as parents to ensure that our children will be able to do their online research effectively and efficiently. Below are some tips and tricks that we, as parents, may be able to use to support our children better.

First, before your children begin their research, it would help to have a list of websites that, in your opinion, will enable your child to acquire the information needed. Some of the questions to ask yourself when trying to identify the websites could be, “Is the website reliable and up to date?”, “Is the author properly identified, and are sources properly cited?”, “Are there any commercials on the website? If so, what kind of commercials do they usually show?” etc. The ending of the website address can also give you a hint as to whether the website is reliable or not. A website address that ends with .gov, .org and .edu is usually a good indicator that the website is trustworthy. However, please allocate some time to check whether the website is age-appropriate or not. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend you use wikipedia.org as a source for information. Anyone can edit the content in Wikipedia; therefore, the information provided loses some of its credibility.

Second, a good search engine will go a long way in making our online research effective and efficient. Some well-established search engines will enable you to get the information you need accessible, such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo for upper Primary kids, or search engines like Kiddle or Kidrex for lower Primary kids. To ensure we will get the results that we want when we do online research, choosing the right keyword is also important. Usually, the topic of the research will provide good keywords for the research. Also, do not be afraid to alternate your searches by using different keywords and/or phrases that relate to the topic. Also, many search engines are equipped with an advanced search feature; properly utilising this feature will help you to get the information you need.

Thirdly, it is beneficial to our research when we can maintain our focus and not get sidetracked. One way to do this is to log out from all websites that can be a distraction to your children, such as social media sites or email accounts. Turning off your children’s phones can also help them to stay focused on their research. Also, allowing your children to have a 5 - 10-minute break every hour or so will do wonders to maintain their focus during online research. Make sure to ask your children to mark the part where they currently are before sending them to break and remind them to do some stretching while they are on break.

Hopefully, these tips and tricks will enable you as a parent to provide better support to your children every time they conduct online research. Also, please remind your children to appropriately record all the sources/websites they use for information as part of our practice in implementing academic honesty and maintaining useful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) practices.