Just the Facts
Look Under the Hood.
You do internet searches all the time, but do you know how the search engine finds the results you see?
Start with Keywords. Try Advanced Search. Add Boolean Operators and Filters.
Get What You Give.
Let’s look at a simple search written from two points of view. What implications does this have for classroom research? While a couple of results appear in both, the others are very different. Results are skewed to the question.
Surely Students Shouldn't Use Wikipedia!
Instead of looking at Wikipedia as evil, why not show students how to use it to help their research planning? Wikipedia articles changes over time. Both news agencies and Wikipedia can have errors, but Wikipedia also includes subtopics and references that can help students dig deeper. Both resources were found using the keywords “Shark attack”. While the Australian Geographic article is helpful, the Wikipedia articles includes references and resources to help a student researcher delve even deeper into the topic.
There's More to Data Than Numbers.
What do we know by looking at data visualization charts?
News Literacy Project - Charts and graphs are useful tools for communicating complex information. They allow consumers to see — rather than read or calculate — differences and trends. Charts and graphs provide readers the ability to visually consume information, answer their own questions and draw novel conclusions. Yet, these types of data visualizations are often designed to communicate the purpose of the creator. Those creators make decisions while designing charts and graphs to potentially emphasize characteristics of the data that lead users to draw specific conclusions.
Information is Beautiful is dedicated to making sense of the world with graphics & data-visuals. They set out to explain, distill and clarify. All of their visualizations are based on facts and data: constantly updated, revised and revisioned.
computational knowledge engines
Wolfram Alpha* is a computational knowledge engine. Computational Knowledge engines are not like Google searches, since they do not catalog the world's information. Instead, they are used to find data, or computations. Alpha relies on licensed databases and content entered, tagged and cataloged by Wolfram Research employees to ensure accuracy.
*Wolfram Alpha used to be free. Now, parts of it are paid. Bummer! But still a valuable source.