Search Tools

While a Google search will likely find the surface web resources you're looking for, sometimes you want to narrow it down - especially for younger students - or drill deeper into portals and databases - especially for older students
Information Searches
  • Sweet Search -  The Librarian of the internet.   Searches only 35,000 Web sites that have been evaluated and approved by a staff of Internet research experts at Dulcinea Media, and its librarian and teacher consultants.
  • Wolfram Alpha  -  A search tool that computes your results.  Simply amazing!  give it a try. 
  • Factbites  -What do you get if you cross a search engine with an encyclopedia.
  • National Constitution - search for keywords in the text of the Constitution and the in-depth explanations we've linked to it.
  • InfoTrack Junior & InfoTrack HS Student - titles, cross searchable with E-Books, this periodical database is designed for students in junior high and middle school or HS respectively with access to a variety of indexed and full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books for information on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more.
  • The Free Library - Searches articles, publications and books for research.  Provides citation references that can be cut and pasted into your reference page
  • Mashpedia -  Great tool for searching Current Event resourses.  access to the freshest online content about almost any topic. 

Database Searches
  • Online Educational Database - This site has a large list of search engines, portals and databases sorted by categories that will help search beyond a surface Google search of the internet, giving results from the invisible internet.
  • Info Track - Use GalePowerSearch to search through selected databases and articles.
  • Lincoln County Library - Links to databases available through our county library.
  • MyMontanaLibrary Mt.gov - Montana library site with links to several resources and databases.  Pick a library and search their catalog.


Media Searches
(remember...free does not mean you shouldn't give credit.  Always attribute work to the creators, even if you edit the original)
  • Creative Commons - Search from several main search engines for information/media that can be used with attribution only copyright.
  • Advanced Google Search - select images that are licensed for re-use, by selecting "advance search" and filtering your searches.
  • Copyright Friendly - A wiki list of resources for Copyright-Friendly and Copyleft Images and Sound (Mostly!) for Use in Media Projects and Web Pages, Blogs, Wikis, etc.

Sound/Music
  • FindSounds - Search for sound effects that can be freely downloaded.
  • FreePlay Music - Indie Artists, and sound effects.
  • PodSafe Audio - Music for multimedia projects

Images
Miscellaneous Searches


Citation Resources 

When referencing your resources, what should it look like?  Check these sited below for some help.

EasyBib  shows students where they can find the different pieces of information they need for their bibliography, not simply what they need. examples pointing out where a student can find the different things they need for their bibliography.  PLUS will import to your Google Docs
 
Son of a Citation Machine
 
Open University How to reference sources some straight forward examples with required information for different types of sources.

Copyright & Fair Use

Code of best practice - Understanding issue of copyright, fair-use and education

A Teacher guide to Fair Use - Provides a simplified chart describing appropriate fair-use of different media.
Some Basic Search Engines


Beyond the Basics of a Google Search
Don't just use the basic Google.com search page.  Dig deeper for the more relevant, interesting article, papers, books and more.
  • Google Scholar - a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature
  • Google News- a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together
  • Google Books- Search the full text of books. Find the perfect book for your purposes and discover new ones that interest you. Even write your own review for the world to see.

Custom Search

Here are a couple examples of some custom searches.  One  for elementary students looking for biography info.  It directs students to specific sites.  The other helps student find "copyleft" resources for use in media presentations.

Try creating your own Custom Search Engine for your next class topic, and embed the widget into your class site.  It's simple and helps students focus their research.