Journal 1

"Your Google Guide" by Doug Johnson

Having just finished an educational program that is highly research driven, I think Johnson’s article is really informative and interesting. Johnson argues that basic knowledge of how to refine a Google search is something all educators should have. I agree that this skill is important for teachers because students today will have difficulty performing well in many (if not all) subjects without knowing how to find relevant and focused information from within the seemingly endless resources available in various search engines (Google being one of them). If teachers are not able to maneuver through this type of program, they will not be able to effectively impart that skill on their students.

Why is this knowledge important for teachers?

Technology is most effective when the people using it are well versed in its use. While the internet has exponentially increased our immediate access to information about nearly everything, sources relevant to an individual project remain unknown if they are not coaxed out by someone capable of directing a focused search. Teachers need to know how to zero in on critical data for their own research in developing lesson plans and/or lectures and to be able to effectively teach their students to use the same technology in order to ease their present and future research endeavors.

Does this skill carry over into other areas?

I would think the basic logic used in this search engine would translate into other types of database searches. While my Google searches were limited during my research process, I assume the principles that Johnson mentions in his article would apply to other search engines as well. Going along with that line of thought, this information may have been helpful while I was burning the midnight oil searching through JStor and Project Muse for scholarly articles relevant to my thesis. I suspect the markers Google recognizes are probably fairly generic in the world of computer search programs.