Project #15: Search Engines

For this project, we were required to find eight search engines other than Google and provide a review for each one.  Below are the sites that I found to be useful.

1)  Wolfram Alpha is a search engine that allows you to ask a question and than computes an actual answer.  This is better than a regular search engine, because you do not have to sift through pages that may have a word or two that was in your original search.  This site would give students quick facts for research or could help them solve math problems.

2) Internet Public Library is a search engine that searches for resources through subjects.  This site gives you the peace of mind that all of your sources will be reliable.  Internet Public Library would be good for students to use when researching topics.

3) Blog Search Engine allows you to search through blogs based on a single search term.  This site seems very basic, but since blogs can contain information and resources for teaching having a search engine for only blogs is a great idea.

4) NewsLookUp provides credible news stories from around the world.  You can search a topic or use one of their options to find local, national, or world headlines.  There is also an option to search through the sites pre chosen topics.  This search engine is a beneficial resource for any one who wants to stay up to date on news and to find news articles for use in the classroom.

5) Kids Click is a search engine that is safe for children to use.  Kids Click was designed by librarians and has the ability to search on your own, search by a  pre chosen topic, or pick a group of numbers from the dewey decimal system to find out what subjects are found in those numbers.  This site is a great resource for the classroom.  It is a site teachers will know their students are getting reliable resources and the unwanted information is filtered out.

6) Bing Maps is a really fun search engine.  It allows you to find any location and provides you with either a standard map of the area or a bird's eye view.  The bird's eye view can provide you a street level view of the location.  This site would allow a teacher to show students different locations around the world.

7) iSEEK Education is a wonderful search engine.  This site gives you search results that editor reviewed.  It also provides results that are from trusted sites such as universities.  After the site has given a result, it has several tabs on the left hand side that allow you to filter the results based on subject, grade, and more.  This search engine would work very well for a student looking to find good sources for a project or for a teacher who needs resources for the classroom.

8) History Engine is a really interesting search engine.  Its content is provided by students who have used primary sources from history to create factual articles.  While the content is written by students, all articles are reviewed by archivists and professors.  This site would allow students, professors, and the general public to use a fresh set of resources for research.  It also allows teachers the chance to have a more collaborative approach toward teaching history.