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November 6, 2011

Improve Search Skills - A Google a Day


Searching for information is a process that involves critical thinking.  A Google a Day  is a trivia game that provides students and grownups with a playful way to improve search skills. Every day Google posts a question that is complex enough that a regular Google search won't yield the solution. Players have to put on their thinking caps to find the answers. Here are some things you should know about a Google a day:

  • Players are encouraged to "cheat" and search for the answer, that's the point of this game.
  • Tips and tricks for searching are available through a link right on the game page.
  • The answer includes the path used to find it.
  • Players must solve each day's puzzle by searching the Internet as it existed before A Google a Day was launched. This is known as "Deja Google".
  • The trivia game can easily be popped into your own blog or website with the embed code provided. Try it for yourself at the bottom of this post.

Beyond the fun of the trivia game, Google has also put together lessons and materials to help teachers teach students how to search, known as the Google Search Education Evangelism Site which is worth taking a look at. The materials on the site are licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike license which means teachers can use and modify them for their teaching as long as they give attribution to Google.com and keep the sharing going by licensing modifications of the work under the same category.



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