Richardson, Jeff - Reflective Searching

Remember that I got a zero score on the Google Challenge pop culture segment.
Thinking through my obvious prowess (super power) as a researcher, and seeing how my peers (i.e. teenage students) evaluate information, led  me to a few revelations. Much like the teens purported by their teachers in the "How Teens Do Research in the Digital World" article, I too quickly settle on what I believe the article called "quick and close enough". Most of my searches deal with subjects that I already know about - or at least I think I know. So, finding an answer that agrees with what I think I know is good enough.

As a searcher, my patience is directly related to my interest in the subject. If you looked at the sites currently open on my iPad, you would see that I spend a lot of time consulting many different resources attempting to corroborate the best methods of dealing with a small hive beetle infestation in my bee hives. You would see one instance of my Infinite Campus portal and even one instance of my Schoology page. You would not see "best teaching practices" sites open - but you may find one in my history. The Bible states it this way; Forwhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34 - NIV). Thinking like my students, how excited should I expect them to get about Graphic Design, color, print processes, or what goes into designing fonts and why they are not really free? 

Regretfully, I cannot speak for everyone about being part of the Google Generation. I have embraced the convenience of Google. I rarely use the phrase "look it up", I say "Google it". Worse, I no longer memorize phone number sequences, addresses, or even locations. If I can remember enough to do a google search on my handheld device, why should I tax my meager faculties with such trivial things? At this point in my life, I wish Google had a method of reminding me of peoples names when I needed them. Siri has trouble with that one too. It is embarrassing when I ask her who I am talking to and she doesn't understand the question.... My wife and children seem upset but they rarely call me by my name either. That said, maybe we are part of the Google generation - even Siri.

Seriously, I learned a good deal about my inefficiencies. I learned how to tell if Wikipedia sources are credible, how to search using images and color descriptions, how to eliminate words to filter search results, and how to use quotation marks to search for exact word phrases. I have bookmarked these resources and will practice their use to work toward proficiency. While ignorance may not be bliss, the readings have made me think that there are other valuable tools that I could have been utilizing had I known about them. I see a paradox in that I have wasted time with less than effective search methods using a tool that saves time. I learned that I am not alone in my worries about the addiction of technology and its consequential results on the literacy of today's teens. Most of my students live with economic hardship. A high percent of them either cannot read, or find it "too boring". I have resorted to recording myself reading my textbook to them while doing the exercises just so they will turn in something. Like the presentation "Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future" said; "They seem to go online to keep from reading in the traditional sense".