Search+Strategies+Reflection

I had never heard of the story of Zack which was discussed earlier in the module, although I have known many real life stories just like this one. In one of my previous employment engagements as a Digital Pedagogy Coach, I taught primary school students (and teachers) how to search effectively on the internet. Having said that, considering what I have read and learnt since that period of time, I do not believe I was doing that great a job! Although I knew there were several types of search engines, I am guilty of relying on Google for the majority of my research work. I do love Google. One of my favourite search engines to work with is Boolify because it makes you think about exactly what you are looking for, and is very user-friendly.
 * Awareness**

After exploring the sites given in the exploration and filtration section of the module, I was reminded about the importance of checking the validity of information provided online. I have not used Yahoo or Bing very much (rarely in fact), so exploring these was a new experience for me and after “playing” with them for a while, I can honestly say I’ve gone back to my comfort zone and am using Google or Boolify as my main search engines.
 * Exploration & Filtration**

During this module I did enjoy learning in more detail about the different tools that Google search has as I have never really spent a great deal of time playing with them and therefore have never really learnt much about them. I really enjoyed reading about the generic top level domains and what they meant for each industry / sector, as they confirmed my thoughts but I also learnt new ones which is always helpful. I have regularly put together learning pathways as part of my previous position with Education Queensland, one of the public education systems in Australia, but I had never heard it called a Pathfinder before so that was something new. The other new thing I learnt was the term “Boolean logic” - seems a little naive I know, even though I regularly use Boolify and use AND, OR & NOT in my search terms, I never realised it was called Boolean logic.
 * Learning**

Of course now I know the proper terms about my searching strategies I feel a bit more knowledgable to pass this along to others. I will definitely use the search strategies and information learnt in this module in both my personal and professional life. Personally, I can see myself using the Google search tools more effective, especially the flight details one and the sunrise one. Professionally, I will continue to use and now I will also advocate the use of Boolean logic when searching online. I also now know the generic top level domain abbreviations which will help me make more selective choices when searching online.
 * Personal & Professional Application**