Monday, July 16, 2012

Helping Our Students Help Themselves


Have you ever had those students who want to search for something but just can't spell the keywords? Or when they do find a site they can't read the information? This makes research very frustrating for the students. We, as tech loving teachers, want to make researching FUN and SIMPLE for our students! Well here's how!
Google now has a voice search. By clicking on the microphone on the right hand side of the search box, students can vocalize what they want to search for.
Google then records the student's voice, types the correctly spelled word into the search box, and displays sites dealing with the keyword.

So now the kids can easily find sites focused on what they want to research. But how can they make sure that the sites are on their reading level? Google's got that under control also! Students can filter the sites by reading levels.
Basic **Best for Primary Grades
Intermediate
Advanced
To filter the results students can click on Show Search Tools on the left hand side of the screen.
Then scroll down and click on Reading Level.

Students can then choose what reading level suits them best. Basic is the best choice for most primary students.

Once they choose a level, websites links are displayed below and the researching can begin. 
Researching doesn't have to be a hassle for the students or the teachers! Google makes researching easy and fun for even the youngest student! By using the Voice Input and Reading Level tools, we can help students to become more independent workers!

What are some of your favorite ways to use Google?

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