Interpretation+Tools



**How do students access information? ** Students have a variety of online tools to help them access information, but the real task is helping them find accurate and up to date information.

If a student does a Google search, they will likely get 3000+ sites in their results....so how do they begin to sift through the information? The best way to start is to change how they begin their search search.....

Some ways to do this include using type specific search engines. An easy way to do this is to use NoodleTools. This site allows a student to search based on the following criteria:


 * topic definition
 * quality results
 * discipline specific
 * timeliness of information
 * facts
 * opinion and perspective
 *  types of media
 * special search requirements
 * internet/technology comfort level

Another option to help students access information on the web is to choose age appropriate search engines. Many serach engins will automatically filter content, so there aren't any embarrassing or questionable "accidents." A few examples of these are:


 * http://www.super-kids.com/
 * @http://www.kidsclick.org/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.askkids.com/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.wordsmyth.net/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.kigose.com/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://quinturakids.com/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.boolify.org/index.php
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.kidrex.org/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.dibdabdoo.com/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.factmonster.com/
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.neok12.com/

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The next step in getting students accessing valid information in the internet is to teach them how to check for the quality of the information. A fun way to do this is to use the QUICK (__//**QU**//__ality **//__I__//**nformation **//__C__//**hec**//__K__//**list) website which will take them through the process of checking a site's validity.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Kathy Schrock, <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">(The Classroom Technology Goddess) <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">, has a wealth of information and resources to help teachers and students navigate the web successfully. Click on the picture below to access her site for more information.



**<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 350%;">How do students organize information? **

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Once students have gathered their information, they have to do something with it, and what better way to organize it than with a graphic organizer.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Graphic organizers come in many varieties and have many different application and uses for improving learning outcomes for various students. When evealuating a digital graphic organizer website you shoud take into consideration the following:
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">grade level
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">point of implementation
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">instructional context
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">ease of implementation

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">As stated above, there are countless websites that offer digital graphic organizers, below are some that are popular for teachers to use with their students.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@https://bubbl.us/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.mindomo.com/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.wisemapping.com/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.mind42.com/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://prezi.com/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://popplet.com/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.wallwisher.com/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">@http://www.spicynodes.org/
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">http://www.readwritethink.org/