Sweet Search

http://www.sweetsearch.com/http://www.sweetsearch.com/One of the greatest challenges I face in my classroom is the confident incorporation of internet research and my faith in my students evaluative abilities. My solution: Sweet Search.

When students enter a search term into Sweet Search you know they results they are going to get have been vetted by an educator or librarian for their relativity and content. Results from trusted sources like the Library of Congress, universities and PBS appear higher in the search results.  When results are returned there aren't tens of thousands of results. What is returned is the 20 best sites for the term, again, all evaluated and ranked for their relevance and content.  But Sweet Search isn't the only resource here. Sweet Search 4 Me is a search engine for early elementary students. Sweet Search 2 Day is a nifty site where kids can learn something new everyday. Sweet Search Biography has 1000+ bios of significant persons in history. And there are tons more sites and applications to check out.

The process of evaluation is critical, and as a social studies teacher it ranks high on my list of essential historical skills. This search engine, and all of the widgets and facets that come with it, corroborate and reinforce evaluative concepts. Sweet Search solves my dilemma of scaffolding research projects for struggling students.

The integration of Sweet Search in my classroom has substantiated the development of superior critical thinking essays and research papers that shed light on a spectrum of historical perspectives.  The quality of work has improved tenfold as a direct result of the superiority of their searches and resources.  Additionally, a filtered browser provides a lot of comfort for me in my conservative district.  I am not releasing my students into the jungle that is the internet when they use Sweet Search.