Alright students, this "Best of" site has been created especially for you. Each of the search engines recognized below has been carefully reviewed by me. I judged each site with the following in mind: Would it really be helpful? Was it user friendly? Did it have a filter or provide only kid safe links suitable for protecting your precious eyes from naughty stuff? Would you be able to conduct research and explore using it? Was it up to date and maintained on a regular basis? So without further adieu, here are the winners…
In the category of Kid Safe Search Engine, the
awards go to:
|
Search Engine |
URL |
Why it rocks... |
|
This search is great because
it allows you to search using natural language instead of trying to figure
out keywords and things like that. You can search just the way you normally
think. If your question doesn’t come out just right, this search engine will also suggest alternative
questions to help you out. Also, it was created for people age 13 and under,
so the sites you find will be appropriate for you. |
||
|
This search engine is
edited by actual human beings!It
is way easy to navigate and you can conduct your research in several
different ways- Boolean, keywords, phrases, or subject headings. After you do
a search, the site choices are all annotated so that you can make a more
informed decision before choosing to follow a link. |
|
Search Engine |
URL |
Why it rocks... |
|
Now you can search for the
best that Google, Yahoo!, Ask Jeeves, About, Find
What, and Looksmart all have to offer at the same
time! Dogpile even has a comparison view so that
you can check out what each individual search engine found. Also, you can
chose to do a general search of the web or look specifically for audio,
video, images, news, etc… Dogpile
is really easy to use and quick. |
||
|
This meta search engine is
so fun to use! It has the standard features of a meta search, but also
includes a lot of really cool extras. Results are displayed in the form of an
interactive map. On the left hand side of the screen, brief descriptions of
the sites found appear as you scroll over them. Connections between sites are
shown by lines on the map and keywords/categories to help decide if that was
really what you were looking for. Try it out- you’ll love it! |
|
Search Engine |
URL |
Why it rocks… |
|
http://www.altavista.com/ |
What an easy to use search
engine! You’ll love being able to click through the various media tabs to search without having to retype your
search words. You can conduct advanced searches as well. Another interesting
feature is that you can choose to search worldwide or just in the |
|
|
This search engine indexes
only multimedia formats, so you can search for audio, video, or audio &
video, without having to sort through a lot of junk. There is a family filter
option. You can search by duration of the clip you are looking for, format
(mp3, QuickTime, etc.), or by category (music, news, sports, etc.). Having
the capability to save your searches is also a nice touch. |
|
Search Engine |
URL |
Why it rocks… |
|
This search engine finds
its stories from more than 4,500 news sources. It is updated every 15
minutes, so you’ll always be getting the most current news. The most relevant headlines are listed first and searches by computer algorithm so you get an unbiased view
of all the news that’s out there. A particularly nice feature is that you can actually
customize your news so that is personally tailored to your interests. |
||
|
One of the best features of
Yahoo! News is that is offers such a variety in ways to search. There are the
traditional tabbed categories, of course; but you can also search just for
news photos, search all the news, and even search by news source. Also, it
does allow you to personalize your news. |
|
Search Engine |
URL |
Why it rocks… |
|
This directory is very user
friendly. You can search by subject and get a result list of links complete
with quick descriptions. That way you can read the description and not waste
time pulling up the site if it isn’t what you are really looking for. Also, this directory is a great place
to go for homework help or even just exploring some of what the web has to
offer. |
||
|
This directory is great
because it only has child safe links. You can search based on the group you
best fit in- there are sections for teachers, parents, kids, teens,
librarians, and college students.One feature that I
thought was really cool was the Awesome Talking Library, it would be a great
help for anyone who struggles as a reader. |
Created by Dedra Van Gelder
Last updated April 23, 2006
Contact me at dvangelder@ccboe.com