Noelle Vilella's
Best of Search Engines
Best General Search Engines
I would highly recommend Google as your first stop for any Internet search. Google is quick, easy, and to the point. Using the toolbar at the top of the search box you can easily search for a variety of items including images, discussion groups, news, shopping, and maps. It also has a preference section where you can select your language choice and most importantly set up safe search filtering. I would feel very comfortable using this search engine in my classroom, media center, or home.
Very similar to Google, Yahoo supplies quick and comprehensive results. There are tabs above the search box where you can seek out images, videos, yellow page listings, news, local information, and shopping. What makes this search engine unique is that you can personalize it to fit your needs and interests. This site also has safety and language features available. I would rank Google a little higher just because it is straight forward and more user friendly.
Kid Friendly Search Engines
From my experience as an elementary teacher, I have found that kids are famous for asking loads of questions! What better way for them to search than by simply typing in the question that is on their minds? Ask for Kids points students in the right direction to find what they are looking for. This search engine has a study help section with links to a dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, biographies, clip art, math, science, and history resources. This site assures parents and educators that all information provided to their children are "G Rated". I would recommend this site to all parents, students, and educators.
This is basically Yahoo, but the kids version. Yahooligans is formatted to catch the interest of children and all sites provided are appropriate for kid use. This site even has advertisements that are geared towards kids! Like many other sites, Yahooligans includes a toolbar for kids to have quick access to topics of interest including a news topics section where issues and events of today and put into kid friendly slideshows.
Meta Search Engines
Vivisimo is a great one-stop search site. It has great search result numbers and a lot of unique features. One of the unique features is a side bar showing clustered results. This feature is useful when you are not sure what keywords to search for. You are able to use the clustered results without doing an additional search. Another great feature is a preview link for each search result. You can check out the web page to see if it is providing the right information for you without even leaving the results page!
Clusty is a meta search engine launched by Vivisimo. It has a lot of tools to help you find quick relevant information. It seems to combine both your standard search results and the cluster feature of Vivisimo. The user is even able to customize the tabs to meet their needs and make searching easier. This search engine is very straight forward and easy to use.
News Search Engines
Cnn.com broadcasts news from around the world. It also displays headlines focusing on current weather, technology, politics, health, travel, education, sports, and business. There is up-to-date information here for every interest. It also has links to free video coverage and Podcasts. This is your ultimate news source.
Google News is very similar to CNN. It displays current news and headlines with links to other popular areas of interest. It is updated frequently and also has a personalization option so that you can format the site to your interests. This site will keep you up-to-date on all current events.
Shopping Search Engines
BizRate is a shoppers paradise! If you want it, you can find it on BizRate. This site has a great selection of items. BizRate also has a comparison feature where you can compare items, prices, and reviews. They also rate each store so you know your not getting ripped off. You can also shop by price range. The browse menu is a unique feature that lists selections that are popular for the holiday or season that may be coming up. All I can say is "Hide my credit card!"
Dealtime is another shoppers delight! This site is very similar to BizRate. There is a great item selection. Product reviews, price ranges, and store reviews make you feel more confident with your purchases. Another ideal site for those who enjoying shopping in their pajamas!