Before performing the MAPping activities for this week's assignments I had been conducting my online searches by going straight to Google and typing in the entire sentence of information I was looking for. Google would then produce thousands of websites about the information I was searching, including key words, but there were also some that didn't contain any information relevent to my search inquiries. I didn't pay any attention to information I was receiving other than it was information on a topic I was researching.

After performing the MAPping activities and searching many different search engines for information, I found that I had been unaware of all of the inaccurate information I may have been receiving. I conducted a search on The North Pacific Tree Octopus and compared all of the information I received off of a couple of different search engines' websites. I found the information given to me to vary after I compared their facts to one another. After performing these activities I learned that many of the search engines were actually run by humans that researched topics and their job is to locate the top websites pertaining to topic given to be researched. They didn't know if the information they were giving you was true or not, they just supplied the information.

In conclusion, I will definately make myself and others around me ore aware of search engines and the false information they could be supplying. I have also realized that if a directory requires you to link back to them or other sites they promoted in order to be included, it's trying to manipulate my search through linkage. "In order to target keywords in searches, use the same keywords in the text. For example, an article on design layout will use the key words design and layout instead of using architecture and templates. However, using the keywords repeatedly does not help either" (Website Gear, 2004). I bet a lot of teachers and parents are unaware of the false liklihood of searching the internet but I am thankful for these assignments to explain to me what is going on behind my searches. As a teacher I want to provide my students with the best and most accurate information to assure they recieve a knowledgable education. I will teach my students "rather than searching by keywords, as search engines do, directories such as Yahoo and Look Smart are databases that use a hierarchial structure, listing web pages in convenient categories and subcategories" (Jonassen, 2008, p. 16). Also, when I am teaching my students to research on the internet I will know which search engines to stay clear of and/or what to look for when making positive my students reasearch is supplied with positive information.

Work Cited

WebSite Gear Inc. (Sunday, March 28, 2004). Website Gear Tools for your Website.
SEO: Optimize Your Web Pages. Retrieved July 13, 2009 from (www.websitegear.com)

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D., (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.