Unit 6- Search Engines
The upcoming school year is quickly approaching. As I start thinking about technology lessons I want to target in the library this year, search engines come to mind. It is so important to instruct students on how to use search engines. Of course, everyone automatically turns to Google, but did you know that there are kid-friendly search engines out there?
For my last assignment in my technology class, I had the opportunity to look into all kinds of search engines. Since I am always thinking of websites and tools to share with teachers and students, one search engine that I looked into is KidRex (http://www.kidrex.org/). KidRex is good to have students use because:
- it is a fun and safe place to search for children
- the site is Powered by Google Custom Search and Google SafeSearch- these searches screen sites for inappropriate content and deletes it from the child's search results
- inappropriate websites and keywords are saved on the KidRex database
- there is a Web page Removal Tool to report if an inappropriate website does
- has online safety tips that parents or teachers can use
There are two sections within KidRex, Kids, and Parents. When you click on the Kids link children will see pictures of drawings children have submitted to share.
The Parent link takes users to information about KidRex and where you can find online safety tips.
Since KidRex is a safe and simple resource it would be a great tool to introduce students to search engines. It is even a great resource for teachers to use too. All items searched are child-appropriate. Just like other searches, items have a description of the different items that pertain to the search, as well as the number of searches available.
If you would like more information here is a short YouTube video tutorial:
I can't wait to share this search engine with my staff and use with students in library lessons. If you are interested in another search engine that is similar, check out DuckDuckGo (https://duckduckgo.com/)
This is great information for elementary teachers. I am going to share your post with my elementary counterparts!
ReplyDeleteNowadays, the Internet serves as a dominant medium of information gathering for our kids. Young children are susceptible to many safety online risks. Also, there is no guarantee of the best age-appropriate information they may see when searching for information on the Internet. This KidRex is a wonderful tool for our young children. This powerful tool should be the default search engine for the young on every device connected to the internet. Thanks to your informative article, I will now be using this at school by making it the default browser for all the devices that I use with the students. I, too, with share your blog post with my fellow staff members as well.
ReplyDeleteCan’t wait to check it out! Thank you for the great info!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great resource! It will definitely give relief to the teachers so they don't have to continuously look over the student's shoulder making sure the content they search is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of kidrex, thanks for the share and the helpful info!
ReplyDeleteKid safe search engines are often talked about but I have to wonder how many adults actually take the time to research them and then make sure the kids in their lives actually use them. This will be a great resource to share with my staff and encourage them to use it in their classrooms. We have a lot of new teachers who may not know about this so I can start them off on the right path right from the beginning. Thanks for the reminder of this very important subject.
ReplyDeleteThank you! With so many unknowns on the World Wide Web, a kids’ friendly search engine can help maintain a sense of safety and security.
ReplyDeleteYou know,I've forgotten tge importance of this living over seas. This search engine sounds great so we can keep our littles ones safe while they get to search for answers to their important questions. Thanks for this information!
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