SVMS Digital Newsletter
December
Helping Your Child Search Safely
Go beyond Google
Encourage teens to draw on a variety of search sites. It’s easy to get in the habit of using only Google, Wikipedia, or About.com. But if teens rely too much on these sites, they might miss some other great resources.
Use multiple, specific, descriptive keywords
There’s a difference between searching for hip hop and searching for hip hop for social justice.
Try synonyms
A teen searching for rare cats, for instance, can use synonyms such as exotic cats or rare felines. Use quotation marks. A teen searching for the president’s residence should search “White House” rather than white house. Use a minus sign before a word to show you don’t want it included. If you are searching for mullet but you want the fish and not the hairstyle, you would enter: mullet – hair.
Pay attention to URL domains
The URL domain can be found at the end of a website address, and it tells people what kind of organization they are dealing with. Companies usually aim to sell products or services, while organizations, educational institutions, and government entities usually aim to share knowledge and improve communities. .com = company .gov = government website .edu = educational institution .org = organization
Taken from Common Sense Media: https://d2e111jq13me73.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/6-8-familytip-strategic_searching.pdf
DIGITAL HAPPENINGS!
Hour of Code
We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works.
But only a tiny fraction of us are learning how technology works. Fewer than half of all schools teach computer science. Currently, there are over a half million open computing jobs nationwide.
That’s why our entire school is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (December 5-11 and December 12-15th).
ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT IT!