Tag:

search

Five Unexpected Search Tools For You

by Miguel Guhlin September 29, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

From Yahoo to Altavista to Google, all these tools have one thing in common. They make finding things easier. Whether it’s a curated list of high-quality resource links or fast searches, search tools rule. Want to find things faster? Take advantage of these search tool suggestions. You won’t regret changing your habits and finding what you need, sooner.

Tool #1: YouTube All-In-One Advanced Search

The All-In-One Advanced Search for YouTube makes it easy to find what you are looking for on YouTube. When I search YouTube, I often get a list of results that may or may not do what I need. For example, I wanted to find school surveillance videos that focused on tornadoes. That is, tornado damage school surveillance video cameras have recorded. And I wanted to avoid certain results. To get that, I relied on the search parameters below:

Tool #2: Cheatography

If you’re looking for quick reference guides and cheat sheets for your favorite software, then Cheatography is the web directory for you.

Here are a few that jumped out at me:

All sheets display the development date and when it was last updated. You can also search by operating systems, browsers, and/or keywords. For example, if you wanted to learn science or math terminology, you could search for keywords.

Tool #3: Find Sounds

Need a quick way to find sounds for use in a podcast or as part of a presentation? FindSounds takes the trouble out of locating a repository of copyright-fee sounds. Use it to find sounds for anything from a dog barking to a blue whale. Besides a single search box you can use “à la Google”, you can find sounds by type.

But wait, there’s more! Have you heard of Musgle? It’s a search engine that enables you to find music. Type the title of the sound effect or music you want to find (e.g. Beethoven, Mozart) and wait for it to pop up.

Tool #4: Reverse Image Search

You may know about Google’s Reverse Image Search. To access it, you can go to Google Images, then click on the camera icon to bring up a screen like the one below. Then, upload the image you want to find on the web. This is a great way to find images students (or staff) have saved off the internet but failed to cite properly.

Another tool you may be unfamiliar with is the TinEye Reverse Image Search. Sporting a fancy robot icon, TinEye assists you in a similar way that Google’s Reverse Image Search does. It also offers a browser add-on for Chrome/Chromium or Firefox browsers.

Tool #5: Wiki Search

Wikis abound on the web. When you search for a special movie character based on a comic book character, you’ll find the bio in an online wiki. Have a question about how to do something? A wiki page articulates the steps. Looking for encyclopedic information about anything? Someone has put it into a wiki.

Wiki.com searches ALL wikis. That’s a search that yields more than only popular wikis like Wikipedia (the online encyclopedia). This makes it a handy tool because it focuses on wikified data that is often curated like a web directory.

Bonus Tool: Icon Archive

Need to find an icon to represent something on your device? An image to accent a digital document? Explore the Icon Archive.

Feature Image Source

Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash

September 29, 2022 0 comments

How to Search Twitter for Anything

by Jennifer Bergland May 10, 2022

written by Jennifer Bergland

Twitter is a great place for you to connect with others who share common interests. You can discover people who teach the same subject or grade levels you teach. Perhaps you are passionate about robotics and would like to connect with others who are as well. Or maybe you are concerned about the exodus of teachers from the classroom and want to find some resources on this topic? You don’t have to look too hard to find others with similar interests or concerns. But do you know how to search Twitter and find what you’re looking for?

Like other applications, you can use some search terms to help you locate exactly what or who you are looking for. The inspiration for this blog post came from the Twitter user @TessaRDavis. She tweeted a thread that illustrated how to search Twitter, and I thought it was pure gold! So I wanted to share some of her insights with our educator readers.

Search Terminology

Search operators are words, phrases, and symbols you use to tell a search engine what you are searching for. The operators tend to be the same or at least similar on different search engines. Thus, you can use the same phrases or words to search in Google as you would on Twitter. I will demonstrate how to use these, and then I’ll provide a list of terms at the bottom of the blog.

How to Search for Tweets about a Person

You can search for any mention of a user by simply typing in their Twitter handle (for example, @jbergland).

How to Search for Tweets from a Person

You can also search for tweets from a specific person.

Twitter search by person — Searching tweets from a specific person.

Note that in the first search, @LLeneWinokur is tweeting about Desiree Alexander (@educatoralex), and in the second search I was searching for Peggy Reimers’ tweets.

How to Search Tweets from One Person to Another

I might also want to search for tweets from one individual to another. In the following example, I searched for tweets in which Miguel Guhlin specifically tweeted Peggy Reimers.

How to Search Tweets from a Person about a Topic

I might also want to find out what an individual has to say about a topic I’m interested in. In the following example, I wanted to know what Andre Daughty had to say about “math.” I discovered that this is a topic he frequently tweets about.

How to Search Tweets by Topic

Searching is also useful if you are wanting to see others’ thoughts on a specific topic. For instance, I am extremely interested in the topic of virtual learning. Let’s see how I can use the search operators to help me find some resources related to this topic.

First, I did a simple search with the phrase virtual learning. I found a variety of topics that were mentioned. The one below reminded me that virtual learning is happening in all types of fields, not just in education. In this example, virtual learning is being used in the field of agriculture.

Also, in this example note that the phrase virtual learning stands alone. There are no other symbols or terms placed around it. This will pull up any tweet that has those two words in the text. They do not need to be placed together in one phrase. If I only want tweets with words in a certain order, then I need to place quotation marks around them, i.e. – “virtual learning”.

How to Search Tweets by Date

Next, because I don’t want to look for tweets that focus on the failure of online learning, I am primarily interested in posts that were tweeted after the first year and a half of the pandemic. I’m looking for how schools have adapted to it. In order to do this, I will need to include a range of dates.

The placement of the dates is critical. You must start with the year, then the month, and then the day. If you want tweets from a specific date range, you will need to use the terms “since” and “until.” Here is an example: “virtual learning” since:2021-09-02 until:2022-05-05. Of all the search terms, following this formula seems to be the pickiest. Follow it exactly. I actually found that it helped to copy and paste it in the search field and then change the dates to fit my needs.

I also used the date search with these two terms robots and dash to find this gem:

How to Narrow a Search by Location

I am especially interested in any public policy discussions that involve virtual learning, so it might be helpful to narrow my search to those tweeting from the Austin area– which is where most of the legislative hearings are held. I used this search term to narrow my search to Austin: near:austin within:10mi.

I found a tweet that mentioned a hearing that I haven’t watched yet. Once I discovered the tweet, I scheduled some time to go back and watch the recording of this hearing, so I can see what else was mentioned about virtual learning.

How to Search for Viral Tweets

Sometimes we are wanting to find tweets that have gone somewhat viral. You can do this with a variety of search terms:

min_retweets: x

min_faves: x

min_replies: x

In the following example, I wanted to find tweets about Ukraine that had more than 1000 retweets.

How to Search Tweets with Links

You might be searching for tweets that include a link to a blog post, news article, or video. You can do that by filtering your tweets. In the example below, I wanted to find news articles about the teacher shortage. I used this operator to accomplish that: filter:links

How to Search for Tweets with Media

Sometimes our favorite ed tech presenters have posted one of their recommended tools. Here is one I found that Leslie Fisher posted using the filter:media.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is gold to be mined using Twitter’s search feature. You just need to know what search operators can help you find what you need. To be honest, I had a hard time stopping my search once I got started. I kept thinking of new ways I could unearth tweets that would help with my work or just for fun. Happy searching!

List of Search Terms

@twitteruser – Any mention of a twitter user
word 1 word 2 – Simple word search
from:@twitter user – Tweets from a specific individual
from:@twitteruser to:@twitteruser – Search for tweets from a specific person that they directed to a specific person
from:@twitteruser math (or other word) – From a twitter user and a word or topic they mention
from:@twitteruser filter:media – From a twitter user with some type of media image
Word or phrase filter:links – Specific word or topic in which the tweet contains a link
Word or phrase min_retweets:x – Looking for viral links – search for a minimum number of retweets
Phrase or twitter user: since:YEAR-MONTH-DAY until:YEAR-MONTH-DAY (ex: 2022-05-08) (since:2022-01-01 until:2022:05-08) – Looking for tweets that fall within a specific time frame
Phrase:min_retweets:x since:2022-01-01 until:2022:05-08 – Search for tweets that mention a topic with minimum retweets within a certain time frame
Phrase near:austin within:10mi – Tweets about a specific topic by people living in a specific location

May 10, 2022 1 comment

iOS Tips and Tricks

Finding Educational and/or Free iOS Apps

by Lori Gracey September 10, 2020

written by Lori Gracey

Searching among the myriad of iOS apps that are released every single day can be a nightmare. And, if you’re a teacher on a tight budget, finding those gems that have also gone free for the day or week is even more difficult. Here are some tips to help, along with a few good resources.

If you want to improve your iPad skills and gain even more educational resources to use with the device, check out the TCEA iPad Educator online, self-paced course. Priced at only $29, the course provides lots of how-to videos and content, including a module on teaching remotely with the iPad, as well as a digital badge, certificate, and 12 CPE hours.

Finding Good Educational Apps to Meet Specific Needs

Let’s be honest. Finding a good app to use for teaching something like exponents (or any other topic students study in schools) in the App Store is almost impossible. Its search engine is weak and skewed toward paid apps. Luckily, there are two others we can use to get better results. First, check out The App Store.

Although it looks simple at first glance (below), you’ll soon notice all of the different ways you can filter and search. On the left, you can search for iPhone, iPad, and MacOS devices. If you click on the pink box with the funnel on the right, you can filter by a variety of needs, including last updated, ratings (yes!), price (any, free, or paid), categories, and ages. This makes it extremely powerful and useful. You can also browse the top apps to see if there are any that you’ve missed; after all, if everyone else likes them, they might be good for you and your students, too.

iOS apps

In my example search for the broad topic of “exponents,” it returns just 49 results. That may not seem like enough. But as you can see below, it brought back some jewels for me to pick from. (Of course, no search engine is perfect. You’ll notice it also returned “AutoFax Vehicle History Report.”) As you type in the search word or phrase, it also makes recommendations for you.

One other good search tool for iOS apps is Fnd. Again, it starts off simply, as you can see below. I used the same “exponents” search as before. What’s nice about Fnd is that it searches not just apps, but also music, movies, TV, books, Mac, and podcasts (who knew there were so many podcasts about exponents?).

iOS apps

Finding Free or Sale iOS Apps

What’s even better than finding a great app to use with your students is to find that great app on sale or even free. Here are three websites that can help (listed in order of my personal preference for the value they provide).

iOSnoops provides lists of apps that have gone on sale, are free, or are new each day and once on the weekend. They don’t list all of the apps that meet those three criteria, but do list most of the ones that people might be interested in. Scroll down toward the bottom of each list to find the education and books categories.

Today’s Apps Gone Free shares just free apps each day and once on the weekends. Their list is very short, usually only three or four, but they are usually great apps. Unfortunately, they are often not educational. Still, I am usually able to pick up a bargain there at least once a week.

Finally, there’s the AppShopper, the most comprehensive list of changes in app pricing. You can specify for iPad or all iOS, updated apps, new apps, and price drops. You can also search just for free apps. I found I got the best search returns when I left it on Price down, All, All, and then changed the All Categories to Books and then, when I was done searching there, to Education. Clicking on the Buy button will allow you to see more information about each app (without actually buying it yet).

iOS apps

AppShopper also allows you to create a free account on its site and then mark what apps you are interested in. If the price drops on those apps, the site will notify you by email, which is a very nice feature.

Last Thoughts on iOS Apps

If you’re going to be purchasing 20 or more of the same app, remember to use the Apple Volume Purchase Program which can provide a significant discount on the purchase price of the app, even when it’s on sale. More information about the program can be found here.

September 10, 2020 0 comments

Digital Literacy

Teaching Students How to Search

by Lori Gracey September 24, 2019

written by Lori Gracey

One of the most important skills educators can help students acquire is the ability to be a true lifelong learner. With the average student currently in school having five difference careers (not jobs, completely different careers!) during his/her lifetime, the ability to constantly re-learn and embrace new knowledge and skills will be crucial.

This goes beyond the ability to simply “Google” a quick answer, but includes knowing if the answer given is valid or not. Students must be able to judge what is returned to them after a search. Unfortunately, the only way to learn this is to practice.

Start with SweetSearch

To help secondary students see what “good” search returns look like, have them use SweetSearch. This tool searches only 35,000 websites that have been vetted by research experts, librarians, teachers to ensure that the information found there is reliable and valid. Although there are a limited number of websites that it references, it can return a large number of results from those websites which are educational in nature and “packed” with information.

Accessing the menu button in the top left corner of the screen will provide them with SweetSearch 2Day, a hand-picked compilation of educational resources, learning tips, articles, historical events, and biographies, gathered from the web and written by the SweetSearch team. There are also two buttons below the search bar that will help them hone in on news or history information.

Once they’ve used Sweet Search for a while, then ask students to do the same search using Google, their search engine of choice, and to compare the results that they get for the same search on both sites. Talk about why some websites are ranked higher in the search return with Google and what this might mean for the validity of the information.

Move on to Socratic by Google

When students fully understand how to pick out valid search results, then introduce them to Socratic by Google. This free app (currently available for iOS, but coming soon for Android) is designed to help students with homework, not just in completing it, but also in understanding it. When using Socratic, students log in with their Google accounts.

The app allows students to ask questions via their voices, by typing, or by taking photos of questions, worksheets, or textbook pages, and get answers based on educational content that the app finds on the web. Using artificial intelligence, the app looks at a student’s question and automatically identifies the relevant underlying concepts so that it can provide lessons that can help break down concepts into smaller increments. So it’s not just about giving them the answer.

Socrative also offers subject guides to help students studying for tests, containing visual explanations on 1,000 higher education and high school topics. Socratic presents concept overviews, explanatory steps, video walkthroughs, and more to help them better understand the topic. For math problems, Socratic provides direct links to step-by-step explanations from sites like Cymath and WolframAlpha.

searching

It’s important to note that any search engine or tool, regardless of whether it is designed for students or not, may return inappropriate websites and/or content. So encourage students always to be aware of this when doing any search.

Help your secondary students become better at searching for and finding answers and learning new things by teaching them how best to use and evaluate search tools.

September 24, 2019 1 comment

Good Teaching Google Tips and Tricks Libraries

Research Tools for Young Learners

by Miguel Guhlin September 9, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

In a connected world, there are ample research tools available. Helping students learn how to use them grows more important with ubiquitous access. In this blog entry, we explore several online research tools that can facilitate student research.

Setting Up Class Debates

In the Hyperdoc The Great Milk Debate, fifth grade students find themselves facing a challenge: Their principal, Mrs. Hilcher, has banned chocolate milk. Here’s one possible scenario to present students with:

Students: To improve your health, after consulting with school nutritionists, we have decided to no longer allow chocolate milk to be served during breakfast and lunch. Sugar and sweets present one of the greatest threats to human beings ever. “One carton of chocolate milk includes about 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sugar in a child’s diet,” said Mr. LK.

Students are encouraged to explore both sides of the debate. Learners are tasked with examining:

Claim: For example, “Flavored milk gets kids to drink more milk.”
Evidence: “Research shows that flavored milk, which delivers nine essential nutrients, contributes just 3% of added sugars to kids’ diets versus sodas and fruit drinks.”
Reasoning: “Studies show that school-aged children who drink flavored milk actually drink more milk overall, have better quality diets, and do not have higher intakes of added sugar or total fat.”

The Hyperdoc provides students with a means to discover this information. The teacher who creates the Hyperdoc provides the resources students can explore. It may be advantageous for students to do their own research.

research tools

Five Online Research Tools for Children

KidRex – Powered by Google Custom Search, Alarm.org’s KidRex is a search engine designed by kids for kids. Check our their page for Parents. Compare it to Searchquarium.
KidzSearch – Easy-to-use search engine.
Kidtopia – Provides access to a wide variety of topics, but also allows for keyword searches.
Sweet Search – A search engine that provides filtered search capabilities.
Fact Monster -Easily explore and learn new facts at Fact Monster by using their well-organized categories.

What’s Next

In the Hyperdoc, students take their research and use it to craft a persuasive letter attempting to convince others.

Test your preparation and your public speaking skills in The Great Milk Debate. You will be assigned to a debate team. Together you will go through each of your letters together and develop an argument defending your side against another debate team who will defend the opposite side. Each side will get two minutes to present their arguments. The winning debate team will be voted on by the audience.

Kid-friendly search engines can introduce students to search strategies, alleviating educators’ fears of encountering inappropriate content. Give them a try in your classroom.

September 9, 2017 0 comments

Announcements/Important Dates

Planning Your TCEA 2017 Experience

by Lori Gracey January 21, 2017

written by Lori Gracey

If you are one of the lucky ones who’ll be attending the TCEA 2017 Convention & Exposition, it’s time to start planning your learning. With more than 1,000 sessions and workshops, waiting until the last minute to decide what to attend can be a big mistake. The good news is that there is a tool that can help you.

First, decide what your emphasis will be during the convention. While it can be fun to go and hear about a million different topics and resources, that can also result in haphazard learning and a feeling of being overwhelmed. Instead, determine where you most need to grow or what new technology implementation is coming to your campus and focus your learning on that. For example, if your campus is about to add Chromebooks to the classroom, then concentrating on that is an excellent way to tackle the convention. If you need to know more about Problem-Based Learning, then that’s what you should focus on.

TCEA 2017 Once you have your focus planned, then it’s time to do some research. The TCEA convention offers in-depth learning opportunities on almost any topic in the edtech world that you might be interested in. But you have to know how to search out exactly what you need. To do that, you’ll need your computer and this TCEA website or the TCEA app.

There is a search feature on both the website and the app. Go there and type in the topic that you are interested in. I used “Chromebook” for my example. On the website, you’ll see all of the workshops, session, and poster presentations on that particular topic, followed by the exhibitors who match that keyword as well. On the app, the order is reversed with the exhibitors showing first, followed by the sessions. Clicking on any of the session titles will give you the description, date and time, presenter, and whether it is open to Premium or Basic registrants. In addition, if you log in, you can click to add the session to your schedule (this does not guarantee you a spot in the room; it simply puts it on your calendar) or share it with all of the other attendees or via Instagram or Twitter.

If there is a particular speaker that you desperately want to hear while at convention, you can also use the Presenters button on both the website and app and find out all of the times he/she is presenting.

Planning your time at TCEA 2017 will ensure that you make the most of all of the learning opportunities that are important to you, whether they are formal presentations, networking with new and old colleagues, talking with poster presenters, or visiting with exhibitors. So get busy making your schedule now for the best convention experience ever!

January 21, 2017 0 comments

Google Tips and Tricks

Google It: It’s Elementary!

by Jennifer Bergland September 16, 2016

written by Jennifer Bergland

You know something has become mainstream when it becomes a verb. If you ask me something I don’t know, my response will probably be “Google it.” Instantly, you’ll know what I’m suggesting.

Google, however, has morphed into something more. Their suite of tools is transforming classrooms around the world. Let’s look at how an elementary teacher could approach a lesson using a suite of Google tools. For this lesson on identifying and explaining the significance of various community, state, and national monuments, we will use Google Search, Slides, Sheets, YouTube, and Drawing.

Start by Googling this search string: “united+states+monuments”. It is important to put the + sign between the words. This tells Google’s search
engine to search for websites that have all three of these words. After the search, click on the word Images at the top of the page. This will produce a page full of images of U.S. monuments.

Next, open up a Slides presentation and insert photos of monuments you want to show your students. You could also insert a few monuments from your state by Googling “Texas+monuments”. Introduce the lesson by showing your students the presentation and asking them to identify the monuments they recognize. Follow that question by asking them if they know why the monument was erected.

Next, ask your students what the word “monument” means. Have one of your students type the suggestions in a Google Doc to capture student comments. Then type “define:monument” in Google Search. This will produce a definition of the word. Ask your students to compare the definition found on Google with the ones your students identified. What are the similarities? What are the differences?

Google Prior to the class, select a group of YouTube videos about different U.S. and Texas monuments. Create a playlist and have your students watch the videos. Here is a sample. As they are watching the videos, have them identify the one monument they would like to know more about. Group the students by the monument they have chosen and ask them to research the event or person that inspired the monument. Have them create a simple Slide presentation demonstrating what they learned.

To evaluate your students’ understanding, create a Google Drawing that requires them to identify the monuments they chose to research. Here is an example.

All of these activities could be adjusted for primary students. Instead of having a student type in the Google Doc, you could type the student
Google responses as a group activity. Instead of creating a Slide presentation, have the students draw images illustrating what they learned about the monument on a storyboard. This helps the students make critical decisions about what images best represent their learning and the order the images should be placed to communicate their ideas to an audience. These are necessary skills that will help them when they are older and are able to create a Slide presentation. Learning what to include and exclude is important to know. You could also take photos of their pictures and put them in a Slide presentation.

Today’s elementary students have been playing with technology since they were little. Using technology for their learning feels very normal and natural to them. Google Apps provides a teacher with lots of tools to increase collaboration, engagement, and student choice. These are just a few examples. Can you name a few more?

September 16, 2016 0 comments

Good Teaching Leadership

A Must-Have Free Resource for Educators

by Lori Gracey September 12, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

At the recent Tots and Technology Conference in Frisco, I was surprised to see how many educators are still not familiar with the wonderful world of Twitter. Begun in March 2006, Twitter was created as a social media site. Just ten years later, there are more than 320 million people using it worldwide.

“Every second, on average, around 6,000 tweets are tweeted on Twitter, which corresponds to over 350,000 tweets sent per minute, 500 million tweets per day, and around 200 billion tweets per year.” (Source: Twitter Usage Statistics)

While it may have originally been just a way to share what you’re having for lunch with others, it’s grown into something much more meaningful. I myself use it several times a day, every day, to find resources and get answers to questions. But even if you don’t want to have a Twitter account and tweet out yourself, you should still use it. And here’s why: You can find amazing resources, tips, tricks, apps, extensions, answers to questions, and learning ideas on Twitter. It’s all about how you search.

Finding What You Need

To start using Twitter as a resource without creating an account, follow these easy steps. We’ll take as our example that we’re looking for ideas on using Kahoot! in the classroom.

Go to the Twitter website.
In the top right of the screen, you’ll see a Search button. Type in “kahoot! ideas”.
What is returned to you is any time the words “Kahoot!” and “ideas” were used in a Tweet. You could limit the results more by searching for “kahoot! kindergarten”, for example, to find ways that kindergarten students and teachers are using Kahoot!

This type of search will work for any topic that you are interested in.

Searching with Hashtags

Another way to find resources and ideas on Twitter is to search for common hashtags. A hashtag is just a way to categorize Tweets by keyword. This article has 60 of the most common educational hashtags. Find one you’re interested in, click it, and all of the Tweets with that hashtag in them will be pulled for you. If you don’t see a hashtag that you want, just create your own and search to see if others are also using it. I personally often use #leadership, #STEM, #teacherPD, and #EdTech to find relevant information.

More Ways Twitter Can Help You

Take a look at the Twitter screen shot to the right for a minute. I’ve done a hashtag search for #FutureReady, but this will work any time you’re on the Twitter home page and with any Twitter search. Across the top are some other ways to find great information on Twitter.

Top shows what Tweets are currently the most popular. It’s the default view.
Live will show you the most recent Tweets on the topic. This is great if your students are looking at a current event and want to see the latest news and opinions about it.
Accounts will show you other Twitter folks to follow who are Tweeting about your topic. In order to follow someone, you must have a free Twitter account. But you can see a person’s Tweets without following him/her, if you want. In the Search bar, type in “Richard Byrne” (the name of a well-known ed tech guru) or “rmbyrne” (his Twitter handle). Now you can see everything that Richard Tweets without having a Twitter account. Ask other educators who they follow on Twitter to add to your list.
Photos and Videos will each show you Tweets for that hashtag that include photos or videos.

You don’t have to be a contributor in order to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and resources that are available on Twitter. Of course, I would recommend that you eventually join the social revolution and begin sharing your expertise with your peers by creating a free account and posting what you and your students are learning. But for now, you can just relax and take in what others are sharing.

September 12, 2016 0 comments

Digital Literacy

Simplify Your Search for Copyright-Free Images

by Alexis Cline November 11, 2015

written by Alexis Cline

You can find an image of just about anything with a simple Google search, but not every image is usable. Copyright infringement, using images without the consent of the owner, is illegal and exposes you to the risk of a lawsuit. Students may not realize this, especially since finding, saving, and using images from the Internet is so easy.

Both for our own projects and in teaching our students about good digital citizenship, we must discuss appropriate use of material found online and make the effort to find and use copyright-free images. When labeled as Creative Commons, the owner has agreed in advance to make the graphic available for public use.

There are several ways to search for copyright-free images. My two favorites are Google’s Advanced Image Search and Makerbook, both of which are quick and simple to navigate.

Google Advanced Image Search
Bookmark this search option. It gives you enormous flexibility in tailoring your search results. In addition to specifying the image’s color, size, and file type, you can choose Filter Explicit Results to block inappropriate pictures. You can also specify the usage rights to include various levels of reprint permissions.

Once you have set the parameters, a search bar will appear. Fill in your search terms and note that the toolbar at the top of the window shows your image preferences for that search. You can easily adjust these settings for a new search using the toolbar’s dropdown menus.

Makerbook
This is where many designers find free images, textures, fonts, and vector graphics from a collection of websites designed for creatives. Each site’s policy is stated in the description next to its link. Some allow content to be used for any purpose and others restrict usage to non-commercial projects.

New Old Stock Photos and Unsplash are two of my favorite sites in Makerbook. New Old Stock Photos has a number of vintage images that are great for use in history, sports, and science. The images from WWII and NASA are particularly wonderful. Unsplash allows ten downloads each month of beautiful, artistic photos that can add color and dimension to any project or presentation.

For additional search tips and more information on the research process itself, check out the August 2015 issue of TechEdge. You can also learn about another great tool for citing photos easily with Photos for Class in this earlier blog post.

November 11, 2015 0 comments