When online, we want our students searching appropriately and safely! I need my students focused on task and aim to avoid distractions such as advertisements, irrelevant links or too much text!

Here are my recommendations for student-friendly search engines in the classroom:

1. Sweet Search – provides search options for teachers, students and librarians. Additional features include a guided site for biographies and social studies.
2. Boolify –a unique search engine that teaches students “how” things are searchable online
3. WolframAlpha – provides answers not by searching the web, but through computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods
4. Fact Monster – a reference tool that is interactive and graphically appealing to kids!
5. Yippy –organizes “clouds” of information based on search…minimal advertisements
6. Kigose – multiple search engine that retrieves information  from educational websites
7. Quintara – a unique search engine that allows students to point and highlight key words
8. Qwiki – an “information experience” that highlights various aspects using graphics
9. KidRex – a search engine developed by kids that is screened through Google’s Safe Search
10. GoGooligans  --minimalist approach to children’s search engines  for that reason!

I am constantly amazed by the wealth of teaching resources available on the internet – shared through Twitter and educational blogs! In the spirit of collaboration, I wish to share a few of my favourites with you! Many of these are new to me – so please do share your experience with these online tools if you have had an opportunity to put them to effective use in the classroom!

Listed below are several “first stops” if you are just starting your collection of resources:

@ School – a UK education site that provides interactive exercises, worksheets and content-area lesson plans

A to Z Teacher Stuff – resource for lesson plans, thematic units and a discussion forum for teachers, created by teachers

Cybrary Man’s Educational Websites – an internet catalogue that houses over 20,000 online resources

EduTeacher – searchable catalogue, organized by grade level and subject, for teachers

Enchanted Learning – an index for over 25,000 educational links to teaching resources

I Love That Teaching Idea! – creative and ready-to-use classroom resources developed by teachers

Lesson Planet – a membership based online resource for lesson plans, worksheets, and teaching articles

Mr. Nussbaum: A Thousand Sites in One –an American index that includes educational games, printable resources, creative and much more!

Ontario Elementary Curriculum Links – an excellent “file” for lesson ideas and teaching resources

PBS Teachers – an index that organizes classroom resources by grade levels and lists opportunities for online professional development for each subject area

Promethean Planet – a unique teaching and sharing resource for teachers that offers lessons plans, assessment tools and opportunities for online professional development

Real Classroom Ideas – collection of online websites, activities and ideas collected by teachers  

Sophia for Educators – includes learning packages and discussion forums for increased teacher collaboration

Teachers First – over 12,000 educator-reviewed classroom and professional resources

Teacher Lingo – classroom resources such as lesson plans, printables and e-books searchable by subject and grade level

Teachable.Net –offers top quality teacher resources at a minimal cost per downloaded lesson

Teachers Pay Teachers – an open marketplace for teacher-created resources