Custom Search Engines in Google

This week I learned about creating custom search engines within Google.

Custom search engines can be very useful to teachers, like myself. Many teachers assign research projects to their students. The Internet is a vast combination of websites, videos, and pictures that are not always appropriate for student eyes. Custom search engines allow teachers to filter out unwanted websites, while still allowing their students to gather the research information they need.

To learn more about custom search engines, check out this video:

Every year, my kindergarten students are assigned the task of choosing an animal to research and write a book about. I expect my students to use both books and the Internet to gather their research on their animal. I believe it is important for even my young students to be knowledgeable about the Internet and be allowed to use it in a way that will better their education. Google can be a great tool to search for facts, but as everyone knows, it doesn't always kick back the most accurate sites.

To address this issue, I created a custom search engine for my students to use during their animal research.

Let's use a scenario to show how helpful a custom search engine could be.

5-year old Miles wants to do his animal research report on "cougars." The student goes to google.com and types in "cougar." These are some of the results that Miles might see:

Miles's idea of what a cougar is, and Google's idea is not always the same thing. "How to Know if a Woman is a Cougar-10 Steps" is not a website I would want my students visiting. With a few clicks, I can create a custom search engine for my students to facts about their animals on appropriate websites. Try it out yourself with my custom search engine below:

(Note: Google Ads appear at the top of the search engine because it is a free edition. This would need to be addressed with your students so they don't click any of the ads that may not be appropriate. For example, when typing "cougar" in the custom search engine, dating ads appear at the top of the engine. It is always an option to upgrade your account for a fee).