Lesson Plan: Using Google Search

General Outcome: Students will be more aware of advanced google search syntax, and will be
able to apply advanced search syntax to research-based queries.
Introduction (Warm-Up):
set timer for 15 minutes Google search
YES: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox
NO: Internet Explorer
Show video: Google Ad for Superbowl (~1 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU
Inform students to take notes on search queries made
Review what search operators were used during the ad
study abroad paris france
general query
cafes near the louve
auto-corrected to louvre
map query
translate tu es tres mignon
translate query
impress a french girl
general query
chocolate shops paris
auto-suggest = ...paris france
map query
what are truffles
web definition (word)
who is truffaut
general query
long distance relationship advice
deleted
jobs in paris
general query
AA120
flight search
churches in paris
using google maps
how to assemble a crib
general query (unknown, no search completed)

Learning Targets (focus of teaching)

Blooms Taxonomy (BT) (due to time, only highlighted items will be presented)

Knowledge: learning intermediate / advanced search syntax

Comprehension: understanding when to use specific search syntax
Application: solve complex search queries with given information
Analysis: focus on application through speed (give a complex search query,
simplify into a single search query)
Synthesis: give an incorrect search query, ask participants to fix it
Evaluation: TBD

BT: Knowledge: learning intermediate & advanced search syntax

exact query => use of double quotations
from cheating and crime
law search focus
from cheating and crime
Freakonomics by Levitt & Dubner
exclude a word from a query => using a dash (minus sign) attached to the start of
a word
lotus
Lotus the car company
lotus -car
Lotus the software company
search within a specific site => site: operand
canadian news
most likely populated with Canadian news sources
canadian news -site:www.cbc.ca -site:www.ctvnews.ca -site:www.nationalpost.ca
-site:www.theglobeandmail.com
removes major news outlets in Canada from search
How are our athletes perceived in the international media?
canadian olympic athletes site:www.cbc.ca
canadian olympic athletes -site:www.cbc.ca

pages that link to a specific URL link: operand

link:cbc.ca
pages that link to CBC.ca

search for either word OR operand (capitalized!)

olympic venue sites 1988 OR 2010
focuses search upon olympic venues with a focus on 1988 and 2010

number range .. (two dots)

smartphone $300..$400
tracking numbers for packages
Credit Cards: xxxx000000000000..xxxx999999999999
error... but why?
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN)
is a report publicly available for your car?

get information on a URL info: operand

info:cbc.ca
will also give a link to a cached version of the page
also obtained via cache: operand

search for a specific type of file filetype:pdf operand

lethbridge ed2500 filetype:pdf
search up public resumes of students related to ED2500
Punctuation
social tags (@ mentions, # hashtags)
strongly connected ideas (&, ampersand)
percentage values (37% of 428)
prices (tablet $559)
connect two words
[word1_word2]
searched as: word1word2
searched as: word1_word2
e.g. Database table names (think Statistics Canada)

BT: Comprehension & Application: understanding when to use specific search syntax
Google Search Mad Minute
1. I am looking to book a round trip flight to Vancouver this weekend. I would depart on
Friday and return Sunday. If I want to fly Air Canada, what price do return flights start at?
2. Has the population of Puerto Rico been increasing or decreasing over the past 10
years?
3. What is ab ovo usque ad mala translated from Latin to English?
4. What is the predicted wind speed in Rome, Italy at 10 p.m. on Friday?
5. How long does it take to drive from Bowness Park to Bow Valley College?
6. What are three movie databases that are similar to IMDB?
7. We are all familiar with Vernes 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. How many kilometers
is that?
8. Who wrote the song with the obscure lyric, when Venus the goddess of beauty and
love?
9. [Easter Egg] What is the loneliest number?
10. With 8 Olympic gold medals, what Norwegian cross-country skier retired to become a TV
host in his native country?

BT: Analysis: How deep can we search?

Mission: Find Daft Punks full discography with a single query (talk it out!)
intitle:index.of (alac|flac|mp3|mp4) daft punk
intitle: operand: in the title of the webpage
(alac|flac|mp3|mp4) file types or terms used on a webpage?

daft punk musician name

Go to: 2005 - Human After All, play Robot Rock

Therefore, the search is looking for the first instance of a web-facing FTP page that contains file
names referenced to daft punk AND whose files contain words such as mp3, mp4, etc...