Create a Custom Search Engine for your Students

Have you ever done a research project but only wanted your students to use reputable sites in their research?  You could use a Diigo list to provide them with this information, but there is still a better way.

You can actually create your own customized search engine in Google.  Check out my Bruins search engine. I limited the search to only browse through ESPN and Boston.com.  Try typing in 'Chara' or 'Lucic' or anything hockey related.

This took less than 3 minutes to create and I followed the excellent instructions provided by Teachthought.com.  You can make your search as broad (entire domains) or as narrow (limit to just a particular webpage) as you want.

How to use in Education

There are many possible uses for this customized search engine.

• When your students are doing research you may want to limit the number of sites they can get their data from
• You may want to only have them search on high quality sites that you have previously vetted out.  
• For younger students this would be a good way to ensure that they are only visiting sites that are age and content appropriate.  

What other ways can you think of to use a customized search engine?  Please share your thoughts in the comments area below.