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Using Snippet Sleuth

Goals and Objectives

Snippet Sleuth is designed to promote identification of keywords that result in a more focused, effective search and improve one's Information Fluency. These game-like activities encourage students to:

read the content of snippets carefully, looking for relevant information and search clues;

expect valuable information to be found in snippets;

read information in context to find new keywords associated with the query;

find better keywords successfully, informed by immediate feedback;

make finding better keywords personally rewarding;

Snippet Sleuth activities may be used as games, tutorials and assessments. Three versions are bundled with this Resource Kit:

Funny Girl Challenge -- finding the number of shows produced on Broadway

Great Wall Challenge -- finding factual information about the visibility of the Great Wall from space

Action Figure Challenge -- finding the name of a contest in which the winner becomes an action figure

There is no time limit, but points are awarded for finding more effective keywords in the snippets. The activities may be replayed numerous times to improve one's score and demonstrate mastery of the skills. The only feedback to the player is the score, which ranges from 0 past 50. A score of 50 indicates mastery of the skill. Points are earned for finding keywords that improve the search; points are deducted for including words that do not improve the query. (Point values were determined by actual search results.)

Learning occurs by making choices and seeing if those choices are effective or not.

Recommendations for using Snippet Sleuth

In Snippet Sleuth, the goal is to find as many better keywords as possible by scanning snippets. A goal of 50 points demonstrates mastery of the skill. Points are earned for every keyword found in the snippets that improves the query--the effective keywords were determined by actual searching. Points are deducted for every keyword that is included which does not improve the query.

Select any of the three Challenges to test your ability to find better keywords in snippets. A feedback page at the end reports your score as well as the effective words in the query. The activity may be replayed to improve your score. Scores are not saved in this version of the tutorial game.

To find better keywords, read the snippets for the query you select. Watch for words that are related to the information you need to find. If you find synonyms or hyponyms (more specific keywords) these will often improve your query. If you find no better keywords in the snippets, this is a signal that your last query is ineffective--modify it and try it again. You can type better words into the search box and delete less effective words. When you are ready to check the effectiveness of your results, click the continue button next to the search box.

Teachers: In addition to the instructions above. the games may be used in the following ways:

Demonstrate to students as a group how the activity works and what the goal is.

Display a page of snippets from one of the three Challenges. Before reading the snippets, point out that it is helpful to be thinking of important keywords and synonyms that are associated with the information needed. Words in the snippets that match the query are shown in boldface type, just as they are in Google. Look nearby for similar words and even more specific words. Show how to type words from the snippets into the search box and how to remove ineffective words. Copy and paste is not available in this application.

The best use of the activity is individual play, though as a group, individuals could take turns examining the snippets for better words or by working together to attain mastery in the fewest attempts.

You may use scores to assess the degree of success students are having. When you notice low scores, ask individuals to show you which words they used. If they are including ineffective keywords in their queries, this lowers their points and is a poor search technique in actual searching. The goal is to use only effective keywords. Watch them read the snippets to see if they are overlooking important terms.

In the present edition, scores are not saved. If you want students to keep track of scores and progress from game to game, they will have to write down their scores. You may want to hold a contest to see who can earn the highest score in each game.

Funny Girl snippets contain the most alternate keywords, so you may want to start with that tutorial. Action Figure contains the least. A list of the effective words is included at the end of each game ("Show Me the Words").