{"id":1947,"date":"2023-02-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2023\/02\/13\/develop-information-literacy-with-search-coach\/"},"modified":"2025-03-05T09:38:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T17:38:19","slug":"develop-information-literacy-with-search-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2023\/02\/develop-information-literacy-with-search-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Develop information literacy with Search Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Every day, learners are inundated by information from a vast array of media and digital resources. However, studies show that only 1 in 10 students<\/a> can distinguish between fact and opinion. Educators face the challenge of ensuring that students learn to become more informed consumers and producers of digital content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Information literacy, including strategies for finding credible sources and staying safe online, has long been taught by school staff, but educators struggle to prioritize information literacy into lesson plans. Ensuring students follow and maintain appropriate processes for gathering information\u2014and coordinating with media specialists and librarians\u2014can be difficult and time consuming. Microsoft\u2019s Learning Accelerator suite of tools<\/a> provides schools with the solutions and educational expertise they need to positively impact academic, social, and emotional growth for all students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search Coach<\/a> is one such solution in the suite that supports educators as they teach students to search for, evaluate, analyze, and choose informational sources online. It can enhance instruction by providing students with strategies for identifying credible sources while safely navigating the web, all within Microsoft Teams for Education. Search Coach also provides educators with insights into their students\u2019 search habits to better inform instruction on information literacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As learners navigate digital content, they are required to sift through massive amounts of information that may or may not be credible and reliable. Educators teach students to evaluate and identify credible sources, but when it comes to putting learning into practice, students can be challenged by the copious amount of information available. Educators also find it difficult to provide individual feedback about source credibility to all students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search Coach was designed with the help of leading information literacy experts to provide tips and strategies for students as they search for and evaluate sources of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This tool teaches students how to use filters to refine their search queries to find the most credible and relevant information. Queries can be filtered by domain, file types, date range, and operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Educators and families also need to ensure that students can navigate safely online. Data indicates<\/a> that 71% of search traffic clicks are made on the first page of search results. Advertisers pay search hosts to ensure that their products and services appear first on search results to get users to select their site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search Coach uses Bing SafeSearch to ensure that students are not directed to advertisements. This feature is always enabled to ensure that students can safely navigate through search queries without being targeted by advertisers. By utilizing Bing SafeSearch, Search Coach provides a safe space for students to learn as they navigate through the vast array of information that exists online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only does Search Coach help students learn to find credible sources, it also focuses learners on how to form more effective search queries. When students use Search Coach, they are provided with tips that include common search strategies and best practices for narrowing their search results to the most relevant sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, to support educators in tracking student progress and learning around information literacy, Search Coach provides actionable insights into student searches through Education Insights in Microsoft Teams for Education. These insights can help educators make thinking visible by showing exactly how students construct queries and gather sources. Educators have access to a variety of data including which students opened only the first result after a search and how many search attempts were made. They are also able to analyze common search terms and patterns across an entire class, informing individual, small group, and whole class learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Actionable insights on student searches<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Educators can prepare students to use Search Coach through a collection of information literacy lesson plans<\/a> that teach search techniques across grade levels. These quick learning experiences cover a variety of topics to introduce concepts that students can apply in traditional search engines like Bing. Teacher resources are also provided to support educators navigating Search Coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIdentifying credible sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Maintaining student safety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Continuing teaching and learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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