Teach?

---

Is there really any reason to teach people how to run a Google search?

Typing a search term into a dialog box and hitting <ENTER> is simple enough for anyone, even teachers, to do without explicit instruction. It's the sort of ubiquitous skill that we assume people pick up simply from living in today's world. Occasionally I'm come across someone who seems intimidated by the search box (or who can't spell Google correctly and thus can't bring the page up at all), but on the whole, just about anyone can, and does, run a search on Google.

The problems start when the results come up. As I only very recently noted, most users apparently can't distinguish between a sponsored advertisement and an actual result (whatever that is). And that's only part of the problem. Reading, or deciphering, the results - basics like identifying the URL, judging the size of the page, getting an educated guess of the context in which the requested result appears - can, and even should be taught. But people rarely want to learn these skills. For them it's enough to get a result, any result, and click over to it.

---

Go to: The tyranny of search.