In this post I will be showing you how to use Google to your advantage. The Google search engine is a powerful tool that maintains databases of the World Wide Web. It's main function is the ability to search through these databases. Proper wording means better search results. For instance, if I want to learn how to cook a lemon cake I would not search "how to cook a lemon cake." Instead, try searching for "lemon cake ingredients time cook mix." This produces better search results because Google looks for sites that contain the keywords of a typical lemon cake recipe.
Searching within a website is also useful. If you only want search results from a certain domain, Google knows how to do this. For instance, to search within a website type "site:[the website domain] [your search terms]." For an example, let's say I want to search within the Food Network website for information on lemon cake. The search would look like this: "site:www.foodnetwork.com lemon cake" when you try it.
Searching for certain filetypes is another useful function from Google. If you want to look for only PDF files, the wording is "filetype:[filetype] [search terms]." Say I want to look for PDF files on lemon cake. The search term would look like "filetype:pdf lemon cake." This tells Google to limit my results to files that are PDF documents.
Google is more than just a search engine. You can also use Google for free email, image searching, video searching, online maps, searching within books, shopping comparisons and translating foreign languages. All of this is accessible from the homepage: www.google.com.
Reading Assignments for the Month of May:
1 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. A high-fantasy novel with an easy reading level.
2 - Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. The very first novel about the world famous British spy.
See if you can find both of these books in PDF format online and for free. I will even get you started:
"filetype:pdf the hobbit tolkien"
"filetype:pdf casino royale ian fleming"
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