Develop Web Research Skills
Fig: When you use hover preview, the Bing search results page displays a preview of webpage content.
Search engine tools. Not all search providers are created equal. Yes, all search engines sort by relevance to the keyword one enters and do not discriminate among the sources they display. Some, however, like Bing, are decision engines: Their goal is to present relevant information, in context, so that you can complete a task or make a decision. Many Bing search features support the development of critical thinking skills. For example, Bing includes source flter tools on video search result pages , so that users can decide whether they want to see videos from a news organization or a user-generated content site like YouTube, and a special Visual Search feature that enables users to visually sift through results before getting to the data behind the answers. The attention of Bing to visual presentation and clarity can also help students assess the search results. For example, when Bing returns a list of search results, it includes an arrow to the right of every listing and a fyout preview of further content from that webpage. Using this hover preview feature, you can quickly determine whether a source is relevant—without navigating away from the search results list.
Bing Search Features That Support and Develop Web Research Skills
Fig: With Visual Search, you can sort search results to fnd the kind of information you need, such as an interactive table or graph content.
Bing is a decision engine that fnds, organizes, and displays information in ways that enable students to search more intelligently and effciently and help them become skilled information decision-makers. In addition to the hover preview feature, Bing provides other tools that support and develop web research skills:
Bing Help , located in the lower-right section of the page, provides a primer in web research. It explains how Bing searches and why a particular search wasn’t successful, in addition to how to improve search results, customize searches, control search history, fnd specifc kinds of information, and much more.
When Bing returns results, it organizes them on the page so that you can fnd what you need faster. For example, when you search for information on Abraham Lincoln, the results appear conveniently sorted into categories, such as News about Lincoln, Kid Facts, Timelines, Speeches, Childhood, and Images of Lincoln.
Bing Search History , also known as Saved Searches, can also speed up research, especially when students are working as a team. Downloading the Silverlight™ component allows you to save searches, organize using folders, take notes, and share them with others in your Windows Live™ SkyDrive™ or on Facebook. History settings are very clearly marked, and the user can delete items or turn off tracking at any time. Learn more about the Saved Searches feature.
The Visual Search feature of Bing enables users to visually sift through results before getting to the data behind the answers. Using this feature to research the Periodic Table , for example, displays the table so that you can click each element separately to fnd more information. Also, a regular Bing web search automatically returns one link with images related to your search.
Fig: You can use video search results pages to quickly identify the source of video.
On the video search result pages , Bing includes source filter tools so that users can decide whether they want to see videos from a news organization or from a user-generated content site like YouTube.
Fig: Bing Reference search results highlight the natural language related to your search in Wikipedia articles.
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The Bing Reference feature makes use of natural language (also called “semantic search”) technologies to provide a different kind of search experience. Bing Reference displays a list or group of Wikipedia articles related to your search question, with the search terms highlighted in a way that shows you the relationships between the Wikipedia articles containing the search terms. As you skim through the results, you see how the search terms are presented, which can give you a more contextual understanding of the terms.
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Bing works as a dictionary, too. Type a word in the Search box, and Bing provides the defnition from the Encarta® World English Dictionary.
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Bing even helps solve math problems. Type an equation, and Bing helps you solve it, with results provided by Wolfram|Alpha.