And, Or, Not . . . three important words for searching success.
These three words form the basis of Boolean logic and help students more efficiently search through the complicated world of information and find resources specific to their academic needs.
We have heard many instruction librarians discussing the difficulty of keeping students engaged once the “B” word is introduced in a session. Should the “B” word be avoided altogether? Should new methods be used to teach students about Boolean?
We think instruction on Boolean should continue to be emphasized when teaching students how to search and locate information. After all, Boolean is included in the ACRL information competency standards and the “searching” portion of the Project SAILS skills sets. But maybe there are better ways to cover this topic. One option is a free tool called Boolify.
Boolify presents Boolean logic in a fun and graphical way to show students the usefulness of applying Boolean search operators when looking for resources with the Google search engine. Though it was designed specifically for K-12, we think there are many advantages to using it within higher education settings, including:
- Great for the hands-on learners in your courses
- Clearly illustrates the usefulness of using Boolean operators
- Though specific to Google, college students can apply the concepts to research databases
- The interactive nature of the tool gives students the flexibility to continue refining their search based on the results provided
- Identifies the logic behind research and uses this logic to improve research skills
But the thing we like most about Boolify is that it covers a very important skill set within information literacy in a practical and easy-to-understand manner. The key is that Boolify is focused on the end goal, which is to teach information literacy skills in a way college students can understand and retain.
In addition to the free Boolify tool, the site also offers lesson plans for teaching information literacy to your students.
Give Boolify a look and consider whether you can use it in your instruction.