Content Tech: Google Search and the Wonder Wheel

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

You may be noticing a Google theme to Content Tech recently…I’ve been attending a BOCES workshop on the multitude of Google tools available, and the list continues to grow.

There is a new search tool recently released titled Wonder Wheel, that provides a visual representation of search results. This can be really helpful for students trying to understand a topic.

Try this…

• Think of a topic you might ask your students to research
• Type the search terms into Google
• When the results come up, directly under the Google logo, click Show options…

• In the left sidebar, near the bottom, click on Wonder Wheel

Google displays a visual representation of the search terms, with related topics around it. Search results are on the right side. Click a related topic, and the wheel will re-center, with new related topics surrounding it.

(click image to enlarge)

This tool could provide some helpful visual cues as students do their research. Notice that there are some other options for search results in addition to the Wonder Wheel!