The search for Spock...er...no, that's not right.

Yes, I know this isn't Leonard Nimoy...

This entry, is looking at Internet searches for information on Inquiry-Based Learning in a tertiary (university) setting for my project. My first search using a standard Google search proved fairly unsuccessful, I used the term "inquiry based learning"+"tertiary", and while there were lots of "hits" I discovered that the material retrieved wasn't directly related to what I was searching for.

Trying a second time, I used the search "inquiry based learning" + "university", the listing returning About 6,910 results (0.21 seconds) according to Google. Interestingly, unlike the first Google search, this time the very first entry was right on the money:

What is Inquiry-Based Learning at University?: Problem Based ...

13 Mar 2010 ... Inquiry based or problem-based learning is rising in popularity as a university teaching practice owing to its ability to truly engage and ...
universities.suite101.com/.../what-is-inquiry-based-learning-at-university - Cached

Was this a case of getting lucky? I had a 1 in 6910 chance of finding something useful in the first entry of this search. The problem with Google, is that it doesn't take any real finesse or skill to use, which is why it's both a good thing and bad thing. GOOD - because anyone can use it, you just need some basic ICT skills. BAD - because it searches anything and everything for your search terms, including stuff that is no way related to what you are looking for.

I should add, why the picture of Spock? Well, think about it... If you asked your students to pull up a picture of Spock from the Internet, unless you told them you were after a picture of Leonard Nimoy as Spock and they did the appropriate Google Search (of course they could just get lucky), you could end up this particular image.