Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Sign of the (Bing) Times

Despite the fact that students in our schools aren't allowed to do "blind" searches on Google, they still know how (and frequently do when teachers aren't watching). "Just Google it." is a phrase I often hear my students saying to each other when they come across anything they don't understand. (This phrase might make some educators scoff, but it really doesn't bother me in the least. I do the same thing so how can I judge?)

This afternoon however, I was chatting with one of my favorite "Twilighter" sixth graders; about Twilight themed tennis shoes. "Really?" I was skeptical. His response: "Yeah, just Bing it."

Bing it?!

What happened to our beloved "Google it?!"  I kind of just looked at him a minute in astonishment, at first because he knew what Bing was, and second because- wow, is it really a sign of the times that Bing is replacing Google?

I usually only use Bing when I can't seem to find what I want with a first (albeit lazy) Google search. Is Bing more student friendly? Perhaps I'll have to test it out more...

(image: Illustration by Dave Wheeler for @TIME )

Posted via email from Teacher Tracks (The Posterous)