There was an interesting Future Tense story this morning on MPR about a study conducted by Google and the University of Maryland regarding the searching behavior of children. As the paper describing the research points out, these children are the first generation of what is being called "digital natives," and the next generation of undergraduates that will be attending the U of M. While many of the issues identified by the researchers (especially things like lack of typing and spelling skills) are likely to be less problematic as the children get older, others may be examples of generational differences in search behavior.
Google is using the study to inform the design of search engines optimized for children. Would the use of such search engines actually hinder the development of more sophisticated searching skills?
Google is using the study to inform the design of search engines optimized for children. Would the use of such search engines actually hinder the development of more sophisticated searching skills?
