Opinions of Teachers on Using Internet Searching Strategies: An Elementary School Case in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to determine opinions of teachers on using internet searching strategies in an elementary school. The study conductad through qualitative method was designed on survey research model. Participants were consisted of 21 teachers at an elementary school in Eskişehir in Turkey. Questionnaires consisting of open-ended questions were used to collect data in the spring semester of 2008, which were analyzed through inductive coding technique. Findings reveal that elementary school teachers primarily use Google for searching on the internet. It is revealed that internet search strategies applied by teachers differ between the inception and the development processes of the search. In addition, teachers have several problems like irrelevant information, accessing insufficient information, accessing websites with virus threats while searching. A need for in-service training regarding the ways of accessing and retrieving information from İnternet was stated along with creative suggestions in accordance with the content and structure of the instructional process assumed