TLT Group's FridayLive! Online Series 

Sally Kuhlenschmidt
Western Kentucky University

January 9, 2009 2pm (EST)

Overview/Guide

Using a Google Custom Search Engine (CSE)

Objectives:

What is a CSE?

Why bother?

Instructional Uses

Professional Uses

Fund raising

Steps for Simple CSE

•  Google Account

•  Create CSE

•  Enter formatted URLs, excluding, returning and managing

•  Use is only you – by accessing your Google Account

Managing Your CSE

Collaboration & Considerations

Sharing your CSE (w/ the World, via Blackboard…)

Steps for a Large CSE

Advanced

http://www.wku.edu/teaching/services.html - template URL files, utility for converting Favorites to txt, and specific suggestions/advice on using the files with Google CSE.

In and out of Excel and Access

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 Resources

PowerPoint

Archive of Web Session

Helpful Links:

·   http://www.google.com/

·   http://www.podnetwork.org/

·   http://www.wku.edu/teaching/services.html

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Custom Search Engine
Do's & Don'ts

DOs –

•  Start small. Your first CSE should be 3-5 URLs since it is likely you will have to start over as you learn various details.

•  Read the documentation that Google provides.

•  Start by getting comfortable with the interface and process; exploring for yourself (before you worry about sharing with the rest of the world or moving on to advanced features)

•  When you are ready to move on, write out criteria for URLs—what does fit; what doesn't fit; what are the borderline URLs?

•  Write a plan for “refinement labels”? Imagine doing actual subsearches. Are there URLs that qualify in the label area? (e.g., as of this writing, there is no tribal college with a faculty development center so it makes no sense to include that as a refinement label in my CSE).

•  Pace yourself in collecting URLs. If you work in phases, then lessons learned from the earliest collection can be applied to later additions.

•  Imagine that your list of URLs will grow very large. Build in organizational processes at the beginning.

•  Imagine that you won't update your CSE for long intervals—write out directions for yourself

•  Forgive yourself if you do overlook something.

•  Advertise your CSE if you want others to use it. They need periodic reminders.

DON'TS –

•  Don't assume that Google documentation will be clear (although most is fine). They are not internally consistent in their word choice and occasionally delight in techno-babble. Accept it and move on.

•  Don't do this if you don't like at least a little techie stuff.

•  Don't trust just anyone to do the clerical work, since undoing errors will take more time.

•  Don't volunteer for a major CSE project without considering the maintenance of URLs.

•  Don't start a BIG project without perspectives from others (e.g., on refinement labels).

•  Don't use your personal Google account for a CSE to be used by an organization.

•  Don't overlook opportunities to get a publication from your collection of URLs. Perhaps by just adding some additional information for each URL interesting trends or descriptions can be derived.

•  Don't re-create “Google” universal. For example, a CSE of all higher education institutions is redundant—just set the advanced search features in Google universal to only search edu domains. Ideally your URL collection will be a defined subpopulation with clear “edges” of great usefulness to a specified group of people.

•  Don't assume that other people will understand its value. They have to see a CSE in action to understand it.

•  Don't give up. Play with the idea and possibilities until you find the one that works for you.

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