Supporting reflective web searching in elementary schools

In this contribution, two design experiments are presented in which reflective web searching is implemented in six elementary classrooms. Reflective web searching is viewed to comprise three steps: (1) develop ownership over search questions, (2) interpret and personalize web content, and (3) adapt web content into personally meaningful answers. A portal and a worksheet supported reflective web searching. A wide range of qualitative data, including observations, interviews and group products, was collected to gain insight in the emerging practices. The findings show that the portal and worksheet successfully contributed to the development of ownership, and the interpretation and personalization of retrieved information. Enabling children to search the web collaboratively further enhanced interpretation and personalization. The prototypes of both portal and worksheet were improved across the design experiments, and their success rates increased. Despite the improvements, the process of adaptation was not sufficiently supported by the portal and worksheet.