I just learned about two Google tools that can help teachers and students search the web more effectively and visually. They are Wonder Wheel and Timeline. Wonder Wheel sets the search query in the middle of a mind-map and adds related search terms around the original search term. Students can then click on the related search terms to refine their search or discover something totally new.

Check out the video below to see a demonstration of Wonder Wheel. (Yes ... I know it is on Youtube and you won't be able to view it from school but it is worth looking it up at home nonetheless).

What a great way to make searching a visual experience for students.

Timeline

Timeline takes a search such as the Revolutionary War and puts all the search results in a chronological timeline. For example, you may see a result from 1780 and it may be a scan of a newspaper article from that time period.

To use Wonder Wheel or Timeline go to google.com and put in your search term just as you normally would.
At the top of the page you will see a link for "Show Options"

Scroll down on the left side and you will see the options for Wonder Wheel and Timeline under the "Standard View" heading

I want to credit Mrs. Smoke, a teacher and blogger whose site I read about these two features in Google. To check out her blog go to http://mrssmoke.onsugar.com/